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EVEN in its twilight, the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), continues to be a relentless disappointment.
First elected on the promise to change and then take the country to the next level, this regime has only changed and moved Nigeria retrogressively in the economy, security and corruption that it promised to tackle.
These facts are evident to anyone who does not live in a fool’s paradise, even though government agents try to colour the truth.
We hear about the progress they said they have made in infrastructure. Still, it is a shame that anyone elected to govern this country would count the provision of infrastructure an achievement when it is an obligation every responsible government owes the people and itself if it hopes to run effectively. This factor that should be a no brainer is the poster for the success of a government that promised heaven on earth.
There is Mr Chibuike Amaechi who perhaps justifiably flaunts himself as the poster boy of Buhari’s successes. Even if accompanied by controversies, Amaechi’s tenure as Minister of Transportation has brought some progress, of which he is making the utmost capital in the maritime and railway sub-sectors.
Since the declaration of his ambition to be president three weeks ago, the minister has travelled to a dozen states, promising to expand railway infrastructure in some of them as if this was his personal property.
Abubakar Malami sits in Buhari’s cabinet as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, he is now hustling to become Governor of Kebbi State. As Attorney-General, Malami has caused Nigeria more harm than good, the most recent being his handling of issues surrounding S. 84(12) of the Electoral Act (2022). Just a couple of weeks ago, this man denied his ambition. It is just shameless.
Then, Chris Ngige, the loquacious Minister of Labour and his extravagant ego. Ngige is the one who once told Nigerian doctors to go to hell or any other country since Nigeria had no shortage of doctors. He is the one superintending over Nigeria’s unenviable unemployment situation without any visible plans for a reversal of the worrisome trend. He also wants to be president!
And then there is Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, currently Minister of State for Education and former Chairman of the Tertiary Education Fund. The lawyer, who was elected to the House of Representatives in his early 30s, has played in the education sector for five years but it is hard to identify his impact. The number of out-of-school children soars by the day and students at public universities remain at home for the third month running.
These men who have made slight or no success of the little handed over to them for supervision are bold enough to ask Nigerians for the opportunity to handle even more. How does that work?
But there are even more critical issues of legality and morality that make up how they are going about their aspirations.
As the law stands in Nigeria today, none of these gentlemen is electable by S. 84(12) of the Electoral Act (2022). And while they hang on to the 1999 constitution’s 30-day requirement for public officers to resign, their aspirations impose a moral burden on these appointees.
Then there is the overwhelming tendency for the abuse of office. This last week, Malami reportedly distributed exotic vehicles to political associates or whatever they were in his states.
Although his spokesperson has claimed that the vehicles were gifts from some minister’s friends, it isn’t easy to believe this story since the same man denied Mr Malami’s gubernatorial aspirations a couple of weeks back. Even if these “friends” donated the vehicles, there is the question of what the minister did for them in the past, or is expected to do, to qualify him for this huge favour. We might not be asking these questions if he was out of office. How can we be sure that state resources are not funding some of the activities of these aspirants?
For instance, how do ministers of government raise the sum of N100 million for their nomination forms? How much do these ministers earn? Do they even consider themselves to be accountable to anyone?
This brings us to the tragedy of it all. Ministers of the government may consider themselves to be above the laws but a president who has sworn to protect the constitution, tackle corruption and improve the people’s lives should put them right. What we see in this cabinet is a riot of will.
Today, S.84(12) of the Electoral Act is the law. A president bent on fighting corruption must eliminate every temptation for abuse of office. And until the Court of Appeal takes a position one way or the other, the right thing to do is to err on caution and ensure that political appointees shed their responsibilities before pursuing their ambition.
Buhari probably thinks he has a crop of saints in his cabinet but, even if that were so, the measurement of corruption is as much about perception as it is about the commission. The president should pre-empt and prevent any appearance of corruption, including anything that might tempt a political office holder into dipping his hands into state resources or currying favour from “friends.” It is the only way to reduce the perception, in the first instance, and ultimately the commission of corrupt practices in government. That is not to speak of the abandonment of their responsibilities while pursuing the opportunities they desire. It is why President Buhari should stop the chaotic situation in his cabinet and ask all ministers who aspire to elective offices to resign.
