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Lekan Sote
The talk doing the rounds on the streets is that the water used in moulding the building blocks of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government was drawn from the river of apologia. That he, and many of the operatives of his government, are wont to apologise rather than do the job for which they were elected. Following are some instances of the apologetic streak of his government.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission recently apologised, begging Nigerians to be patient with the electricity generating and distributing companies for the drop in the supply of electricity. They appear to be snowed under by the enormity of the problem they undertook to solve.
NERC explains that heavy rainfall, – in this intense heat? – coupled with vandalism of critical installations, is responsible for the pathetic failure of the successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to consistently supply electricity.
The Ikeja Disco also apologised to consumers of the bustling Akute corridor of Ogun State that is coterminous with Lagos State. And in a roundabout manner of apology, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, admitted that enough electricity wasn’t being generated for distribution, in any case. But in attributing the fault to four turbines that stopped working at Jebba, he doesn’t seem to agree with NERC that too much rainfall caused the blackout.
NERC promises that the Federal Government is working hard to fix and secure vandalised gas pipelines, but failed to categorically state when the dark ages will pass over. So, you had better brace yourselves for a long haul of darkness. With the recent shutdown of Shiroro and Sapele II, 10, or about one-third, of about 28 Nigerian power generating plants are effectively out of action.
The Nigeria Labour Congress is already threatening a one-day warning strike to protest the unending power outage. You may recall that earlier in the year, the NLC led the picketing of discos nationwide, in addition to marching to the National Assembly to protest the 45 per cent hike in electricity tariffs.
Fashola probably needs to talk to his colleague ministers to encourage the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies under them to pay their outstanding electricity bills. The money will go a long way to rejuvenate the cash strapped power sector.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has announced that May 29, 2016 may no longer be a feasible date for the official inauguration of the Abuja-Kaduna Railway line. His words: “I was pushing (the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company). But… in their wisdom, they insisted they may make mistakes if we push.”He must be sorry that he now has to eat his words.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources cum Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ibe Kachikwu, offered an apology to Nigerians for his colourless joke about not being a magician. He also took that opportunity to explain the reasons for the fuel scarcity, expressed his determination to end it, and appealed to the Senate to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill.
But Kachikwu must realise, as students of elementary management do, that Nigerians are paying for his time, energy, and skill. So his explanation that “On Easter, I was in Lagos monitoring fuel distribution at the depots, (and) I have given 24 hours attention to the problem,” is a mere confirmation that he is about the job he is paid to do.
It is okay that he undertakes to work with the sole purpose of solving all the problems that are causing the fuel scarcity. He should note that no one is interested in whether he is all rolled up in his shirt sleeves or not. It comes with the territory. Despite his showboating, and the NNPC’s receipt of seven cargoes, the petrol, that sells more than double its resale price, is still scarce.
President Buhari too has had occasions to apologise to Nigerians: For hurriedly terminating the appointment of 13 university vice chancellors and their councils without recourse to extant laws. He admitted that Government “gave a blanket order which we had to rescind when we saw (that) all boards were suspended or dissolved.” This born-again democrat adds: “There is nothing wrong in saying sorry and going back on our decision.”
After a call by the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, the President formally withdrew the first, or whatever, version of the 2016 Appropriation Bill because it was flawed. He must have been awful sorry for the fumbling that led to that. He also apologised for the drop in electricity supply and for the fuel crisis. Peripatetic Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, who argues that “a leader must think well before making policy statements,” however insists that Buhari must step up his act.
The late Afrobeat music exponent, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, would have agreed with Fayose’s sentiments. He would have also described the apologies as “unnecessary begging,” and point out that in the matter of the welfare of the people, “oro ebe o sele,” there should be no room for apologies. This is another way of saying that the Federal Government must always think through its policies.
While it is honourable to admit their faults, and retrace their steps accordingly, President Buhari and his men must not make a career of issuing apology ad infinitum, ad nauseum. And the President may need to overhaul the data gathering machinery and decision-making template of his government.
And the first place to look is to critically examine the key personnel in every decision-making node in the conveyor belt of his government. Some of his men may not be of very good fit. Sometimes, you are tempted to think that many of them are just hanging on to his coat tails, and aren’t quite ready for the job they have undertaken to do.
The theory that the All Progressives Congress only took a blind shot at the Presidency; never thought they’d hit bulls eye; and so was not quite prepared for governance is becoming increasingly plausible. You also wonder why a man, who asked to be Nigeria’s President on four separate occasions, should act like he came unprepared. You also wonder, what else, apart from a record of integrity, did he offer the leadership of the APC to become their candidate.
It is crystal clear to everyone that cares to know that integrity is just a requirement for becoming Nigeria’s president. As a friend puts it in a jest, “The white man only pays for results, not efforts.” Government is not run in a trial-and-error mode.
The false starts may have informed the “Jagaban Borgu”, Bola Tinubu’s outburst against Kachikwu, whom he reckons wants to “spoil the show” by what has now been explained a joke turned awry. Mr. President must always get it right. The expectations of the poor and the desperate who thought they saw an opportunity for a positive change in him must not be cut short.
Ministering to the citizens of Nigeria – the primary responsibility of government – must be taken more seriously. As Associate Judge of America’s Supreme Court, Louis D. Brandeis, insists, “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” It is the most supreme office because it confers the right to vote and be voted for on all incumbents.
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