Opinion: Weaklings in Federal executive council, by Kola Amzat
Since the turn of 4th Republic in 1999, this political dispensation seems the very first time the country is blessed with a president assiduously and sincerely working with his heart & soul for the prosperity, growth, and development of our nation.
President Bola Tinubu seems to be too much in a hurry to make Nigeria regain the lost grounds, as well as reclaiming her eminent and prominent status in the comity of the greater nations.
At 71+, he’s turned to human dynamo, relentlessly and uncompromisingly moving with patriotic zeal and uncommon vigour to all parts of the globe, especially those locations where he expects real investments to flow into Nigeria’s economy.
Since his inauguration as president, he’s been to all top business forum and sessions that the country has been invited around the globe, with the sole objective of making case for Nigeria, through cultivating global business leaders and very accomplished & foreign investors to consider Nigeria as their investment destination.
Of course, he’s not disregarding the top local entrepreneurs and investors, who we reliably learnt, he personally engages both nocturnally, as well as in the day time having only one focus in mind: how Nigeria could reclaim her lost glory.
But, it’s instructive to note that the president can’t do it alone.
Nigeria, a hugely diverse geographical entity, is the largest black nation on earth with about 230-240 million people, with tremendous resources, both in mineral endowment and human resources.
But, the burden of leading and managing this uniquely endowed country shouldn’t be on the president alone.
The president has done remarkably well by identifying Nigerians he believes he could work with, appointed them as ministers and accordingly assigned them portfolios he’s of the view they individually have capacity and experience to handle and comfortably superintend.
However, after six months in the saddle, very few of the cabinet ministers seem to appreciate the onerous responsibility(s) that have been placed on their shoulders.
For sure, Nigerians don’t have to await the result of evaluation of Hadiza Bala-Usman’s Policy Coordination Office before confirming performing or non-performing ministers, after-all their operational activities are visible enough for all to see.
Even though, few have boldly and admirably move to take charge, as well as providing strategic direction and focus for their respective ministries, prominent of them are ministers in charge of FCT, Interior, Digital Economy, Sports Development, Solid Minerals, Works & Housing, Finance, Budget & Economic Planning etc, others haven’t really grappled with the demands of their assigned portfolios, as they haven’t yet proved they’re prepared to work in sync with the 7 points Agenda of the president, as encapsulated in the Renewed Hope.
As I put this Piece together, no short or medium nor long term measures to revive the nation collapsed industrial sector has come from the office of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments. In fact, she’s not deemed it fit to visit any of the Industrial Estate scattered around the country, prominent of which are Ikeja, Ilupeju, Apapa, Ikorodu, Agbara, Kano, Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis, with a view of having strategic session with their management and availing herself with first-hand information in respect of numerous challenges and how they would collaborate with the government to fashion a way out.
Also, except for the numerous investment initiatives being canvassed personally by the president on his numerous trips to business meetings and forum around the globe, there is no report of this minister personally putting up an interactive session either with group of local or foreign investors on the strategy(s) to deploy to attract new investments to Nigeria economy, as well as making spirited efforts for the purpose of retention of the existing ones.
Meanwhile, it’s the same minister who was a subject of intense scrutiny at the senate for budgeting a whopping ₦1 billion for just a foreign trip.
Till date, what bilateral or multilateral trade relationship has the minister brokered between Nigeria and any foreign or group of foreign countries/business groups since her inauguration into the office?
Meanwhile, the country need the ministry to function at very optimum level if we expect turn-around in the investment inflows, scourge of unemployment and economic diversification.
Nigerians haven’t noticed the impact of Minister of Agricultures since his assumption of office. Prices of agricultural produce are perhaps the highest in the market, frighteningly getting out of the reach of downtrodden Nigeria.
This is most embarrassing, frustrating and unacceptable in a country with favorable and largely predictable weather, spacious and fertile land all over to cultivate. What are the minister’s plans to reverse this very horrendous trend?
It’s also not out of place to enquire on the minister’s plans to revive existing dilapidated dams, and perhaps, constructing a new ones for the purpose of making agricultural produce to flow in abundance. He’s not availed Nigerians with this information.
Benue, Abuja, Kano, Taraba, Gombe etc are food basket of the nation. The Minister hasn’t given the nation concrete plans on how to strengthen these locations with resources in form of modern equipment and agricultural inputs to ensure that they turn in optimum productivity for the nation both for domestic consumption and exports for commercial purposes.
And, of course, Nigerians haven’t heard from the minister his plans to resuscitate Agricultural settlement in key locations in South West geo-political zone, and even, Edo, Cross River, Sokoto etc.
And, more importantly, with the aforementioned, is the minister working in tandem and alliance with the government’s long term vision to constitute the sector as a key source of economic diversification?
Minister of Environment has simply disappeared from the political horizon since his inauguration into office. There is no information whatsoever from the ministry concerning his vision and developmental initiatives particularly for all environmental challenged communities around the country, prominently of which are Ogoniland and other Niger Delta locations significantly been troubled by oil spillage.
Ditto for North East zone that has for years been ravaged by destructive effect of Boko Haram insurgence and other criminalities that has rendered the zone’s environment inhabitable.
There are also other environmental programs of United Nation’s that Nigeria supposed to be driving from time to time. No information whatsoever in this respect is coming from the stable of the minister.
Not much is also forthcoming from Defense Ministry in terms of strategic initiatives to draw curtains on the menace of banditry, insurgence, and even, kidnapping that has become stock-in-trade for Nigerian youths because of so much fortunes that flow onto them from the criminality.
Despite the fact that these criminalities combined together have been holding the nation by the jugular, making our territorial integrity largely unsafe for citizenry and no go area for the foreign investors, the Defense Ministers have been maintaining undignified silence.
The plausible reason we could adduced is that, is either they suddenly found themselves in completely unfamiliar terrain or they are not interested in the job, but, only the paraphernalia.
Despite the fact that the Minister of Youths and her Minister of state for Youths indeed belong to that demography, it’s been practically difficult for the duo to connect with effervescent, creative and very resourceful Nigeria-teeming youths.
The quietness of the ministers since their inauguration is perhaps an indication of lack of initiative and idea to provide leadership for the ministry.
Meanwhile, the expectant Nigerian youths are aggressively in quest of who would provide
Kola Amzat (FCA, FCIB),
Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,
09077509348.
