A DISCUSSION FORUM PART ONE:
"When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office. It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full Cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States did not cease to function in the interim." - Culled from "Nigeria Committed To Good Governance And Fighting Terror", The Washington Post, July 20, 2015. By President Muhammadu Buhari.
"When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office. It is worth noting that Obama himself did not have his full Cabinet in place for several months after first taking office; the United States did not cease to function in the interim." - Culled from "Nigeria Committed To Good Governance And Fighting Terror", The Washington Post, July 20, 2015. By President Muhammadu Buhari.
President Buhari promised to
appoint Ministers by the end of September. He did not appoint Ministers by the
end of September as he promised. Sending a Ministerial list to the Senate for
screening and approval by the end of September is not the same as appointing Ministers by
the end of September. Without mincing words, I have problem with the process.
If I may add, using President Obama’s experience as a benchmark as the President did in his Washington Post op-ed piece on July 20, 2015, lacks foundation in facts and in reasonableness. Any delay experienced by President Obama was a delay, thanks to the machinations of an intransigent GOP. Not self-induced as in our case.
Much as I tried to cut my President some slack on his reference to President Obama, the fact that he did not meet the September deadline that he publicly set for his administration at the the global stage reinforces the emerging doubt about his ability to conceptualize the enormity of the office and the expectations, domestic and international, inherent in modern public sector governance. Most importantly, ours is a dynamic nation-state - always in motion. It is not 1983.
The President and his team have an onerous battle ahead of them. It is not going to be "what about Jonathan or Obasanjo", and "what they did or didn't do as Presidents while they were in office." The standard is going to be "what is President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya doing." It is about "how President Obama reinvented himself to reinvent America." Above all, it is going to be, "if late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his team could do it in the 50s and early 60s, you and your team must be able to do it."
If I may add, using President Obama’s experience as a benchmark as the President did in his Washington Post op-ed piece on July 20, 2015, lacks foundation in facts and in reasonableness. Any delay experienced by President Obama was a delay, thanks to the machinations of an intransigent GOP. Not self-induced as in our case.
Much as I tried to cut my President some slack on his reference to President Obama, the fact that he did not meet the September deadline that he publicly set for his administration at the the global stage reinforces the emerging doubt about his ability to conceptualize the enormity of the office and the expectations, domestic and international, inherent in modern public sector governance. Most importantly, ours is a dynamic nation-state - always in motion. It is not 1983.
The President and his team have an onerous battle ahead of them. It is not going to be "what about Jonathan or Obasanjo", and "what they did or didn't do as Presidents while they were in office." The standard is going to be "what is President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya doing." It is about "how President Obama reinvented himself to reinvent America." Above all, it is going to be, "if late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his team could do it in the 50s and early 60s, you and your team must be able to do it."
At his first inauguration,
President Obama was confronted with an economy that was near comatose. The American
financial market was, economically defined, ruined; overwhelmed by the ills of an unregulated,
overambitious, and untouchable Wall Street that prides itself as the custodian of Capital Hills.
President Obama was saddled with the task of resuscitating a Mortgage industry that overpriced itself into oblivion and an auto industry that suffered both global and domestic rejection. At the same time, America was fighting two wars in the Middle East, channeling taxpayers' money into a conquest whose end date was an exercise in sheer conjecture. And on the side, was a Senate, populated by Republicans, telling whoever is willing to hear that their goal is to make the new President, a one-term President - a country where prayers and wishes for a popularly elected President to fail in office became the norms rather than the exceptions. He was set up to fail. You were celebrated, honored, like a King in the making.
President Obama was saddled with the task of resuscitating a Mortgage industry that overpriced itself into oblivion and an auto industry that suffered both global and domestic rejection. At the same time, America was fighting two wars in the Middle East, channeling taxpayers' money into a conquest whose end date was an exercise in sheer conjecture. And on the side, was a Senate, populated by Republicans, telling whoever is willing to hear that their goal is to make the new President, a one-term President - a country where prayers and wishes for a popularly elected President to fail in office became the norms rather than the exceptions. He was set up to fail. You were celebrated, honored, like a King in the making.
Indeed, President Obama was new to power and new to the intricacies of Washington DC. But you were once a Head of State, and a buddy of IBB, Obasanjo and Danjuma - the triumvirate who own this country.
Twice, you ran to be President. Third time around you won. You are a quintessential Nigerian power broker, celebrated elite of the elites. Mr. President, you have been around! Obama was not.
Twice, you ran to be President. Third time around you won. You are a quintessential Nigerian power broker, celebrated elite of the elites. Mr. President, you have been around! Obama was not.
Above all, President Obama is a black man, and by nature, doubted and resented in his own country. And you are a Fulani, and by Nigerian standard, revered and respected. Sir, once again, there is no basis for comparison. The author of that op-ed is living in the past. He deserves more tutorials on contemporary global politics and the Obama factor.
Former President George HW Bush's biography, as reported few days ago by the press, is coming out soon, and in it, the President is reported to have slammed his son's Vice President, Mr. Dick Cheney, "of building his own empire" and Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defense Secretary "for lacking humility and not willing to see what other guy sees." With all due respect, Mr. President, I pray that this new Book be of a timely read for you. In other words, beware of Advisers who specialize in remaking failures as virtues - those who are not willing to see what others are seeing on the ground.
Moving Forward:
Few weeks ago, it was widely
reported that Mr. President told his subordinates and the Ministerial nominees
to always tell him the truth, no matter the situation. Specifically, I saw
Barrister James Ocholi (SAN), one of the Ministerial nominees emphasizing that demand from the President, while speaking with a TV Reporter. In light
of the not so encouraging developments surrounding the appointment of new
Ministers, I would like to ask what would happen, if those in position to
advise the President as per the truth, lack the intuitive capital to read and
interpret the situation on the ground and advice the President accordingly.
When that happens, as it is
always the case in Nigeria, the President is denied useful information. In that
case, there is a vacuum in the system that no one in the Presidency is aware
of. And that is the evolution of mediocrity - our bane as a society.
For instance, there was a noticeable improvement in power supply immediately President Buhari came into office. Thanks, of course, to the much hyped "body language." Today, power supply is at its worst since my arrival in Nigeria about six months ago. As I write the lines at the gas pump are getting longer. Boko Haram is once again on the rampage with brazen bravado, undaunted. And it is no doubt, worse than six months ago.
For instance, there was a noticeable improvement in power supply immediately President Buhari came into office. Thanks, of course, to the much hyped "body language." Today, power supply is at its worst since my arrival in Nigeria about six months ago. As I write the lines at the gas pump are getting longer. Boko Haram is once again on the rampage with brazen bravado, undaunted. And it is no doubt, worse than six months ago.
Indeed, we did embrace the new slogan in town: "no more business as usual." Yet, nothing has changed. In hindsight, the solution is not just the
rejection of the culture of "business as usual," but
defining a new benchmark for performance evaluation and raising the standard of
engagement across the board. In other words, what is the nature of change that we want? That leads us to the next question.
How do you raise the standard of engagement or define the new benchmark, when those who are in position to advise and make a change are ignorant of the existence of a lacuna in the system? That is the problem. That is our problem as a nation-state. President Obasanjo was not a great President, but he is today defining the standard. So, who define the standard? And how do we fathom the existence of a vacuum in the political process? The press. Yes, the press, through constructive criticisms, supported by the people, through mass protest.
How do you raise the standard of engagement or define the new benchmark, when those who are in position to advise and make a change are ignorant of the existence of a lacuna in the system? That is the problem. That is our problem as a nation-state. President Obasanjo was not a great President, but he is today defining the standard. So, who define the standard? And how do we fathom the existence of a vacuum in the political process? The press. Yes, the press, through constructive criticisms, supported by the people, through mass protest.
On the other hand, if indeed the
President has credible and audacious Nigerians around him, with the requisite
faculty to read and interpret the situation on the ground and advise the
President accordingly (telling him the truth), but change as understood by the President and his core counsellors is inconsistent with emerging trends or what obtains in advanced climes, and the President is therefore, unwilling to accommodate the truth, then we have a problem at hand - the making of a
dictator. It is the same as not having advisers at all.
By the way, President Jonathan, honest as he might have been, didn't grab the mood in the country and the expectations of a modern Nigerian nation-state. And that should have been the responsibility of his kitchen cabinet, who turned out to be bunch of local DJs.
By the way, President Jonathan, honest as he might have been, didn't grab the mood in the country and the expectations of a modern Nigerian nation-state. And that should have been the responsibility of his kitchen cabinet, who turned out to be bunch of local DJs.
And that brings us to the second question: how do we eliminate a vacuum created by a recalcitrant President?
First, the Advisers should remain steadfast and be consistent in standing for
what they believe is right - the truth. They should not be docile about confronting the President's kitchen cabinet openly with facts and figures on issues where there are differences. However, in the absence of any
substantial improvement on the part of the President (unwilling to be convinced),
they should not hesitate to do the ultimate: resign.
Given the fact that resignation by Advisers or Ministers is not a Nigerian corporate culture, the press, once again,
must step into the void, through consistent and constructive criticisms,
supported by the people, through mass protest. Yes, for the Change to be meaningful and result-oriented the Press and the Nigerian people must be ready to reject packages clothed in deceit aimed at suffocating informed views.
So, it is my conclusion that raising the benchmark shouldn't just be about slogan. It is about action. And that is what this essay is about - defining a purposeful benchmark. It is about vision and creativity. And that's why President Obama is a success story, today.
He started by asking question another President would not have asked. How come ordinary Americans cannot afford quality and affordable healthcare? And what must we do to ensure availability and affordability? How can we simplify educational funding to make it accessible to poor American families? What is more important to do: fighting two wars and depleting the national resources, and be lauded and be vilified at the same time as the Policeman of the world, or stay away from war without end and invest the saved resources at home? You know the answer. And today, the American economy is better off for it.
Still on Obama - he did not bail out American State Governors or supported them in paying any outstanding workers salaries and wages as President Buhari just did in Nigeria few months ago. His bail out was to the Auto Industry and Wall Streets, knowing full well that a vibrant auto industry and a buoyant, but regulated Wall Street will go a long way to creating synergy that will spiral to other sectors of the American economy and catalyze sustainable growth. And it happened.
It's about common sense. First is the ability to know that something isn't right and then, ask questions. Awareness matters. Visions matter.
Common Sense and Management Practices Benchmarking: Questions The Presidency Should be Asking.
Minister and Special Advisers should be able to ask themselves this simple question. How come our newly constructed highways do not meet the test of time or withstand the forces of nature in more than three years? The Ministry of Works and all the respective government agencies responsible for awarding contracts involving road construction and maintenance and the contractors are jointly and collectively responsible for the state of our roads, both state and federal roads. It is about the quality of the job done - the asphalt level from the base of the ground. Granted, I am not an Engineer, but it is very easy to analyze the thickness of the asphalt concrete that they deposited on the ground at locations where you have potholes on our highways.
You do not need to have a PhD in Engineering or Road Construction to fathom that. Enough of the Dangote Trucks excuses. You cannot pour bitumen on the ground and expect it to last. The contractors involved know exactly what he is doing and what the deal is. And the relevant staffs of the Supervisory Ministries know what to expect as compensation for the lousy job performance. Sadly enough, these same contractors or companies are most often rewarded with better and more lucrative construction contracts.
Now to the telecom sector; how come telephone companies are raking in millions of Dollars in profit yearly, yet they cannot develop new technology to overcome reception or network related problems in Nigeria? By the way, how come it cost more to make phone call in Nigeria than it is in Ghana or Egypt? Yet, we have better reception in South Africa, Ghana and Egypt.
Talking about Egypt! How come for the duration of the Arab Spring protest as the world witnessed in Downtown Cairo, there was never a night of blackout? Yet, we are economically richer and more powerful than Egypt.
Today, it is about petroleum products and the price of crude at the international market, and we have no control over their availability. What is wrong with our refineries? Is it too much for the President to declare a state of emergency in the sector and summon the Nigerian Society of Engineers with an open cheque and a mandate to find permanent solution to all the problems associated with refined petroleum products at home?
And talking about gas pipeline and power (electricity) distribution: which is safer and less costly to transport or distribute? The answer, without any doubt, is electricity. In that case, power plants should be constructed along the coast of the Niger Delta. We know that that was not what the Obasanjo administration did. The advantages of building power plant closer to sources of gas is self-explanatory. I do not want to dwell on that here. Suffice it to say that funds wasted on monitoring of gas pipelines should have been put to a better use in other sectors.
So, it is not about slogan. It is about concrete steps towards ensuring change.
Today, we are worried; worried, because the price of crude oil per barrel at the international market is abysmally below projected benchmark. The question then is why are we in this state, when a Nigerian, in the person of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, as the Finance Minister of this great country, successfully managed the nation's financial resources throughout the civil war, without borrowing a dime? Was Papa Awo not a Nigerian? Yes he was. What exactly did he do? And how did he execute such a spectacular feat? Those are questions that President Buhari and his Chief of Staff should take the pain to ponder over and seek credible answers.
In similar vein, how was it possible for Action Group to build such first class infrastructural facilities, free health care and free education at all levels, without the oil money in the old Western region of Nigeria? Did they invite heavenly bodies to assist them? They never did. Nigerians did. And we can do better, if President Buhari is willing to reinvent himself and reinvent Nigeria in the process. That was what President Obama did. And that was what Papa Awo and his followers did.
So, it is my conclusion that raising the benchmark shouldn't just be about slogan. It is about action. And that is what this essay is about - defining a purposeful benchmark. It is about vision and creativity. And that's why President Obama is a success story, today.
He started by asking question another President would not have asked. How come ordinary Americans cannot afford quality and affordable healthcare? And what must we do to ensure availability and affordability? How can we simplify educational funding to make it accessible to poor American families? What is more important to do: fighting two wars and depleting the national resources, and be lauded and be vilified at the same time as the Policeman of the world, or stay away from war without end and invest the saved resources at home? You know the answer. And today, the American economy is better off for it.
Still on Obama - he did not bail out American State Governors or supported them in paying any outstanding workers salaries and wages as President Buhari just did in Nigeria few months ago. His bail out was to the Auto Industry and Wall Streets, knowing full well that a vibrant auto industry and a buoyant, but regulated Wall Street will go a long way to creating synergy that will spiral to other sectors of the American economy and catalyze sustainable growth. And it happened.
It's about common sense. First is the ability to know that something isn't right and then, ask questions. Awareness matters. Visions matter.
Common Sense and Management Practices Benchmarking: Questions The Presidency Should be Asking.
Minister and Special Advisers should be able to ask themselves this simple question. How come our newly constructed highways do not meet the test of time or withstand the forces of nature in more than three years? The Ministry of Works and all the respective government agencies responsible for awarding contracts involving road construction and maintenance and the contractors are jointly and collectively responsible for the state of our roads, both state and federal roads. It is about the quality of the job done - the asphalt level from the base of the ground. Granted, I am not an Engineer, but it is very easy to analyze the thickness of the asphalt concrete that they deposited on the ground at locations where you have potholes on our highways.
You do not need to have a PhD in Engineering or Road Construction to fathom that. Enough of the Dangote Trucks excuses. You cannot pour bitumen on the ground and expect it to last. The contractors involved know exactly what he is doing and what the deal is. And the relevant staffs of the Supervisory Ministries know what to expect as compensation for the lousy job performance. Sadly enough, these same contractors or companies are most often rewarded with better and more lucrative construction contracts.
Now to the telecom sector; how come telephone companies are raking in millions of Dollars in profit yearly, yet they cannot develop new technology to overcome reception or network related problems in Nigeria? By the way, how come it cost more to make phone call in Nigeria than it is in Ghana or Egypt? Yet, we have better reception in South Africa, Ghana and Egypt.
Talking about Egypt! How come for the duration of the Arab Spring protest as the world witnessed in Downtown Cairo, there was never a night of blackout? Yet, we are economically richer and more powerful than Egypt.
Today, it is about petroleum products and the price of crude at the international market, and we have no control over their availability. What is wrong with our refineries? Is it too much for the President to declare a state of emergency in the sector and summon the Nigerian Society of Engineers with an open cheque and a mandate to find permanent solution to all the problems associated with refined petroleum products at home?
And talking about gas pipeline and power (electricity) distribution: which is safer and less costly to transport or distribute? The answer, without any doubt, is electricity. In that case, power plants should be constructed along the coast of the Niger Delta. We know that that was not what the Obasanjo administration did. The advantages of building power plant closer to sources of gas is self-explanatory. I do not want to dwell on that here. Suffice it to say that funds wasted on monitoring of gas pipelines should have been put to a better use in other sectors.
By the way, why do we have Customs Officers manning road-blocks on interstates highways, while our border posts are left unmanned? Is Nigeria too big to govern? Get these guys out of our highways.
And why must Police Officers continue to solicit for money with righteous intent and a sense of entitlement from helpless Nigerians on our streets and highways, when the Force Headquarter doesn't know what to do or how to profitably invest the colossal Pension Funds ceaselessly pilfered, squandered and embezzled by those trusted to manage it?
And if I may ask, what does it take for a Minister of Education to make the declaration that under his or her watch a regular Academic Year must run from the first week of September to the last week of May of the following year in accordance with acceptable global standard. In that case a purposeful fundamental framework for strike free regime must be developed to ensure that ASUU and Non-Academic Staff Union are comfortably catered to.
And on the issue of the Judiciary, I cannot understand why in this 21st Century judges in our courts still take notes in longhand, yet we never stop to complain about justice delay and justice deny?
So, it is not about slogan. It is about concrete steps towards ensuring change.
In similar vein, how was it possible for Action Group to build such first class infrastructural facilities, free health care and free education at all levels, without the oil money in the old Western region of Nigeria? Did they invite heavenly bodies to assist them? They never did. Nigerians did. And we can do better, if President Buhari is willing to reinvent himself and reinvent Nigeria in the process. That was what President Obama did. And that was what Papa Awo and his followers did.
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