State of the Nation

The recent announcement of Buharis ministers really did not take me by surprise. First of all , he had indicated his preference for the permanent secretaries over ministers and even referred to them as noise makers in one of his conversations with the foreign media. The list of ministers does not contain names that are strange to Nigerians who have been monitoring this administration. From fayemi who has been present in most of buharis foreign trips to Rotimi Amechi and fasola. Others such as dambazau have been around Buhari since he assumed office.

This meant it was business as usual at the aso rock villa , except for us the public who received the news on the 30th of September that the senate president Bukola Saraki had received the much anticipated list of ministers. Even with that the public was left with speculations as to who the ministers were. Not until October 5th before the certified list was published, did the public realize it was business as usual. There were no surprises. One might wonder why the suspense all along, if he was going to appoint the same people he had been seen with. But one thing that is for sure is that we as a nation have finally crossed this bridge, and the nation can go ahead and forge policies on the local scene as well as the international scene. With serious problems such as the fall in oil price and the exchange rate of the naira, Mr. President and his team will have to get to work immediately. The fall in oil price is not going to get resolved anytime soon, as experts have predicted that the sharp fall in the price is going to linger for at least two years. For a country like Nigeria that has gotten used to the quick money derived from oil to diversify its economy and go back to agriculture will require a immense sacrifices. The ripple effect is already being felt as the state governments simply cant pay their workers salaries because the allocation from government has reduced drastically. This shows that the states were simply sitting back and receiving their monthly allowance from the federal governmwment at the end of each month. It is understandable if they use the allocation for capital intensive projects but for basic recurrent expenses such as salaries? That’s completely unacceptable. No one would have known how bad the dependence on the federal government was if the fall in oil price did not occur. There have been fluctuations in the price of oil in the past but it has never been this bad. To find out that so many states do not generate enough income to pay their workers is totally unacceptable. Behind the façade of picture perfect appearances there were unbelievable events taking place. States were 100 percent reliant on the federal government allocation. A good example is osun state which at a time owed its workers nine months salary nine months!!! . Some workers died, some were given eviction notices, several bills remained un paid. Civil servants were and still an eye sore. The only consolation we have as a nation is that we have a strong leader at this very delicate period in the history of Nigeria... if Buhari was not the president I cannot begin to imagine the level of uncertainty the nation would have been feel ing at this moment which requires austerity measures. The country is optimistic about the whole situation because for the first time since the time of Murtala Muhhhammed we have an incorruptible leader. This new lease of life needs a legacy, a foundation, just like Murtalas Muhhammed, Nigeria’s most loved military head of state had intended. To create a transparent government where every public office holder is required to declare his or her assets. Mr President declared his assets as well as his vice president in September, leading by example even though the governors didn’t follow his example. It is beyond reasonable doubt that these crops of ministers will have to declare their assets. The fight against corruption is also in full gear as past government officials are being investigated for squandering the resources of the country. With breath taking revelations that make the money Abacha allegedly stole look like coins.