Paul Nwabuikwu canvasses the appointment of those who are fit for purpose
There is a ritual that follows elections in the most developed nations of the world. A few days after the loud and colourful campaigning, the noise and controversies, soon after the swearing in of the winners, and the inauguration of the new government, a change of guards takes place.
In the new choreography, executed with parade ground precision, most of the colourful characters who played prominent roles in the campaigns – not all, of course – start receding into the shadows as they are replaced by new, distinctly different players. You may call them the boring ones.
In unfashionable monochrome suits, carrying well-used briefcases, they emerge from academia, industry, the professions and other points of the local and international … space to take up cabinet positions and other key roles. Their educational backgrounds, major influences, previous positions, ideological preferences and records are tracked and analyzed by the media and pundits in order to assess their fitness for their new roles and predict their likely policy preferences based on their antecedents.
Based on this multifaceted process of investigation and analysis, the media, think tanks, the labor unions and other stakeholder groups proceed to oppose, criticize and, most of all, hold the government and the appointees responsible.
This process also has some deterrent value. Knowing that public interest in the kind of persons appointed into critical government positions is high, that rigorous questions will be asked, incoming governments do their best to hire persons who not only have something to offer but are seen as having something to offer. They have to, because the government’s electoral fate – how long it survives in power – is tied to its performance on the issues that are priorities to voters.
Things are, of course, very different here. Before and after elections, there is plenty of feverish speculation about who will end up where as ministers or heads of agencies or top aides to the president, vice president and other powerful new appointees. But the focus is not on the high points of the educational history or professional careers of such persons (or lack thereof). No. The quality and competence of persons appointed to head key ministries, departments and agencies is hardly on the front burner. Rather, what dominates the headlines, political analyses and conversations in high and low places is who will get what position because of how much they “invested” in the polls and how close they are to those who matter. And this includes wives, friends, business partners, marabouts, prayer warriors and other persons who have their ears. In other words, the focus is on access and proximity to power, not knowledge, capacity, passion or any of the qualities than should improve the chances that a prospective appointee can add value to the office or position.
Related to this mindset is the idea of “juicy” ministries and agencies – one of the most destructive concepts in Nigerian politics and governance. This is of course a reference to MDAs which have huge budgets appropriated to them because of their functions. But the focus is not on the great good which the big budgets can help these ministries and agencies achieve, but on the political influence which those who head them can wield as a result of the budget. This is useful to the political party in power because the “chieftain” in a lucrative ministerial position can unofficially contribute a significant portion of the budget to the party’s election budget. In effect, the minister in charge of a juicy ministry is not primarily a servant of the state or the Nigerian people but a party member whose assignment is to redirect the budget to help his party win elections. Public interest and welfare is a distant second. Is there any wonder governance is sub-optimal?
If Nigeria’s political system and practices were more fit for purpose, the process of selecting the right persons for critical cabinet and non-cabinet positions would be more focused and rigorous. The right questions would drive the process.
Who would be a nominee for minister of power, for instance? How much would he or she know about the critical electricity sector which has underperformed for virtually the entire duration of the country’s history, and perhaps more than any other factor, is responsible for Nigeria’s serial lack of productivity? What did he or she study and in what institutions and how relevant is that to the role? Perhaps more important, what about his/her professional and entrepreneurial records? What relevant experience would he or she have? What about his or her views on the best ways to tackle the political, financial and institutional challenges that hobble the power sector? Would he or she have a reputation for high performance or is the individual one of those creatures who have achieved a profitable career out of doing favours for politicians while looking good in a babanriga, agbada or a well-cut “senator” outfit?
The quality of a political system is not determined by a superior constitution but quality execution of its mandates especially by quality persons in critical elected and appointed positions. As the nation approaches 2023, there is an urgent need to reconsider some of the squalid traditions behind the appointment of unqualified underperformers into important positions that are critical to achieving progress in the many areas where we are lagging behind. With all key economic indices down, joblessness and insecurity rampant, we are running out of chances. The country simply cannot afford to continue the kind of uninspiring, nation-destroying recruitment practices that have held us down for so long.
The era of appointing colourful “chieftains” whose loyalty is to base and illegal party diktats, and not the best interests of the nation, needs to come to an end. Nigeria needs the right kind of boring persons in key ministries, agencies and other positions, people who are focused on making things happen for the country, not for themselves, godfathers and the party. And we need them fast.
Nwabuikwu is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board
