Tinubu, governors told to consider Trump’s workforce rightsizing template

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governors have been urged to consider President Donald Trump’s policy on workforce rightsizing.

Shaibu Idris, a management expert and fellow of several institutes who handed down the advice at the first edition of the Garden City Premier Business School (GCPBS) breakfast meeting in Port on Thursday, March 6, 2025, said the governments must look beyond sentiments and consider the rationale in the rationalization policy.

Idris, who headed the administration unit of the Dangote Industries and represented Dangote in the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Council said Trump’s single objective is to get value for money paid civil servants by paying only those who had jobs to do.

For Nigeria, Idris stated, those working are hardly paid well enough to make them proud, but that the recurrent provision in the annual budget is spread too thinly to very many workers such that at the end, neither the workers nor the employers are usually happy.

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On other Trump’s policies which he called hurricane, Idris advised Nigerians to understand that there is a rise of nationalism sweeping across America and Europe, pointing to the victory of the ultra-right party in Germany in the last week elections.

Speaking on ‘Trump 2:0’ which refers to the second coming of Trump as president, the management expert said the bottom line should be seen by Nigerians as the desire of most Americans to spend on what benefits America first.

He said Trump was winning support because most Americans see the policies as being made for them. “They do not see any point in spending around the world whereas they have needs at home”.

Urging Nigeria to thread on the path of caution, he noted that Trump’s intervention in the middle east may create fallouts Nigeria has to prepare for.

He said the war in Ukraine may end faster than expected and grains would be cheap all over the world. He also asked Nigeria to expect cheaper oil soon because Trump is going to pump oil and the bring down the price. He said high oil prices benefitted Nigeria over the years.

He also warned about repatriation of not less than 2000 Nigerians from the US soon which he said may reduce Diaspora remittances. Idris feared that African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) may be affected as the hurricane sweeps along.

For way out, he advised Nigeria to set up powerful think-tank right away to think out ways of reacting to Trump 2:0 just as he said India has just done. “Copy the Indian style by creating a hub where tech people work for companies abroad and where agro products could be processed for export.

He feared that signals from the US indicate that apart from the USAID scheme that is being shut down along with the World Health Organisation (WHO) funding, the US may pull out of others such as World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), etc. He urged Nigeria to move fast because those who do not act fast in the face of change usually crash.

He said: “We have four difficult years, and another Trumplike person may succeed him, making another eight years of Americanism after Trump. The earlier we study Trumpism and take decisions, the better for Nigeria and Africa”.

Silva Opuala-Charles, a professor of Economics and president of the Garden City Premier Business School, who served as moderator of the panel session, said the breakfast meeting concept is to introduce the concept which he says works in Lagos now in Port Harcourt. He says its an opportunity to bring thinkers together every period to brainstorm on knotty issues and come up with solutions.

Opuala-Charles said the focus is how the south-south especially the Port Harcourt economic belt could resume competition with Lagos, saying research shows that most of those fleeing into Lagos are from Port Harcourt.

Members of the panel included Chiedu Onyekachukwu, Tobira Lessi, and Emeka Obi, all professors and doctorate degree holders in both the private and public sectors, with Mina Tele-Ikuru representing the Rivers State government.