With Uche Nnadozie
Bow and go are probably the most popular words in the land today. I have heard them so much that they ring in my memory. Everywhere I go all I hear in my mind is “bow and go.” It is what it is and it’s the Senate of the republic that gave us the cliché. They invented it like they did “doctrine of necessity.” They have a way of coming up with these impossible coinages. From their hats, in “difficult” situations, the Senate which looks and sounds drab, sleepy and absent minded come up with some trickery. To be honest, underrate our senate at your own peril. Never be deceived by how they look. The wise ones say, never judge a book by its cover. Our senate is creative, in their dull outings births “bow and go” or “doctrine of necessity”. You can’t have it any better.
Eventually President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees were released last week after over 40 days of his swearing in. not too bad a wait considering that we waited six months in 2015. In all 13 former ministers were returned. Seven of the nominees are women, 43 nominees in total up by seven. This means all zones got an extra nominee. I do not have much issue with the nominations, except one or two former governors that in the past were accused of corruption but who have now been picked by the president. Or another guy that had issues with relating mismanaged or stolen petroleum subsidy. So if about three of these men and women are the black spots on the list, then it is not bad. This is speaking strictly on integrity.
On the other side, in terms of competence, I haven’t heard much complain either. I have only heard people talk about “technocrat” and for me it is annoying. In 2019 our public affairs commentators still think that there is much to tell about technocracy? Just four months ago elections held in this land. These so called technocrats were in this country yet could not muster any agenda or strategy that will make them win elections. They could not bring themselves together in droves to join the main political parties in Nigeria so to affect these parties’ internal democratic culture. They stood aside, watching from afar. When the battle was over, they began to lobby the winners to get a piece of the action. That is ridiculous. Nobody should pay them any heed. They should continue in their oversized self importance.
I insist, if technocrats can’t get down and dirty in the murky waters of politics by registering as party members, attending ward and other meetings, designing campaign strategies, contributing money to their parties of choice, they should not expect to get up in fine suits as ministers of the government. They are hypocrites and will not even do well if given the chance. Every so called technocrat should go and join a political party now if they are interested in appointive positions. 2023 will be here soon. But it must be said that there are many “technocrats” on the ministerial list. There are many experienced technocrats that have equally acquired public sector experience. When people realize that the largest pool of technocrats in any country is the bureaucracy (that is civil servants) the better informed we all shall be. To be a technocrat you must be trained in a particular field such that you have a technical understanding of what that field is about. Take for instance the ministry of works, is it not populated by all manner of engineers? Are engineers not technocrats?!
In the face of the debate on technocrats comes the issue of bow and go. The senate has made parts of the screening of the nominees a huge joke. In an instance, a nominee demanded to be allowed to bow and go because according to him, he and the senate had a cordial working relationship the last time he was a minister. In other instances, senators asked people to bow and go. It became some kind of standup comedy with demonstration and mimicking of some kind of action towards bowing and going. While some of the nominees gave a good account of themselves by answering probing questions, those asked to bow and go made it look as if they had nothing to offer so had to be protected by senators so that their underbelly will not be exposed. No that is not how to do this job!
Beyond the bow and go element, I do not understand why the senate will dissolve into the “committee of the whole” just to conduct confirmation hearings for nominees. Having the nominees appear in committees and sit face to face with Senators looks better. It gives better opportunity for real screening and offers the country better insight into the comportment and preparation of the nominee. I am not one of those that insist that a ministerial nominee must have attached to his or her nomination the portfolio before they can be properly screened. They all have CVs. You can screen anyone based on what is contained in their CVs or the areas of interest of the nominee. That should not be a bother. I don’t want to be fixated on what is not.
After all, the appointing authorities have always argued that they do not attach portfolio because a minster can be moved to any ministry at any time. So screening those on what they may be appointed to at first would have become useless. Attaching portfolio is not bad, but more important is the manner of screening. Let the senate begin to use the ad-hoc committee method. They can set up five different committees for the purposes of screening. That means there won’t be room for any bow and go.
