Over 100 days after President Buhari took office, Nigerians are still waiting for him to name his full cabinet. Despite the President’s promise to do so this September, the wait continues, engendering a palpable impatience with the long agonizing wait. Given that the cabinet is the starting point of good governance, few Nigerians fault the delay as they concede to the president the time to scout only the best hands. But Nigeria has an abundance of men of integrity and unimpeachable character; and the long delay has inadvertently advertise the President as someone who had no plans before assuming office, and does not really know too many people to the extent that he is cocooned in a little ethnic box. The fact is that Buhari understood the expectations of Nigerians; knew the rules of engagement, and accepted to be president. So, it is not about patience, it is about expectations being met, about doing things differently and better. Nigerians have given him the benefit of the doubt, but the enormity of the challenges facing the nation fuel a sense of urgency and Buhari must not lose this momentum to inertia.
Meanwhile, the president has been on a shuttle diplomacy to neighboring countries to rally support against Boko Haram. He attended the G-7 summit in Germany where he won the hearts of many leaders. He has visited Britain, USA and recently, France, where he discussed defence, security and economic relations with French authorities. In point of fact though, Buhari has made some key appointments, including: the armed services’ chiefs, Chief of Staff, Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Comptroller-Generals of Customs and Immigration Services. He has also repositioned key government institutions, such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS); the return to the statutory Treasury Single Account (TSA), the setting up of anti-graft committees and relocation of the military high command to Maiduguri.
Apart from these appointments, the president has not named the key members of his regular cabinet. This delay has, of course, exposed Buhari to charges of unpreparedness for an office he tenaciously sought for 12 years before eventually getting it. The president’s recourse to quibble and attribute the delay to his desire to get things right, is hardly convincing anymore. He ought to have appointed some strategic members of his cabinet like the Minister of Finance, Attorney General of the Federation and a Foreign Minister to guide him, as he engages in international relations. Competent candidates should have been shortlisted for these high level positions even before the elections. That would have indicated a preparedness of an APC government to hit the ground running.
During his trip to France, Buhari met French President Francois Hollande, and other French Ministers, including: Jean-Yves Le Drian (Defence); Michel Sapin (Finance & Public Accounts); Emmanuel Macron (Economy & Industry) and Laurent Fabius (Foreign Affairs and International Development). Buhari was accompanied by National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno, the Permanent Secretaries in the Ministries of Defence, Finance, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Trade & Investment as well as the Chief Executive Officers of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council. But, who were the experts that articulated Nigeria’s foreign policy to Buhari? This is where a first-rate diplomat and foreign minister would have proven very useful to the president.
Nigerians cannot afford to continue watching helplessly while he runs the country with permanent secretaries, who cannot perform the full function of a Minister of the republic. In fact, the President needs to be told that the permanent secretaries are part of the problems of the country as they have been addicted to government corruption. It is a constitutional requirement per Section 148 (2) (a-c), that, an elected President must appoint ministers of the government of the Federation to assist in the running of government business.
But this aside, a President cannot possibly effectively govern alone. The pressures of the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were enormous to overwhelm and render a younger Goodluck Jonathan clueless; it must be even more so for a 72-year-old Buhari. It is precisely for reason of his age vis-à-vis the quantum of the work to be done that Buhari should appoint Ministers to take some pressure off him. Buhari urgently needs the right people around him to effectively pilot the affairs of the nation and cannot settle on ad hoc arrangements. So, there must be ministers. Without ministers, official decisions and actions in the ministries can only be taken at limited level of authority.
Another danger of the long delay is seen in the shoddiness that has characterized the few appointments Buhari has made; in a manner that speaks more than a little presidential confusion. The appointments sparked off a controversy as they were perceived as weighted against southerners. It is, therefore, imperative to remind the president that it is too simplistic to dismiss such complaints as nothing more than the rantings of ethnic jingoists. Buhari’s appointments should unify the country; his cabinet should reflect his inaugural promise as a man who belongs to nobody and belongs to all.
Having witnessed the way ministers operated in the last administration, it would be no exaggeration to say that many of Jonathan’s problems were created by his ministers. But of course, the buck stopped at his desk for he appointed them and he was duty bound to keep them in check. He didn’t. The hope now is that Buhari will break this cycle of perfidious leadership by appointing men and women with the right qualities to fulfill the desire of Nigerians for a just, equitable country; Ministers propelled by a vision to make Nigeria the best place for its citizens. The APC government is expected by the electorate that put it in power to do things differently. Of course only the ready, the willing, and the able can do this.
No one in recent times has sought the presidency more tenaciously, more determinedly, than Muhammadu Buhari. Nigerians voted more for him than for his party. Now that he is fourth time lucky, the President must not lose the momentum of the change that the people yearned for, that his party promised, and that Nigerians await with great expectation. Only the best and trustworthy can help Buhari fulfill those many campaign promises. Nigeria needs ministers who would look beyond here and now and offer a new direction; ministers who make huge sacrifices to develop the country, propelled by the knowledge that leadership is for service. They may not have all the answers but do not lack the will to dream big dreams as well as the wisdom to galvanize the nation to dream with them. But they must be appointed without delay. President Buhari is duty bound to show both motion and movement because the country can no longer afford to settle into the usual debilitating inertia.
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