The Upper Crust

So that inauguration does not become a ritual (I)

 

I am not a fan of rituals. Please I am not referring to the type Africans nay Nigerians are used to; the type that warehousing female pants can turn you into an instant “millionaire” owner of a Mercedes Benz. Surely I am not referring to the typical Nigerian who though goes to church or mosque everyday, yet finds his or her way to some diviners or what we call babalawo, if you like dibia. This bablawo isn’t the type that mixes herbs, barks and roots; it is the one that slaughters chickens, goats and cows. The ritualists who indulge in spilling of blood and repeating same every time there is need to.
Climbing mountains, bathing in the open or placing ‘abo” filled with foodies at a tri-junction isn’t the ritual I refer to. I am also not a fan of this type if rituals.
But I refer to repeating the same thing because that is what has been agreed among stakeholders. In Nigeria, our political inauguration, end and beginning of tenures is on May 29th of every four years. So every four odd years, we hold elections and inaugurate new governments at state and federal levels. We equally renew mandates at this time. So elections were held two or three months ago. The outcomes will inform who gets what by Wednesday; while I am elated that in spite of the unfulfilled promises that democracy holds- yet I am proud that we have done this for 20 years non stop. Debaters are out there trying to make sense of how far we have come, but placed beside military rule (the Nigerian version) I will always chose this democracy!
Yet we can’t stop or get intoxicated by the mere appearance of regular elections. The ritual of a four-yearly change or renewal of mandate must begin to make meaning to the Nigerian people. Asides from the bread and butter part of governance there are other areas our politicians fail. Chief among them is the optics of leadership. We tend to believe that our politics has no luster that can inspire creativity, unity and patriotism. It does! The individual politician is the one that can inspire this. I hope to see that in the coming years beginning from Wednesday. If we accept that this government at the federal level spent four years trying to re-jig our fundamentals, it is only fair that we begin to see panache and élan in the next four.
I expect the president to name his personal staff on the night of Wednesday or Thursday morning. Speed may not have worked in his first four years, but President Muhammadu Buhari cannot afford to toe the line of a snail this time because there are urgent actions that need to be taken. I expect also that by Thursday or latest weekend, all service chiefs should have been relieved and new ones appointed immediately. Although I’m not a fan of where an appointee at that level comes from, however I expect for the president to look over his shoulders in naming names this time. For whatever it is worth, he must get in smart and knowledgeable people that can face the realities of our current existence. We need new approaches to solving new challenges. Things are changing pretty fast.
The same way I expect that t he outgoing Senate should receive his list of advisers so that they can quickly approve before their dissolution. I will be utterly disappointed if the president’s list of ministers is not ready. After four years in power, Buhari cannot say he hasn’t met Nigerians that he can use as ministers or key staff.
This time, there is no need to put average people there. The emotionalism of haven survived a recession with this crop of ministers does not now mean they all must be retained. I expect 60-70 percent of the ministers to go. Four years after which are unprecedented in our history is enough for any serious minister to make his or her mark. I salute the president for giving ministers enough time to prove their mettle.
The next four years are the last that this president will have the chance to lead the country. Whatever he wants his legacy to be will be determined by those he picks to work with him. After 2023 there is no second chance. If he wants economic prosperity then he should reach out and get the best as his people now are not the best. We need a new finance minister and a new Economic Adviser. We need to joggle folks who work within the economic team. The current Chief Economic Adviser should go back to where he came from. We have a reclusive president; there is no need to pack his cabinet with people like him.
Another critical area I think deserves change is the public relations and information management department in government. Lai Mohammed didn’t do justice to his ministry. He did not introduce anything. He just sustained the status quo. He didn’t brand the government well or introduce a feedback mechanism for active ministries on how to reach Nigerians. He didn’t rebrand the image of ministries, departments and agencies. He didn’t restructure NTA, FRCN, VOA or NAN. Those information agencies continued in their unimaginative state. Their news output is bland in all ramifications. I don’t even want to reference the media unit in the presidency. Senior colleagues they are, but they should be restricted to writers not the face of the president on television. They are simply poor.

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