The 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, provides that the president shall constitute his cabinet not more than 60 days after his assumption of office. This particular provision of the constitution ensures that the federal executive arm of government does not have a vacuum and can quickly swing to its statutory responsibility of implementing policies and programmes that will significantly impact lives through its various departments, ministries and agencies.
Up until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu released the first batch of his ministerial nominees to the senate for screening on Monday, July 31, 2023, Nigerians had put forward several permutations as to who would get the honour to be included in the president’s cabinet. Some of the values expected to be considered by the president in his selection of his ministers included; equity, merit, loyalty and political expediency. The names that have emerged on the ministerial list so far have been considered to represent the mix of these variables.
Even though the portfolios for each of the nominated individuals have yet to be disclosed, commentators have lauded President Tinubu for meeting the deadline and the calibre of individuals he has chosen to help him implement his plans at the various ministries of the state.
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In the media, the cliché ‘’Juicy ministries’’ appears often and is being used to dissect the differential powers and/or the competitive advantages of the ministries in the political landscape of the country. Even though the cliché is arguably no more than a symbolic expression of the ministries which are deemed to be highly important due to their direct economic impacts and budgetary allocation, the unintended consequences of this representation are more than meets the eye.
The dichotomy of the juicy and the non-juicy ministries, as often promoted in the media, does not only have a tendency to encourage complacency and lack of competition and innovation in the ministries, it also subtly promotes the mindset and culture of corruption in the people. Furthermore, a sense of entitlement and personal aggrandizement festers as politicians continue to lobby to be assigned to the juicy Ministries regardless of their capacity to deliver in these areas. Therefore, it is important that the media which is supposed to be the conscience of the people reconsiders this parlance and the negative effects it could have on the wiring and the political consciousness of the over two hundred million Nigerians.
It goes without saying that the efficiency and the relevance of a ministry or any government corporation rest on the capacity of its leadership to innovate, not on the amount of resources it is bestowed with. This has been demonstrated by some previous ministers and heads of government parastatals who were able to combine agility with lean management techniques to execute their vision at their respective departments or agencies. Technocrats such as Omotayo Omotosho, Dora Akunyili, Mohammed Nami of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, etc are exemplary visionaries that have proven governance is a serious business.
Nigerians will not forget the daredevil of late Dora Akunyili which she used to transform the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, under the ministry of health. The ingenuity of Omotayo Omotosho MFR also led to an outstanding feat in the ministry of Arts, Culture, and Tourism. As Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC, under the then Obasanjo-led administration, Omotayo Omotosho introduced public private partnership (PPP) to develop the corporation from almost a zilch funding to several million of dollars in revenue.
I believe these are the narratives and feats we must begin to replicate and extend as a people if we hope to take our governance and public administration from where it is to where it should be. Government, especially at the executive level, should also be allowed to run like a business to encourage competitive zest among the departments and agencies. This is why some individuals have continued to advocate for the recruitment of technocrats to lead the ministries and government corporations.