News of last week’s shakeup in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) did not surprise many. As a matter of fact, it was good news in some quarters, except that the axing coincided with the time President Jonathan needed to play some rough tackles, meaning that some of those who fell by the way side may have been victims of the moment, not that they were such terribly bad guys on the job.
Talking generally about performance, it is not an easy thing to say one minister did well and the other did not. All ministries do not have equal and similar challenges, as well as visibility. Ministries do not receive the same amount of budgetary attention, because some are in the frontline. For instance, the budget for the defence ministry is far more than that of women affairs or that for the youth ministry. You cannot also compare the petroleum ministry or finance ministry with that of environment or lands, housing and urban development. Ministries operate at different frequencies. While the works ministry is in the news everyday because its activities are more obvious, science and technology, on the other hand, is simply not in the regular consciousness of many, because it does not immediately deal with billions and multiple contracts. But the truth is that no ministry should be treated or ranked as second eleven, because when the chips are down, it is ministries like science and technology that should get Nigeria out of the woods.
The point is that those ministers who are seen to be doing well may have conveniently leveraged on other variables. Fair and good. That is not to say that some other ministers are not inherently lazy, colourless and just adding to the figures, to fulfill the constitutional requirement that the FEC should reflect federal character. In terms of numbers, the 36 states plus Abuja have to be well represented in the FEC. Five other ministers, catering to other interests are added to bring the list to 42. Compared to the United States’ federal cabinet, what we have here seems extra large and the selection process does not place serious emphasis on a rich background experience and competence.
A fairer assessment of ministers therefore, should be one that takes the entire administration into focus. Twice did President Jonathan promise that his FEC would hit the ground running; first was when he took over after his former principal passed on in 2010 and then after the May 29, 2011 inauguration of his new government. Nigerians were assured that the President, who was speaking from a painful experience, knew what he was talking about. The FEC, which he met in office in 2010, had all the trappings of what a federal executive should not be. They were so extremely partisan that, rather than do what the constitution required of them in the event of a sick president, they formed cliques to make the Presidency rather impregnable. They were more of blind loyalists than public servants. So, when Jonathan promised that his own FEC would hit the ground running, Nigerians believed, but they could not hit any ground because soon after, it was campaign time for 2011. Little was done in terms of development of infrastructure and governance.
After the inauguration of May 2011, it took a bit of time for the present FEC to be composed and citizens felt it was better to take time to do a thorough job. When the FEC was put together, there were flashes of brilliance, but the overall atmosphere did not change. The FEC, since 1999 is seen by the owners, that is the PDP as their own way of settling party men who did well for the party during elections. That is okay, but service delivery should not suffer because of party affiliation.
The performance so far is not good enough, as far as citizens can see. It is a different thing when government continues to insist it has done well. Doing well is not for government to preach, it is for citizens to feel. If citizens feel fine, government would save itself the embarrassment of dubious propaganda.
Take the defence ministry for instance, the woman who had managed the portfolio until last week, Erelu Obada is a lawyer and former deputy governor. Even though she did her best to manage the ministry, I’m not aware she had any prior experience on defence matters. She held the ministry after the substantive minister, a former acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) Bello Harillu Mohammed was told to go home at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency. The Defence ministry has cost Nigerians so much in the last two budget years and what we had was more of learning on the job. It is understandable that Boko Haram is a peculiarly horrible and demanding phenomenon. But what about oil theft and kidnapping? Why would the entire government be so hopelessly unable to police the country’s sensitive oil resource, and earn more money to provide better life for the people? Why should kidnapping become so challenging for government and small arms so uncontrollable?
Hoping that the next person for that ministry is not coming to learn on the job.
The point is that the selection process tends to be more political, because one big man from the state has to nominate somebody to represent the state at Abuja. If the person nominated is very good and makes the government proud, the chief executive (Jonathan) could decide to pick extra interest in the person. But if the person is not good enough and his principal back in the state is also not showing sufficient loyalty, then it is likely that such minister will be penciled down, waiting for when there will be a shakeup.
That was the insinuation last week, but Information minister, Labaran Maku claimed the Presidency wants to inject fresh blood into the system and sharpen its focus after a mid term review. He dispelled claims that the sack was more of a political act at an injury time.
The worry now is that Jonathan is warming up to join the 2015 presidential race. Tony Anenih, chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees told the party’s post-mini convention audience, last Sunday, that come October, anyone who has interest in 2015 should own up and let the beat commence.
And I ask, is it in the frenzy of another break-neck speed into 2015 that Jonathan wants to inject fresh blood into the FEC? The President knows too well, that he has just 2014 to improve on his government’s level of service delivery, which at the moment is abysmally low and unimpressive; and that a hot pursuit of election is a huge distraction for governance. The question is, how does he now want to inject fresh blood at this injury time; if the blood is so fresh, will it not be another exercise of learning on the job, which could be more disastrous for project 2015?
I prefer to align with those who think there is more than meets the eye, regarding last week’s sack. I think the time is not good enough for Coach Jonathan to tamper with his team, unless it will help him to strategise effectively for the major game ahead (2015). Otherwise, it won’t be worth it, because even if there are game changers out there to bring on board, the mood in the ruling party does not favour any serious governance business.
Why because, on the scale of performance, the education ministry, for instance, has not seen any significant improvement since 1999. It is the same story of strikes, collapsed infrastructure, brain drain and falling standards. Many people did not actually expect any dramatic shift until GEJ promised transformation. And now that we have seen his capacity, he does not need to hide behind service delivery to embark on a shakeup.
Everyone knows that governors who have shown gross disrespect cannot be entrusted with the next game. Their loyalists, whether as ministers or advisers cannot also be trusted as national delegates of the ruling party. This is the time to shop for men and women who will not disappoint at the Eagle’s Square. That is the next major item on the agenda.
A reminder Mr. President! Please, do not forget the constituency of your dear wife, Patience. Remember that women have stood solidly behind you since 2010 and this is not the time to offload them ignominiously, no matter the sins of their principals. The major casualties of the sack were women, five hardworking women. This government has been good to women, giving them good positions in very high places, because they also worked hard for GEJ in 2011.
Those who have been asked to go did pretty well, given their individual capacities and the overall template. They were all not flamboyant, decent women, good carriage, as far as eye can see. Let there be commensurate replacements for these ones, so that 2015 will not be all about hard tackles.
By Alabi Williams
