Buhari’s Cabinet: Our Expectations

It is unthinkable that 41 days into the second term administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, he has not constituted his cabinet.
One had expected the President, having been on the nation’s drivers’ seat for more than four years, to hit the ground running by immediately announcing his ministers, latest two weeks after he assumed office. From all indications, however, it appears the President, despite mounting criticisms, has chosen to go at his usual go-slow pace that dogged his first term.
It will be recalled that it took President Buhari a whole six months to constitute his cabinet during his first term. We hope the President will not trek the same path. This is because any further delay in constituting the Federal Executive Council might slow down the pace of development and strengthen the virus of inertia and lull witnessed during the President’s first term.
We, therefore, call on President Buhari to, without further delay, constitute the Federal Executive Council, FEC, in line with section 147 (3) of the Nigerian Constitution which requires the President to appoint at least one minister, who shall be an indigene, from each of the states of Nigeria.
More importantly, however, is the general expectation that the President should rejig his cabinet with more technocrats than politicians.
Given the fact that a careful composition of the Federal Executive Council is critical to delivering the much needed dividends of democracy that Nigerians are yearning for, it is important for President Buhari to be more adventurous in terms of having more non-partisan technocrats in his cabinet this second and final lap of his administration.
The Tide expects the new Federal Executive Council to be composed of round pegs in round holes with averagely young and vibrant Nigerians with proven records of integrity, competence and accountability. Unlike in the last four years when most ministers were products of political horse-trading, with poor performance recorded in many ministries, what the country needs now are eggheads who will help the President fulfil his promises and help entrench the true change that will impact positively on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
While The Tide is not opposed to retaining few of Buhari’s former ministers whose track record of performance in the last four years was impressive, we caution that any attempt to premise the appointment of ministers on solely political, religious or ethnic considerations might be injurious to the nation’s development.
At this material time, Nigeria is desirable of rapid economic growth, socio-infrastructural plenitude, and a total liberation from poverty and joblessness. We believe all these can be made possible if President Buhari reshuffles his cabinet with fresh, talented Nigerians whose only interest is to make Nigeria work.
Meanwhile, it is expected that President Buhari will, this time, give clear direction to his ministers to avoid lull and clash of ego witnessed during his first term.
It is also important for the president to unfuse or de-merge the behemoth Ministry of Power, Works and Housing for easy, effective coordination and administration. This is because the trio of power, works and housing sectors are too vast and humongous to be fused under the supervision of one minister. Alternatively, if Buhari decides to retain the fusion of the three sectors under one monstrous ministry, we suggest he appoints a Minister of State for each of the sectors with a senior minister as the coordinator.
Again, we advise that juicy appointments should not be concentrated in one or two geo-political zones in the country. We believe that all the states in the federation are equal partners and must be seen and treated as such; hence, the need for President Buhari to spread the juicy appointments among the six zones that make up the country, in the interest of fairness and equity.
Meanwhile, The Tide urges the president to do away with his policy of retaining non-performing ministers till the end of his four year tenure as was the case during his first term. He should not hesitate to sack any minister who is either not living up to the expectation or found to be a liability to his government. This, we believe, will keep the ministers on their toes, and also allow the president to reshuffle his cabinet with more competent hands.
While the nation awaits the list of FEC, we hope President Buhari will see the need to bequeath a better Nigeria than he met it. The countdown to that better Nigeria has begun.
There is no doubt that Nigerians’ expectations from Buhari’s government are enormous and myriad. But whether or not the president will live up to these expectations is a question only time can tell.