At last, President Bola Tinubu walked the talk and rejigged his cabinet last week. He eased out five ministers and injected fresh breath into the cabinet by appointing seven fresh ministers.
Those sacked were: Uju-Ken Ohanenye, ex- Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John(Tourism); Tahir Mamman (Education); Abdullahi Gwarzo (State, Housing and Urban Development) and Jamila Ibrahim (Youth Development).
The fresh appointees included: Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, who is to man the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Muhammadu Dingyadi, assigned to the Labour and Productivity portfolio; Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu(State, Foreign Affairs) and Dr. Jumoke Oduwole(Industry, Trade and Industry).
Others were: Idi Mukhtar Maiha(Livestock Development Ministry); Yusuf Ata(State, Housing and Urban Development) and Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad(State, Education).
The President also redeployed 10 ministers, wound up the Ministry of Sports, reverting all its functions to the National Sports Commissions and merged two ministries, among other actions.
The Presidency explained that these actions were part of the “eight far-reaching actions” undertaken by the President “to invigorate the administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency, pursuant to his commitment to deliver on his promise to Nigerians.”
This is a welcome development. Nigerians had been expecting the reshuffle with bated breath, as the socio-economic headwinds assailing the nation are becoming rougher and the tidal waves more tempestuous.
The Presidency had predicated the reshuffle upon wishes of members of the public. It said the President merely pandered to what Nigerians wanted. It was gathered that a portal had been opened by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Ms Bala Hadiza Usman, former Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) Managing Director, where interested members of the public were implored to appraise the cabinet members. The President simply acted on what people said, The Presidency clarified.
Good. Whether the reshuffle was far-reaching enough in view of the almost over-arching expectations of Nigerians for change, is another matter. However, this kind of opportunity for members of the public to have a say in the running of government, which can translate to a robust feedback mechanism, if it is dispassionately handled, addition to keeping political appointees constantly on their toes, should be encouraged. The portal should be maintained and publicised more for more Nigerians to participate, while Mr. President should also periodically respond in good faith to the wishes of the people through the portal.
President Tinubu deserves a thumbs up. He, in fact, scored a sort of a bullseye, for mustering the courage to effect the reshuffle about 17 months into his administration, compared to his predecessor, former President Muhammadu Buhari, who left his cabinet intact, allowing almost a third of them, including service chiefs,to flounder against the tide of tardiness, cluelessness and utter incompetence.
And the economy plummeted in dire straits and large swathes of our landscape became killing fields, resulting from the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen who operated with unprecedented impunity. It was only close to the twilight of his administration, precisely September 1, 2021 when it was almost too late, that he reluctantly replaced two of his ministers.
In reassigning some of the ministers, some analysts believe that the President is retooling to return round pegs to round holes with a view to reinvigorating his Renewed Hope agenda with fresh gusto. The case readily cited is that of Dr. Doris, who has been redeployed from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry to that of Finance to pair with the Minister of Finance-cum-Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun.
Doris’s financing expertise as an astute banker with decades of industry experience in the banking sector will be needed now that the economy continues to bleed. Analysts who know the seven appointees well said some of them are round pegs in round holes.
The President about the same time also limited the number of vehicles on the official convoys of ministers, ministers of state and heads of government’s agencies and parastatals to three and their security details to five—four policemen and a Director of State Security(DSS).
In a memo personally signed, the President directed the National Security Adviser(NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, to ensure immediate implementation of the directive and also collaborate with heads of military and para-military agencies to determine the reduction in their own convoys and security details.
This, no doubt, is a bold move towards the right direction because calls from Nigerians have been strindent that the government should adopt cost-saving measures to redeem the fragile economy. We enjoin the President not only to extend the cost-saving policy gradually to critical sectors of the economy, he should leverage on his wide presidential powers and moral suasion to make the policy percolate through other levels of government, especially the National Assembly and state governors. It certainly cannot be business as usual because our comatose economy can no longer sustain the profligacy and ostentation of most of our political leaders.
The influential Financial Times, in its caustic but factual analysis of the Nigerian situation around July, this year, had admonished our political leaders to join the people to also make sacrifices, cut costs and use part of the savings from fuel subsidy removal to palliate whom it called “the most economically vulnerable” as “Hunger levels are soaring and millions of children are foregoing meals and school.”
Indeed, the economy is presenting the image of a patient that is not responding to medications. The harsh economic policies have continued to spiral inflation, plunging Nigerians deeper into hunger, poverty and misery.
The latest World Bank Development Update(WBDU) on Nigeria, released in Abuja penultimate Thursday, painted a grimmer and gloomier picture about the poverty situation in the country. The report said over 129 million Nigerians are currently trapped in poverty, representing a sharp rise from 40.1 per cent in 2018 to 56.0 per cent in 2024.
“With growth proving too slow to outpace inflation, poverty has risen sharply,” said the report by the global financial body, adding: “Since 2018, the figure of Nigerians living before the national poverty line is estimated to have risen sharply from 40.1 per cent to 56.0 per cent in 2024. Combined with population growth, this means that some 129 million Nigerians are in poverty…”
The report added that there was an increase from 115 million in 2023 to 129 million Nigerians who have become poorer this year. In other words, about 14 million Nigerians have fallen into the poverty line this year alone. It is instructive that the report attributed the surge to inflation, poor economic management and external shocks. Similarly, the average price of commodities has increased by 45.29 pers cent to 32.70 per cent, going by the headline inflation rate released for September, 2024 by the National Bureau of Statistics( NBS). The rate shows a 10 per cent point rise from 22.41 per cent recorded in May, 2023.
The level of hardships is becoming almost unbearable. The managers of the economy need to return to the drawing board constantly to determine if their economic prescriptions are actually working or not. Besides, they should build buffers or bulwarks that will palliate the critical segments of the vulnerable population. There has to be some succour to thaw out the restive population.
