As Buhari Plans His Cabinet

In six weeks from now, precisely on 29 May, General Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian President-elect would be sworn in to take over from the current President Goodluck Jonathan in an event that would see the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, relinquishing the power it had held since 1999.

While the celebrations have continued since Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was  declared the winner of the 2015 presidential election, it is expedient to remind the retired Army General about what he already knows: that Nigerians expect his government to hit the ground running from day one. Buhari is aware of this fact as has been confirmed at various fora by the Vice President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. They are aware of the enormity of the challenges they have to surmount to meet the high expectations of Nigerians.

Moreover, there are big lessons to learn from the country’s out-going administration. For this government to succeed, it must study the mistakes of the government of President Jonathan and its alleged offences against the Nigerian people. Nigerians seem to be happy with the way General Buhari has begun. First, he is making it obvious that he still remains a man of integrity. Recently, Buhari who has vowed to tackle corruption headlong, was quoted as saying his government would never interfere with the handling of corrupt cases by the courts in the land.

The President-elect has also promised to fill his cabinet majorly with technocrats, the right pegs in the right holes, in order to meet the expectations of Nigerians. But a caveat he placed on this is that whoever is to serve in his government must publicly declare his asset before taking the job and while leaving office. This is part of his move to curb corruption. Above all, the people he picks for his cabinet will determine whether he will succeed or not. He has to be very careful not to pick the wrong people who will end up rocking the boat.

To achieve effectiveness in the fight against corruption, therefore, we advise an extensive restructuring and or overhauling of the nation’s anti-graft agencies as well as strengthening them. As they are now, it is very difficult for them to successfully execute their mandates. It is even worse for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which once said it was so broke that it could not afford the services of multiple lawyers at a time.

It is also expedient that the government should properly review the state of infrastructure in the country and urgently begin to put things in shape. Every Nigerian is aware that the economy of the country is in shambles and needs immediate revival. He should fix existing refineries and build new ones to end the senseless importation of petroleum products. He must tackle the shameful electricty supply situation and ensure the security of life and property. The educational and health sectors also deserve urgent attention. The incoming administration must decide where to start from.

The administration must do all within its powers to continue with and strengthen further the unity of the country which had become more threatened in the last few years as a result of the way the government had been run. Nigerians won’t take any excuses or settle for less if their expectations are not met within a short time frame due to the urgency of the APC mantra which is ‘Change’. To achieve this, Buhari should go for the best in the East, West, North and South, not minding their religious or ethnic backgrounds.