Are the new ministers ‘messiahs’?

…Who they are, and Nigerians’ expectations

… ‘Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle not in-depth enough’

Until last Wednesday when the news broke, of the sack of five ministers and the nomination of seven new ones for Senate confirmation, speculations had become rife over when the cabinet reshuffle would happen.

Everywhere in the country, the talk, even on the street, was that there was need for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rejig his cabinet.

The Presidency had also hinted of the plan when Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, recently said it was a matter of when and not if.

When it eventually happened last Wednesday, the President did not only drop some ministers, he re-assigned 10 others to new ministerial portfolios and appointed seven new ministers, who he recommended to the Senate for confirmation.

Tinubu nominated Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as the minister of State, Foreign Affairs; Nentawe Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Maigari Dingyadi, minister of Labour and Employment; Jumoke Oduwole, minister of Industry; Idi Mukhtar Maiha, minister of the newly created Livestock Development Ministry; Yusuf Ata, minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, and Suwaiba Ahmad as minister of State, Education.

The President sacked Uju-Ken Ohanenye, minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John, minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman, minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo, minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, and Jamila Ibrahim, minister of Youth Development.

Since the announcement of the new ministers, there have been mixed reactions. While some Nigerians have commended the President for carrying out the rejigging, some others said they were not sure of those dropped were the reason Nigerians are going through hard times economy-wise. Some are also saying that the ministers who occupy important portfolios, and whose ministries directly impact the economy and the lives of Nigerians were left untouched. For those in this group, there is little to cheer.

Before the cabinet shakeup, many Nigerians believed that majority of the ministers were not performing or working with the President to deliver his campaign promises amid the high inflation, hardship and other socio-economic challenge bedeviling the country. The question on the lips of many Nigerians is, “what’s new?”

Profile of the seven new minister-nominees

Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi (Labour and Employment)

Dingyadi is a former minister of Police Affairs under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a position he held in the second tenure of the former president. Born in 1953 in Dingyadi, Sokoto State, he graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1978.

He was a member of the House of Representatives, and represented Bodinga Federal Constituency. He is also a former chairman of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) Abuja and former Secretary to Sokoto State Government.

Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda (Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction)

Yilwatda is a professor of computer engineering. He is an accomplished academic, administrator and politician. He recently contested for the governorship of Plateau State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was chairman, Plateau State APC general election campaign council, 2022-2023. He was the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from 2017 to 2021 in Benue State. He bagged his PhD Electronic Engineering in 2013 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Masters of Engineering (Electronics), 2000, at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical/Electronics), 1992, at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

Suwaiba Said Ahmad (Minister of State, Education)

The ministerial nominee was born in 1981 in Jigawa State. Ahmad is a trained educationist and gender advocate. She was a lecturer at the Bayero University Kano, and currently the Director, Centre for Gender Studies at the university. She has served the university in different capacities, including level coordinator, examination officer, PG coordinator, Sub-Dean Academics, and Head of Department Science Education. She attended Bayero University Staff Schools for primary and secondary education before proceeding to Bayero University, Kano, where she bagged a Bachelor of Science Education, Chemistry in 2003, a Master of Education in Curriculum Studies in 2009, and a Ph.D. in Science Education from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 2014. Her expertise centres on governance and developmental work in the areas of political economy and institutional analysis, policy planning, development and strategy, capacity building and training.

Idi Mukhtar Maiha (Livestock Development)

Maiha, appointed as Minister of Livestock Development, is a former Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company. He is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zaidi Farms, Kaduna, an integrated enterprise that is said to apply world-class best practices in animal husbandry located in Kaduna State.

Read also: Bianca Ojukwu, Jumoke Oduwole among Tinubu’s seven new ministers

Yusuf Abdullahi Ata (Housing and Urban Development)

Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, born on June 22, 1962, in Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State, is an educationist. Ata was the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly from 2017 to 2018. He attended Fagge Primary School and Aminu Kano Community Commercial College and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Master’s in Development Studies from Bayero University, Kano. Ata worked as a Principal Planning Officer at the Kano State Housing Corporation before joining politics in 1998. He was first elected to the Kano State House of Assembly in 1999 as a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) but lost his seat in 2003. He returned to the assembly in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015, during which time he was appointed Majority Leader. Ata later became Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly.

Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu (Minister of State, Foreign Affairs)

Bianca is the widow of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. She is also Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and Ghana. A lawyer and businesswoman, Bianca was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs in 2011. Bianca attended Ackworth School, Pontefract, St Andrews College, Cambridge, and Cambridge Tutorial College where she obtained her A-levels. She also began a combined honours degree in Politics, Economics and Law at the University of Buckingham, but transferred to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is a business woman and diplomat.

Jumoke Oduwole (Industry, Trade and Investment)

Jumoke Oduwole, an entrepreneur, was born in Lagos. She was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment, where she helped to establish the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations. Oduwole has also contributed significantly to international economic law, serving on the Executive Council of the Society of International Economic Law and member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Trade & Investment. Jumoke earned L.L.B. from the University of Lagos in 1998, and an LL.M. in Commercial Law from Cambridge University in 2000. In 2007, she received a Master’s in International Legal Studies from Stanford University and later completed her Ph.D. in International Trade and Development at Stanford Law School, focusing on WTO Negotiation Strategy.

Tinubu’ cabinet reshuffle not in-depth enough – Nigerians

In view of the perceived failure of the current administration to meet the expectations of Nigerians and public outcry that government policies were not having direct impact on their lives, many Nigerians expected the President to carry out in-depth cabinet reshuffle where more than half of the ministers would be replaced by new people.

In the estimation of many Nigerians, only about five percent of the ministers were living up to expectation, while others appeared not to know or are overwhelmed about the enormous responsibility and duties that come with their office.

They alleged that the President must have made the minor change to satisfy public agitations, and satisfying few individuals, rather than what can really have impact on governance by his administration.

“After all the noise of cabinet change in the last few weeks, is this the only thing Tinubu can do? The cabinet reshuffle was overdue because a lot of the ministers were not performing. Me and you know those that are working. It is only about two or five percent of them that are really working.

“Look at the one in charge of defence, what is he doing? There are still killings every day in the North; it appears we are still in the era of Muhammadu Buhari.

“Nobody is safe anywhere, travel on the road you are putting your life on the line. I’m shocked,” Sule Mustapha, a Public Affairs analyst, said.

Mustapha further noted that the minor cabinet change was just politically-motivated, stressing that it can be seen that those close to the President were safe or not touched even though they are not performing.

Ladipo Johnson, National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria People’s party (NNPP), said the President would take the blame for the failure of anyone appointed into his cabinet since it was apparent that those close to him were protected.

Johnson said that by next year, Tinubu’s administration would be two years and there would be a proper assessment of his administration and the people he appointed.

“People say those close to him were protected, but he is the one that would take the blame for failure; I think by next year it would be midterm and we can do a proper assessment of his administration and the people he has appointed,” Johnson said.

Similarly, Adebayo Oladapo, political analyst said apart from appointing wrong individuals into positions, the 48 ministers appointed by the President were too many for the country in view of the perceived lean resource at the disposal of government.

He disagreed with the President over the scrapping of the Ministry of Sport and merging it with National Sport Commission, noting that it may not give the desired impact.

“Some of the people appointed are just recircled; they had occupied government positions before and failed. One was even a former minister under Buhari and has been in several government positions in the past. Are you telling me we don’t have other Nigerians who can work and deliver?

“I also think the cabinet is too large; what is he doing with 48 ministers, when in America they have 18 state secretaries?”

The Deputy National Youth Leader of the People’s Democratic Party, Timothy Osadolor, described the move as a domestic arrangement deployed to distract the hungry masses.

He said: “How can you replace filthy rags with another set of filthy rags? Those are cosmetic arrangements to deceive Nigerians. The real issue is that the President is malfunctioning in administration.

“The Nigerian masses are hungry and dying. What they need is no changing of ministers and renaming of ministries. The people need security, jobs, power and above all, Nigerians need stability.”

The National Chairman, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Shehu Gabam said that the government was paying lip service to Nigerians’ call for improvement.

“Merging ministries or taking out a few ministers wouldn’t bring any noticeable change. He needs to focus on changing the strategic sectors that need immediate action,” Gabam said.

Read also: Tinubu appoints 7 new ministers, reassigns 10, sacks 5

Cabinet reshuffling refreshing, long-overdue

Meanwhile some Nigerians and supporters of the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said President Tinubu should be commended for this bold move to remove cabinet members who are not delivering on his campaign promises.

They said unlike the previous administration where some ministers were untouchable, the President by his action has shown that anyone can be removed if they did not sit-up.

A chieftain of the APC in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, welcomed the reshuffling of the cabinet by President Tinubu, saying it was long-overdue and would inject fresh ideas into governance.

Nwauju said in a statement over the weekend that he had joined his voice with those of other notable civil society groups and party leaders to demand a re-jigging of the federal cabinet, including demanding the merger of the Ministry of Police Affairs with the Ministry of Interior in consonance with the Steve Oronsaye report on restructuring of government parastatals and agencies to cut government expenses and make for greater efficiency and productivity.

Micheal Ogunsholu, APC member in Lagos State, urged Nigerians not to be disappointed with last week’s cabinet reshuffle because there was still time for the President to change those that are not delivering in his administration.

“It is too early to be saying all what I’m hearing since the names were released last week; he is just about one year and half in office; some of them would still go, if they don’t perform.

“This President is not afraid to remove any minister who is not working and he has shown that. Let us give him all the support he needs to implement these reforms and make Nigeria better for all,” Ogunsholu said.