Today, media critics are pointing frantically at what they perceive as the red flags for ministers to go, but the prerogative to reshuffle or to sack them belongs solely to President Tinubu. Ironically, a number of recent events of a scandalous nature have provided sufficient ammunition for Tinubu’s critics. So it’s a field day for the critics for now, and like a malignant succubus, they are firing from all cylinders. In the midst of this blistering criticism, the President appears staunchly indeterminate on the matter. It is possible that the President has already seen the red flags in his cabinet, but he may not yet have made up his mind to push the red button.
The point being made here is that a scandal or a case of incompetence or underperformance involving a cabinet member can lead to a cabinet reshuffle or even an outright dissolution of the entire Federal Executive Council. In 2021, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ordered that the then Attorney-General would remain in the cabinet but in another portfolio as Science and Technology minister after he was alleged to have raped a girl in 1988 when he was 17. It is pertinent to point out that whether Mr. Porter actually committed the offence is immaterial in so far as the matter had the potential to scandalize the entire cabinet and Morrisson’s administration.
Coming back home, there have been several instances where ministers had been relieved of their portfolios or reshuffled as a result of proven scandals or underperformance. In 2021, the then President Muhammadu Buhari sacked the Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, whose last assignment was to oversee the 2nd phase of National Mass Metering Program (NMMP). The sad state of the power sector today and diabolic estimated billing system speaks for itself. Of course, it is as much in the interest of the President and his ruling party as it is in the interest of the entire nation for him to reshuffle or sack underperforming cabinet members. As our Anioma people say, things cannot get out of hand in the presence of the Diokpa, the Okpal’ukwu or what the Urhobos call the Krakpor, that, is the elders.
Nigeria has the largest number of food insecure people in the world at 31.8 million, according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization Report. In a country where 70% of households depend on agriculture for daily sustenance, the UN warns that 82 million Nigerians may not have food to eat in the next couple of years. The warning is not even necessary because it’s already happening, especially in bandit-infested parts of the north. Does the scorecard of the cabinet members with the Agriculture portfolio show anything to the contrary? If not, what prevents the President from promptly moving them to a sector where they are suitable and can make more meaningful impact? Has the country witnessed any appreciable improvement in the education sector particularly in terms of quality, standard, and accessibility in the past sixteen years even with all the reshuffling in that sector over the years?
The balancing act between politics and performance must see technocrats, professionals, round pegs in round holes leading the pack in a manner comparable to the Chinese digital revolution of the 80s that transformed the country into a global technological superpower.
Well, it is argued that politicians should be judged strictly based on their performance and competence and not just because they are loyal to their party. But Nigeria is a peculiar nation. Cabinet reshuffle is not an exercise that can be carried out willy-nilly. For instance, the fact that the President doubles as the Petroleum Minister is often ignored. Why? Has the sector performed optimally since it was moved to the presidency by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002? If the scorecard shows red, how expedient would it be for the presidency to also reshuffle its own headship? This is one ministry that has sent many notable Nigerians to jail right from the days of its pioneer minister, then Colonel Muhammadu Buhari in 1977 to a point in 1995 when the then Minister of Finance, Chief Anthony Ani, and Minister of Petroleum, Chief Dan Etete, had a bitter quarrel with the latter threatening to “dance naked in the street” over the issue. Can President Tinubu recuse the presidency from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in an event it is fingered as one of the underperforming ministries? Will the two junior ministers in the sector, Ekperikpe Ekpo (Gas) and Heineken Lokpobiri (Oil), be redeployed or dropped if their report card falls short of expectation? Can Nyesom Wike suffer the same fate even as a non-APC member if FCT portfolio which he holds happens to perform below average? The point is that a cabinet reshuffle may not be rocket science but it is not as simple as it seems. It’s not always about competence. Whether one likes it or not, there are party loyalists and politicians that are powerful and such persons cannot be excluded from the scheme of things; they come across like the Rock of Gibraltar; you may call them the untouchables if you like, otherwise they will “dance naked in the street” with the party hierarchy.
Having said that, it is important to also point out that there are ministers you’d retain in your cabinet believing they’d give you expert policy advice; but if you implement their advice, you and your party would lose the next election. If you doubt this ask former President Jonathan; he’s wiser for it after the 2015 presidential election, the first time in history a sitting president lost an election in Nigeria. The result of that election produced a butterfly effect his party has been grappling with across the country till date. The point here is that a defective selection of cabinet members can jeopardize the fortunes of a ruling political party. So President Tinubu should thread with caution, bearing in mind that the 2027 general election is no longer too far away.
I have heard experts ask: how do you measure performance to know who to drop and who to retain in your cabinet? The answer is simple. Don’t go to work in a convoy and siren. Walk down the street, look at the faces of the people you meet. If they don’t sneer and throw stones at you, you are home and dry. If they do, you’ll bite the dust in the election that would come next.
It has often been said that if you visit a minister in his or her office, you will likely find portraits of their predecessors hanging on the walls. Often the portraits extend a great distance, down one side of the ministerial corridor, round a corner and back along the other side. This line of portraits serves as a memorial to the impermanence of office. In other words, ministers come and go, but the nation remains. However, the bitter truth is that no minister can hope to achieve very much in a tenure of less than one year in one particular ministry or department. Though, an Igbo adage says, you’ll know a voracious eater from the speed with which he washes his hand before eating. The performance indicators, in this case, the hungry faces of suffering masses on the streets, are all there for all to see. As the clock ticks, and in the spirit of his Renewed Hope agenda, the President will do well to push the red button for a cabinet reshuffle in Aso Rock and separate the boys from the men so that the hope that was lost can be renewed not on paper but in reality.
*Anthony-Spinks is the Functioning Director-General, Delta State Public Procurement Commission, Asaba.
