The administration of President Bola Tinubu has now been in office for 14 months and his cabinet ministers and other appointees have served for around 10 months plus. As the saying goes, you can judge how well things are going from the early signs.
So far, this administration has appointed the largest number of ministers, advisers, senior special assistants, heads of parastatals and agencies of government but that has not translated into effective governance. The quality of the team is what matters, not the quantity, but unfortunately most of Tinubu’s ministers have failed to impress. To put it bluntly, we have many ghost ministers who are invisible and ineffective.
Out of the 48 ministers, less than 10 are actually performing their duties diligently and remaining in the public eye. I doubt most Nigerians could even name more than 10 ministers off the top of their heads.
The few visible ministers who seem to be working hard include FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Works Minister David Umahi, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, State Defence Minister Bello Matawalle, Economic Coordinator Wale Edun and Health Minister Ali Pate.
Even the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu, could be considered among the top 5 most active ministers in this administration.
I think the next time the government releases a list of “ghost workers,” some of these invisible ministers’ names should be on it too, and they ought to return their salaries and benefits.
The president should not wait for 2 years in office before reshuffling his cabinet because the forthcoming National Protest will definitely see to forcing Mr. President in sacking some of these invisible appointees including some of the service chiefs who are more interested in looting the system to amass public funds for themselves. Even if you give some of these ministers and appointees 10 more years, they still will not perform. As Tinubu himself has said, Nigerians want to see results quickly.
One will wonder why the Secretary to the Government of the Federation- George Akume, the National Security Adviser- Nuhu Ribadu, the Minister of Defence- Badaru Abubakar, the Chief of Defence Staff- Christopher Musa, the Inspector General of Police- Kayode Egbetokun, the Director of state security Service- Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the Chief of Defence Intelligence- Emmanuel Undiandeye, the Minister of Youth, Minister of Information and national Orientation, Minister of Niger Delta, Executive Secretary of TETFUND, DG of SMEDAN, MD NDDC, MD NPA, MD NIMASA, GMD NNPC Ltd, CBN Governor, MD FHA and other big appointees of government have blatantly kept mute over the soon to happen National Protest.
The truth is that they don't want to spend a dime from the huge monies being allotted to them. Infact, some of them are abating protest tendencies in disguise.
If not for Nigeria's failed security intelligence system, by now, the National Security Adviser would have had a meeting with the frontline Youth Bodies who are spearheading the planned National Protest for possible dialogue.
The Ministers and other appointees would have reached out to key Protest coordinators from their respective states and regions to dialogue on the wayforward other than Protest.
The two ministers in charge of Youth Development are raw misfits for the job as none of them has command of any Youth organisation in Nigeria.
President Tinubu must be pitied at this point in time because he seems to be alone with just a very few appointees working to see him succeed while the other majority of appointees are after how much money they will grab before leaving office.
Going by the tactical plans and flows of the forthcoming Protest as monitored by our technical team on social media platforms, it is factual to say that the handlers are perfecting every move to ensure that the failures of Endsars don't repeat again.Yes, it is true that the Protest has sponsors but from our independent investigation as concerned citizens, the names mentioned by the Presidency as sponsors of the soon to commence Protest are 90% incorrect. For us, we will just say that internal sabotage is rather playing a vital role in this regard.
Even most Pro-government youth bodies are chiefly in the organogram of the key piloters of the said protest as most of the heads are secretly laying claims of being disenfranchised and not being carried along in the scheme of things under President Tinubu's administration.
The economic team needs to do better instead of relying solely on the dictates of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The power minister seems totally out of his depth in that role. The president does not need a psychic to tell him that the man is the wrong fit for that ministry.
One more year is far too long for the president to wait before changing his appointees. Ten months is sufficient time to judge a team’s performance and fulfil any political promises. Ten months is enough time to settle political debts. Nigeria’s future is more important than any individual or political family.
Nigerians have noted that apart from the few visibly performing ministers mentioned earlier, most have been remarkably invisible and ineffective.
Nigerians are left wondering what exactly these dozens of other ministers have been doing since their appointments. Are they even showing up to work? What initiatives have they launched? What policies have they implemented? What progress have they made? It is high time they proved they are not just collecting salaries and allowances for doing nothing.
Beyond the waste of public funds to pay absentee ministers and appointees, there are real consequences to having a void of leadership across federal ministries, agencies and security formations. Important work is falling by the wayside. Policy reforms are stalling. Service delivery is suffering. Critical sectors of the economy and society are drifting aimlessly without competent appointees to steer the ship.
President Tinubu must light a fire under the laggard ministers and service chiefs. He should put them on notice that their performance thus far has been unacceptable. Those who fail to up their game within the next 1 month should be replaced without delay.
Nigeria’s future economic prosperity and social development depend on having strong leadership and execution across all levels of government, especially within the president’s cabinet. 65% current crop of inactive ministers and appointees are hampering progress.
In addition to shaking up the current cabinet, Tinubu may need to rethink his criteria for appointing ministers in the first place. Too much emphasis was placed on political connections, loyalty, and rewarding allies instead of nominating capable technocrats, experienced public administrators, and highly qualified experts within their fields.
Going forward, competency, credentials, and a proven track record of leadership and results should be the main qualifications.
One big lie that those bereaved with raw security intelligence have about the Protest is that Igbos will not participate... that is a big lie from those who just want to play to the gallery just to please Mr. President. Igbos who have a soft spot for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu are seriously mobilising resourcing and humans to facilitate a well eartquaking protest that will see to the possible release of Nnamdi Kanu. The Elzazaki Movement are bubbling in readiness across the 19 Northern states in conjuction with key Pro-government youth organisations that feel neglected.
The practice of handing out ministerial appointments as mere patronage positions needs to end.
A swift and dramatic cabinet shakeup may be required to get this government on track and galvanize it into action. The clock is ticking, and the stakes are high for Nigeria’s future.
