For the first time in his six years, President Muhammadu Buhari sacked his power and agriculture ministers, a development that surprised many Nigerians. Sacking or changing of ministers is not new. During the administrations of Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, Nigerians witnessed cabinet changes frequently. The sins of most of the sacked ministers hinged on poor performance and corruption.
Other ministers who had a political misunderstanding with their state governors were not also spared. However, looking at the high expectations that greeted the Buhari’s administration and the role of ministers in delivering democracy dividends, many Nigerians thought that their scorecard would be impressive. Unfortunately, to the dismay of many, President Buhari has failed to scrutinize his cabinet’s performance hence they came under severe criticism or attacks over poor performance. Do you know the buck always stop on his table?
With the exception of Kemi Adeosun, former Minister of Finance, who bowed to pressure and resigned from government over allegation of NYSC certificate forgery, President Buhari has never effected any cabinet reshuffle. Could this be an indication that Mr President is fully satisfied with the performances of his ministers? If the answer is yes, why the sudden sack? Nigerians need to know whether the ministry of agriculture under the erstwhile minister, Sabo Nanono, has fared well within the two years he served or not. They also need to know what happened to our power sector in the last two years under Sale Mamman. Have Nigerians gotten the very best of them? What about the stable power supply and food value chains? Have they improved under their watch? President Muhammadu Buhari is right to have done the needful by sacking them. Power and agriculture ministries have not delivered the policies expected of them.
Whatever might have been the reasons, President Buhari should not hesitate to wield the big stick on his non-performing ministers. Many of his ministers have failed to align with his change agenda. The sacking of the ministers should serve as a wake- up call to other ministers to brace up and help the administration to deliver its campaign promises in the remaining years.
• Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State
