Issues
Task Before Buhari’s Ministers
It is a well-known fact that President Muhammadu Buhari has sworn-in new ministers of his cabinet to take responsibility for each of the government ministries in Nigeria. Having been inaugurated and assigned portfolios by Mr. President, a lot is expected and it is imperative that they hit the ground running.
As we all know, Nigeria is faced with many incontrovertible challenges, ranging from youth restiveness, killings, kidnapping to poor road networks, Fulani herdsmen, poor drainage, religious upheavals, unstable electricity, thugs, economic recession, infrastructure decay, inadequate learning facilities and ravaging flood in the country, among others. It is, therefore, imperative that all hands must be on deck to reduce these challenges to the barest minimum. Our roads are bad and most federal roads have become death traps. This must change.
Recently, the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, conducted an online poll where he asked Nigerians for their opinions and suggestions on how to move the transport sector forward. In as much as it is a welcome development, most polls conducted in the past had ended up in the drawers. Our roads need to be fixed. The level of their degradation is visible even to the blind.
Up to the early 1980s, rail was one of the major means of transportation in Nigeria. But right now, rail workers have since been sent home as retirees. Our trains have been converted into shops and most of their parts sold as containers to businessmen and women. This ought not to be. Our trains must return and must be functional for the interest of Nigerians.
It is also necessary for the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, to ensure that there is synergy between Nigerian workers and the Federal Government. All issues pertaining to strike and workers remunerations should be adequately dealt with. Workers in institutions of higher learning must not be owed and all disagreements regarding payment of their salaries should be resolved amicably.
There is a huge need to commend the previous ministry of health on the way it tackled the Ebola crisis under the administration of Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. If such cases of Ebola should re-occur today, can the present ministry handle it in a much better way, where there will be no loss of lives of both citizens and medical personnel?
The courage of late Dr Amego Adedavoh, a renowned physician at First Consultant Hospital, Lagos, who laid down her life to protect the lives of millions of Nigerians during the Ebola crisis should not be forgotten in a hurry.
On the youth front, restiveness can be tackled through engaging the youth in meaningful activities. It is the responsibility of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, to create avenues for meaningful engagement of these youths.
Sports clubs should be formed, talent hunt programmes should be promoted in all the six-geo-political zones. By so doing, more youths are taken off the streets and crime rate will hopefully reduce.
Our youths who are interested in sporting activities should be encouraged, scholarships be granted to qualified and talented ones, so as to carve a niche for themselves in the sporting world. Nigeria has the talent to produce more Mary Onyalis, Blessing Okagbares and Chioma Ajunwas who will make Africa and the entire globe proud.
The minister is expected to set machineries in motion to scout and fish out talents from all nooks and crannies within the shores of the nation. During the reign of Dr Jonathan, Nigeria overtook South Africa as the fastest growing economy in Africa. But currently, the reverse is the case.
Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had a vision to make Nigeria one of the 20 biggest economies in the world by the year 2020.
The newly appointed ministers need to brace up for the tasks of economic recovery ahead and contribute to build upon the administration’s roadmap of policies, programmes and projects that will lift the bulk of Nigerians out of poverty and set them on the road to prosperity.
They should be duly responsible for the development and implementation of policies, programmes and projects in consonance with government priorities. They must also ensure that agencies under their ministries are effective, efficient and accountable in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Clearly, Nigerians deserve better than they have had thus for. They expect a new cabinet that would be filled with technocrats and professionals and where there is the need to bring in politicians, such characters must glow with sterling track records of accomplishments in their past public assignments and with best ideas that can move the nation forward.
A situation where about 70 per cent of the present cabinet are mere bench warmers would not be acceptable to Nigerians. The new cabinet must have the capacity to drive sustainable economic growth, job creation and ability to enhance good governance through delivery of tangible dividends of democracy to the masses of Nigeria.
It is expedient to ensure that the policy agenda, such as the one involving poverty reduction through lifting millions, drives ministerial interventions.
It may be necessary for the Presidency to create a green book containing an outline form, the principal points of departure embodied in such documents as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Social Protection Policies of the administration. It may take a while, especially for ministers both old and new to achieve the desired knowledge base. But time spent on it should be seen as a trade-off to avoid inertia, dilatoriness and fumbling. For the purpose of efficiency, we can raise the question, how do we know of a particular minister has performed well or not?
Well, short of impressionistic data, based on output, the best way is to set performance objectives with metrics to measure diligence or tax application. This has been much talked about by this and previous governments but has never been faithful, if at all, implemented. That kind of scientific approach, common in the private sector, should also include public perception of the performance of the ministers, which situates the problem at the user end of the chain. If applied, this will reduce but cannot fully eliminate such subjective factors as closeness to the president, ability to shout party slogans and propaganda.
Another imperative is for the Presidency to exercise leadership regarding desired policy changes as well as their implementation, considering that no minister can move faster than the president himself who is both the visioner and the policy coordinator.
Within their first three months in office, they should begin to make impact or, at least, demonstrate a sense of purpose in such areas as improved electricity generation, transmission and distribution, job creation, the current security situation, poverty reduction and infrastructural upliftment. They need to make a real difference and we wish them luck as they set out to do so.
Endemic corruption, impunity, lawlessness, weak institutions, delay in justice administration, multiple taxation as well as unfair trade practices are some of the challenges the new cabinet is expected to tackle.
They must restore investors’ confidence considering the country’s rating by the World Bank as one of the fastest growing economies.
The nation needs to get out of the present malaise by embarking on massive infrastructure building and renewal programme; social spending and protection, improved consumer spending; job creation, and expansionist fiscal and monetary policies.
It is imperative for the government to embark on public enlightenment and awareness of its policies and programmes, so that the citizenry will be in a position to determine whether the government has failed or has succeeded in pulling the country from the economic, social and political quagmire that has long existed in Nigeria.
The fight against corruption will be won the day we have a judiciary and security agencies that want corruption to be eradicated in Nigeria. Let the philosophy that “we want an end to corruption” be imbibed by all the members of the security agencies and the judiciary, and we will witness a drastic reduction, if not an end, to corruption.
A virile judiciary, competent security agencies and a political will on the part of the executive will end impunity and enthrone the rule of law in Nigeria.
For the 20 years of this democracy, we have not heard or seen any new road constructions and expansions. All the roads that the Federal Government is finding difficult to repair were constructed during the military era, this is shameful.
To be specific, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway should be addressed, the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway in Lagos should be expanded; the Ikot-Ekpene-Ikwuano Road; Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway; Owerri-Port Harcourt Road; Enugu-Umuahia Road; Onitsha-Owerri Road and all the bad federal roads in the South East, South West, South-South, North-East, North-West and North-Central States should be repaired and expanded.
The cabinet should tackle the legal issues that impede on the ability of states and individuals to generate and supply power to those who need it. It will be disastrous for this dispensation if they fail to find a permanent solution to the perennial darkness in the land. Nigerians need stable and regular power supply daily; it is feasible.
The new cabinet must also look into the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on importations and foreign exchange and remove unnecessary bottle-necks and ease business transactions.
Considering the dwindling price of oil in the international market, they should think out of the box and stop relying on federal allocation for all and everything. They should all agree to reduce their over-bloated security apparatus to avoid sending messages of insecurity to potential investors and they must reduce drastically the size of their aides as it is obvious the economy can no longer cater for political parasites.
They should say no to all forms of political razz-matazz by drastically reducing their convoys and stop harassing other road users. It is believed that an era of accountability has come to stay. Hence, we should think beyond ourselves, for the future generation of Nigerians.
Can this new cabinet transform Nigeria to a great nation free from all forms of negativity and corruption? Well, time shall tell, whether or not Buhari and his ministers would be able to tackle the poor state of Nigeria’s economy.
Bethel Toby
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
