This is, perhaps, the most important decision the President will be making since his inauguration, and we wish him well in the effort to search out credible Nigerians who can help him to actualise his plan to reform the country and move it forward. He should not disappoint the people in this regard.
Generally, we expect Buhari to nominate ministers who reflect his public image as an honest and highly principled man. It is in his interest to brook no compromise on the character and integrity of his appointees. A president bears strict liability for his government and his appointees. He may not get all the credit for their achievements, but he is sure to get the blame for their shortcomings. That is the inexorable law of presidential power.
The president has promised not to appoint “hostages.” We urge him to stick to that promise because hostages owe their loyalty to vested interests, not the Nigerian nation. Hostages are difficult to manage. When their performance is questioned, they seek refuge in ethnic cleavages.
We also urge Buhari not to appoint ‘eye servers.’ These are persons who would seek to retain their offices through effusive expressions of loyalty to the president, and not the services that they can offer Nigerians. Such people never do the jobs they are given properly, preferring to rely on politicking for their survival. He must be wary of publicity seekers who will rather play to the gallery, than do their jobs.
He should also avoid ‘yes-men’ who cannot stand their ground and pursue causes that will be of great benefit to Nigerians, no matter whose ox is gored. He must beware of ostentatious persons and potential treasury looters. Political considerations should not be allowed to overshadow integrity and competence, which should be the two primary qualifications for the appointments,
Let the president write a comprehensive job description for all ministerial appointees, which will be handed over to them on their first days in office. This should serve as a checklist on performance, with future evaluations based on it.
The President should appoint activists in each field. These are goal-oriented persons who can bring unusual passion and determination to their jobs. He should be gender-sensitive and appoint a good number of women ministers, which he failed to do when he was Head of State in 1984. We expect to see ministers who are exposed, who understand international best standards, and who know that the world has become a global village. He needs men and women with vision and energy; those who can push past obstacles and achieve their aims.
President Buhari must ensure that those to be appointed into his cabinet must have exemplary work ethic, which they would inculcate in their immediate subordinates and throughout their ministries or departments. Nigeria cannot change unless there is a change in the work ethic of the nation and the ministers are expected to lead this change.
Above all, the president should bring in persons with cognate experience who can understand the issues and provide leadership in the ministries and departments they are expected to superintend. The best candidates will be knowledgeable persons in their professional fields who can steer a course of political neutrality. This is necessary because the president will require results that are observable and measurable from them.
All these ministers need not come from his party. He can learn from US President Barack Obama, who began by appointing three persons from the opposition Republican Party into his government. During the campaigns in 2008, Obama was barely on speaking terms with Senator Hillary Clinton, his challenger for the nomination. But, it did not stop him from appointing her Secretary of State, when he became president.
The president should appoint ‘thinkers’ and visionaries. He must remember the injunction in Section 14(3) of the Nigerian Constitution on the need to reflect the federal character of the country. If he can find patriotic Nigerians with the above qualifications, he would have taken the first critical steps towards the achievement of his plan to renew, if not re-make, Nigeria. We wish him good luck on this critical assignment, and urge that it should not be delayed any further.
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