How Will New Ministers Deliver Promised APC Change?

Editor’s note: The long-awaited almighty ministers have been inaugurated and their portfolios shared amongst them. This means that work has begun. How they would be able to meet up the promised change is what many commentators on national issues have been trying to examine, based on the status quo, and predict what eventually becomes of the administration. Segun Gbadegesin, in his column for The Nation, is not sure if the ruling party of change is well-prepared for the discipline that it takes to govern with a mission of change. For him, if all the ministers work together, the benefits are substantial for the nation.

President Buhari and his ministers

The change campaign slogan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Muhammadu Buhari, its presidential candidate in the 2015 general election, resonated with a substantial majority of Nigerians culminating in the historical defeat of an incumbent for the first time in Nigerian history. Nigerians assumed, rightly to my mind, that they were voting not just for a change of personnel but, more importantly, for a change of direction.

The presupposition of the change mantra and its acceptance by the electorate was that the status quo was no longer tenable or acceptable. With youth unemployment up in the stratosphere and generalised poverty and its attendant miserable existence ravaging the nation while a few amass stupendous wealth, many Nigerians felt neglected and unappreciated by their government.  Informed citizens voted for change and they succeeded; they got their favoured president.

How patient could the people be?

Success soon led to a new reality. Normally a successful change means better realities for the nation and its downcast and demoralised citizens. The party of change is therefore expected to bring successful change. And because they had waited for so long to see a substantial and positive change in the conditions of their existence, the people cannot be expected to be patient. Their patience has worn thin and they cannot understand why their desired change wasn’t coming within a month of the inauguration of the new administration.

But the reality has been different. There have been real challenges in six months.  An opposition party campaigning on the promise of change can be forgiven for not knowing what it was getting into, the extent of the damage done, and the substance of the needed repair. It was in the interest of the party in power to hide the depth of the trouble, especially in the economy. But who wants to hear excuses or complaints? All the electorate needed was change and the miracle man they elected must deliver.

In fairness to both the electorate and the new administration, each has a point. First, the economic reality that the new administration met on the ground was a mess. The slump in the oil market in our mono economy has made it impossible for the states to pay the salaries of their workers, a substantial number of who don’t really contribute productively to the economy but have been kept in the system for political reasons. States have to be bailed out by the Federal Government while the original challenge of states managing to live within their means remains unresolved.

Managing the economy as the most essential issue

At some point, however, and sooner than later if the country is not only to survive but to prosper, the important issue of managing the economy of states must have to be an issue for the government and party of change. Where a state receives close to 70 per cent of its resources from federal allocation and it spends close to 80 per cent of its resources on workers’ salary, it is clear that there can be no capital development in such a state. For how long can this continue?

The fight against corruption

Second, judging from the revelations from just a few cases that the EFCC has been battling, it is clear that corruption has eaten deep into the national flesh and it is about to crack the bones. This is an area where Nigerians have been unanimous in their rage against the system. They want the new administration to fight corruption. Indeed, they see the new president as Mr Integrity and that was why they gave him their support. It appears that the president got that message loud and clear. Time, of course, will tell.

The issue of individual differences

Third, there are cultural realities that are not the making of the new administration. Indeed, these have been with the nation since the dawn of its birth. There are cultural cleavages, including religious bigotry, ethnic chauvinism and blatant sexism. These fissures in the anatomy of the nation could be extremely painful and tragic with different groups talking past each other and making national consensus on important matters difficult to resolve.

Thus while many saw presidential candidate Buhari as a Nigerian nationalist who can bring sanity to a broken system, others saw him as a sectional irredentist. And as he emerged as the elected president, that division still endures. In the circumstance, it will take the Wisdom of Solomon to bridge these divisions and move the nation forward in one accord. Mr President has his work cut out for him.

Read full article on The Nation.