Cabinet Reshuffle: Time for Tinubu to Sack Himself
By Lawal Dahiru Mamman
“The primary responsibility of leadership is catering for and promoting its people to the end so that they may live a full and happy life.”
That was vintage late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in his bestseller “The People’s Republic” where he among other things emphasised the need for a people-centred government. This is to say that a government should recognise the dignity of citizens and work round the clock to improve their lives.
At this moment, it does not look like Nigerians are living a full and happy life looking at the hyperinflation, general increase in cost of living and the worst of all, the embarrassing chaos in the oil and gas industry.
President Bola Tinubu came in with the renewed hope mantra. Nigerians were rooting for him to succeed even after the unceremonious declaration at the Eagles Square on May 29, 2023 and subsequent call for patience. Many Nigerians questioned the rationale behind the call at a time government never showed any intent to reduce the cost of governance or stop pilfering the commonwealth on needless jamborees.
Eventually, the patience of Nigerians ran flat on August 1, 2024 and hell was let loose in the name of a nationwide protest. But that was a tip of the iceberg, a drop in the ocean compared to what is to come if the government does not get its acts together and fix the confusion in petroleum industry. How can people pay over a 1000 naira for fuel and yet cannot get it? In Tinubu’s Nigeria, people queue for four hours or more in the filling station and spend 50,000 naira to buy fuel. After two days, they are back to another queue. This situation is hardly sustainable or acceptable.
Nigerians are so angry at the moment. They don’t believe anything is working and they don’t believe the problem starts and end with the President. Nigerians believe majority of the President’s lieutenants are either unfit for the office or are not ready to do the job.
The President has put together the largest cabinet in the country’s history, yet the gulf between the haves and the have-nots has become increasingly larger. He started by creating ministries and renaming some, and naming himself the Minister of Petroleum. This is why the house cleaning needs start from. The President needs to sack himself as the Minister of Petroleum, get a competent and steady hand to do that job as soon as possible.
“I thank the cabinet members for their efforts, but I will relieve any of them of their duties anytime I feel that they are failing Nigerians,” the President had been quoted to have said sometimes ago.
From the look of things, its like the Tinubu cabinet is a competition in failure. The national grid has collapsed for a record five times this year alone, supply remains erratic, projects from previous administrations are abandoned, more contracts awarded, food insecurity and malnutrition still rampant despite agriculture written all over our national symbols, security is almost a no-go area. It is a long list of everything that needs improvement.
Reshuffling will be the way to go and the President may wish to start from himself as Substantive Minister of Petroleum. Presidents ordinarily have their jobs cut out for them. They should stop this tradition of them holding ministerial positions which started with former President Olusegun Obasanjo as Power Minister, sustained by former President Buhari as Petroleum Minister and now up taken by the sitting president, all due to ‘sensitivity’ of the sectors in question.
Our petroleum industry is in chaos. The upstream sector which summarily deals with exploration and production of crude is plagued by the white-collar crime called oil theft which stops the nation from meeting its OPEC quota and attacks our revenue base at the jugular.
The midstream sector dealing with transportation and processing of crude oil and natural gas is no different, facilities responsible for the task are moribund. As for the downstream sector, current situation with petrol across country says it all.
Ending subsidy regime though has a silver-lining, increased federal allocation to state has left many more confused than they ever were. The Dangote Refinery which should we be “a win for industrialisation” have all these Greek mythical stories around it.
The problem is enormous and have proved too much for a President who is also the Chairman of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Mr. President should excuse himself by appointing a candidate that will focus on this sector holistically.
Nigeria’s economy needs his rapt attention. The present state has more than 26.5 million in acute hunger this year, according to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The same FAO predicts between 80 million to 82 million will be facing “severe food insecurity” by 2030 going by current trends.
Terrorist and bandits have now grown bold, they slay monarchs, claim responsibility with impunity, advertise themselves and their atrocious acts on social media, and dare anyone to come for them. They need to feel the wrath of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Last line
President Tinubu should look at himself in the mirror. This cannot be the Nigeria of his dream. This cannot be the country he envisaged when he promised voters “Renewed Hope.” Something has to change and quickly too. There is only one way out of this stalemate. The President should wield the big stick on non-performing ministers, aides and heads of agencies. He should start by firing himself as Minister of Petroleum!
