The Ministers we need

I t is cheering and heart-warming that the new government of Muhammadu Buhari has realised the importance of pragmatism in tackling the monumental social and economic challenges that have constituted an impediment on the path of moving the resources-rich but poorly managed nation out of the blighted, if even self-inflicted woods it has found itself for much of its post-independent history, especially its recent democratic experiment that started in 1999 with no tangible dividends for her long-suffering citizens.

Nothing encapsulates this pragmatic praxis than the recent declaration by the President that he’s going for quick-fix of the economy with a fewer ministries than his predecessor in office, Goodluck Jonathan.

As a newspaper, we identify with Buhari’s vision of a fewer ministries given the parlous state of the economy and the reality that there’s a lot of duplication of roles by some of these ministries. In Mr. Buhari’s thinking this is a good opportunity to right-size in view of lean finances , and if there’s any point in which the President’s feelings are in synergy with those of the majority of Nigerians it is precisely on the issue of bloated size of the cabinet.

We only hope this is not a one-off grandstanding as is common with leaders who are trying to win the heart and mind of the people, but who eventually normally chicken out of doing the needful as a result of political pressure, consideration for second term, wharts and all. But given the reputation of Mr. Buhari, we are persuaded that as a man of few words who is not given to glib talks, there’s a need to believe he’s the sort of man to right-size the civil service with a view to bringing in the needed change to make it viable and result-oriented away from the flippancy with which it is currently characterised at a great cost to the nation. To achieve this is symbolically like the 12-task of the famed Hercules, as it would require will-power and strong determination, in this wise, Mr. Buhari would be better advised to convince his party apparatchik and their caucauses at the National Assembly to work towards a constitutional change with respect to bringing down the number of ministers to the right-size that the state of the economy can accommodate.

The President may need to convince his party to give him enough lacuna and latitude to appoint technocrats to positions that are important to the survival of the economy. Appointing a party men who are in the dark about the intricacies of their ministries will prove counter-productive in the long run.

It is a dangerous road to follow to allow politics to be all of it, a situation Mr. Buhari may not want given his reputation and the confidence majority of Nigerians reposed in him because of his alleged integrity and openness. What we need now is a set of ministers that can drive growth and development, those that actually know their onions and have a grasp of the signs of the time.

As a newspaper, Mr. Buhari , we believe has taken the right step to merge ministries, but we urge you to go for the best to drive that change you promised, since it is a condition precedent that quality of your cabinet will determine the degree of your success or failure, since in the final analysis when your government will come under scrutiny by coming generations, it will not be referred to as ministers’government but the government of Mr. Buhari