Editor’s note: Emmanuel Bello has described the probable
reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari is still looking
for his ministers. He narrates two tales of his epic search for
the men and women, who would make or mar the Buhari’s
records in office.
Story highlights:
Spiritual way the president is going about ministers;
The tale about Buhari’s ministers;
APC governors make a list of five top people;
Ministers will be human beings with all their foibles;
These angels will finally unveiled in the “fullness of time.”
(Today Newspaper) – I don’t know about you but I have
heard plenty chatters, concerning President Buhari’s near
elusive search for ministers (read, angels).
Yes, they could only be angels, judging by the painstaking,
almost spiritual way the president is going about it. Looking
for saints in a country full of sinners was never going to be
easy, anyway.
The first tale I heard was how one bright morning, President
Buhari drew up a list of his best 19 Nigerians and showed
his aides. The aides studied the list and started laughing.
Half of the names on the ministerial list were either dead or
down with old-age related illnesses, such as rheumatism
and stroke. Obviously, Buhari didn’t have this information.
While I haven’t independently verified the story, I won’t put
it past this president. Anyone who exhumes the legendary
Ahmed Joda and appoints him head of a transition
committee is capable of anything.
The second story said the president directed the All
Progressives Congress (APC) governors to make a list of five
top people in their states who can be appointed into various
positions. The excited men went home and drew up the list.
After receiving their submission, Buhari perfunctorily asked:
“Are you sure these are your best hands?” They all answered
in the affirmative. After a few minutes of looking at the list
again, the president repeated the question. The governors,
almost bemused now, bawled out that the list was the best
they could possibly cobble together.
The next thing the president did shocked them. He handed
them the list and said “ since these are the best hands you
have got, why not use them in your individual states? Why
bring them to Abuja when they could be more useful to you
in your state? Please, keep them and ensure you use them
to develop your states. If all APC states become symbols of
good governance, the entire nation would be better for it.
So, take them back to your states.”
Needless to say, the governors left in a huff. Now, this tale
may well be fictional as I wasn’t there to verify, but it is
being quipped that the president has said he would not get
his ministers from the state governors.
If he won’t pick their team for them, why should they pick
his? This makes sense but when you ponder where Buhari
would get his ministers and Special Advisers, you are forced
to think twice about this wisdom.
First, whether he likes it or not, for a certain spread and
balance, his nominees would have to come from the states.
It is as simple as that. And Buhari can’t know the states
better than the governors.
Secondly, they would be human beings with all their foibles.
But above all, they would be fellow Nigerians with all the
traits of our countrymen and women. They would be
Nigerians, who are adept in the game of eating a slice of the
pie. They would be Nigerians, who know exactly how a
minister ought to live the big life.
Believe me, there is a template already for how ministers
should live, dating to the earliest period of our modern life.
Have you forgotten the flamboyant Festus Okotieboh and
other heroes past? There exists an unwritten manual on the
number of cars, personal aides, and even accommodation
the big men should have. I don’t know how the president
plans to change all of that. A minister is a minister.
Or are we about to have a set of ministers who would live in
our neighborhoods, dress like us, drive in the same traffic
and, God forbid, even go to the same markets? If the
president thinks that by delaying and praying deep into the
night, he would eventually get a bunch of angels as his team,
then he is in for a reality slap. Where is he going to find such
men and women? It is like looking for the perfect spouse.
There is no such creature.
And the president has another headache, as he plans to pick
only 19 ministers from a country of 36 states and 170
million people. The question is what criteria is he going to
use? Age, pedigree, credibility profile, competence, electoral
value or his personal relationship with the fellows?
Maybe, that is why the framers of the nation’s constitution
said the Federal Executive Council should consist of, at least,
one nominee from the 36 states – a provision Buhari doesn’t
like.
Those who defend the president say a minister each from
the states would be too expensive in a time of austerity. But
what do you do about this constitutional provision? Ignore it
and get a tribe of lawyers, chasing you? Under the old
dispensation, getting your ministers wasn’t such a big deal.
The president would have been relaxed by now, allowing the
governors to slug the matter out. And back at the states, it
would have been a rat race as the governors and the
henchmen spend hours, figuring out what names to send to
the president.
In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state, for example, it
would have just been a matter of zoning. So, if the governor
and his deputy were from, say zone A and zone B, the next
thing is for the minister to come from Zone C.
Balancing and a certain amount of fairness were the
watchword of the PDP as far allocation of offices was
concerned. Another crucial credential was the electoral
value of the nominee. Even now, in most states, the
governors would pick a team that would best deliver them
the badly needed votes on re-election day. What of
competence? Well, that is important too, but strategic
positing of people for electoral success is the number one
consideration.
In any case, most of the appointees at the state levels are,
sometimes, professionals in various fields. A doctor, for
instance, may grab the ministry of health as commissioner,
while a financial expert heads the finance ministry. A lawyer
in the team may end up becoming the Attorney General,
while a reporter normally gets the information portfolio. The
other appointments might just be reward for the victory
(jobs for the boys). And there is nothing outlandish about
this.
When people have laboured to usher in a government, they
sure deserve a piece of the action, don’t you think? I hope
the president knows all of these, as he continues his epic
search for the men and women, who would make or mar his
records in office. For the rest of us, we are excitedly waiting
to see who these angels are when he finally unveils them in
the “fullness of time.”
.
reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari is still looking
for his ministers. He narrates two tales of his epic search for
the men and women, who would make or mar the Buhari’s
records in office.
Story highlights:
Spiritual way the president is going about ministers;
The tale about Buhari’s ministers;
APC governors make a list of five top people;
Ministers will be human beings with all their foibles;
These angels will finally unveiled in the “fullness of time.”
(Today Newspaper) – I don’t know about you but I have
heard plenty chatters, concerning President Buhari’s near
elusive search for ministers (read, angels).
Yes, they could only be angels, judging by the painstaking,
almost spiritual way the president is going about it. Looking
for saints in a country full of sinners was never going to be
easy, anyway.
The first tale I heard was how one bright morning, President
Buhari drew up a list of his best 19 Nigerians and showed
his aides. The aides studied the list and started laughing.
Half of the names on the ministerial list were either dead or
down with old-age related illnesses, such as rheumatism
and stroke. Obviously, Buhari didn’t have this information.
While I haven’t independently verified the story, I won’t put
it past this president. Anyone who exhumes the legendary
Ahmed Joda and appoints him head of a transition
committee is capable of anything.
The second story said the president directed the All
Progressives Congress (APC) governors to make a list of five
top people in their states who can be appointed into various
positions. The excited men went home and drew up the list.
After receiving their submission, Buhari perfunctorily asked:
“Are you sure these are your best hands?” They all answered
in the affirmative. After a few minutes of looking at the list
again, the president repeated the question. The governors,
almost bemused now, bawled out that the list was the best
they could possibly cobble together.
The next thing the president did shocked them. He handed
them the list and said “ since these are the best hands you
have got, why not use them in your individual states? Why
bring them to Abuja when they could be more useful to you
in your state? Please, keep them and ensure you use them
to develop your states. If all APC states become symbols of
good governance, the entire nation would be better for it.
So, take them back to your states.”
Needless to say, the governors left in a huff. Now, this tale
may well be fictional as I wasn’t there to verify, but it is
being quipped that the president has said he would not get
his ministers from the state governors.
If he won’t pick their team for them, why should they pick
his? This makes sense but when you ponder where Buhari
would get his ministers and Special Advisers, you are forced
to think twice about this wisdom.
First, whether he likes it or not, for a certain spread and
balance, his nominees would have to come from the states.
It is as simple as that. And Buhari can’t know the states
better than the governors.
Secondly, they would be human beings with all their foibles.
But above all, they would be fellow Nigerians with all the
traits of our countrymen and women. They would be
Nigerians, who are adept in the game of eating a slice of the
pie. They would be Nigerians, who know exactly how a
minister ought to live the big life.
Believe me, there is a template already for how ministers
should live, dating to the earliest period of our modern life.
Have you forgotten the flamboyant Festus Okotieboh and
other heroes past? There exists an unwritten manual on the
number of cars, personal aides, and even accommodation
the big men should have. I don’t know how the president
plans to change all of that. A minister is a minister.
Or are we about to have a set of ministers who would live in
our neighborhoods, dress like us, drive in the same traffic
and, God forbid, even go to the same markets? If the
president thinks that by delaying and praying deep into the
night, he would eventually get a bunch of angels as his team,
then he is in for a reality slap. Where is he going to find such
men and women? It is like looking for the perfect spouse.
There is no such creature.
And the president has another headache, as he plans to pick
only 19 ministers from a country of 36 states and 170
million people. The question is what criteria is he going to
use? Age, pedigree, credibility profile, competence, electoral
value or his personal relationship with the fellows?
Maybe, that is why the framers of the nation’s constitution
said the Federal Executive Council should consist of, at least,
one nominee from the 36 states – a provision Buhari doesn’t
like.
Those who defend the president say a minister each from
the states would be too expensive in a time of austerity. But
what do you do about this constitutional provision? Ignore it
and get a tribe of lawyers, chasing you? Under the old
dispensation, getting your ministers wasn’t such a big deal.
The president would have been relaxed by now, allowing the
governors to slug the matter out. And back at the states, it
would have been a rat race as the governors and the
henchmen spend hours, figuring out what names to send to
the president.
In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state, for example, it
would have just been a matter of zoning. So, if the governor
and his deputy were from, say zone A and zone B, the next
thing is for the minister to come from Zone C.
Balancing and a certain amount of fairness were the
watchword of the PDP as far allocation of offices was
concerned. Another crucial credential was the electoral
value of the nominee. Even now, in most states, the
governors would pick a team that would best deliver them
the badly needed votes on re-election day. What of
competence? Well, that is important too, but strategic
positing of people for electoral success is the number one
consideration.
In any case, most of the appointees at the state levels are,
sometimes, professionals in various fields. A doctor, for
instance, may grab the ministry of health as commissioner,
while a financial expert heads the finance ministry. A lawyer
in the team may end up becoming the Attorney General,
while a reporter normally gets the information portfolio. The
other appointments might just be reward for the victory
(jobs for the boys). And there is nothing outlandish about
this.
When people have laboured to usher in a government, they
sure deserve a piece of the action, don’t you think? I hope
the president knows all of these, as he continues his epic
search for the men and women, who would make or mar his
records in office. For the rest of us, we are excitedly waiting
to see who these angels are when he finally unveils them in
the “fullness of time.”
.
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