Cabinet reshuffle: A far cry from the expected tsunami

By Dr Halimah Nuhu Sanda

In a move many Nigerians had hoped would be root-and-branch reshuffling of the federal cabinet, the first ministerial reshuffle by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has turned out to be more a gentle ripple than the tsunami that many of us expected. Having followed Nigerian politics fairly closely for the past 5 years, I must admit to feeling a sense of anticlimax by what looks like a missed opportunity for bold, transformative change.

What most citizens, myself included had expected, when whispers of an impending cabinet reshuffle began filtering through the corridors of power in Abuja, was a dramatic and intense onslaught that would only allow a few performing ministers to remain. While there were the retention of capable hands such as Foreign Affairs Minister Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, Health Minister Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, Environment Minister Mal. Balarabe Abbas, FCT minister Gov. Nyesom Wike, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo and Housing & Urban Development, their retention was very logical given their relatively steady performances. However, this limited scope of the actual reshuffle would appear to mask a worrying reluctance at addressing more fundamental issues that beset our Federal Executive Council.

The past nine months of the Tinubu administration has been anything but bereft of unprecedented economic challenges. From the free fall of the Naira to the galloping inflation rates, the ripple effects that trailed the removal of fuel subsidy stretched ordinary Nigerians beyond their elasticity limit. Against this backdrop, a more decisive intervention in the Economic Management Team was expected. The retention in the new Cabinet of a number of Ministers whose portfolios have direct impact on our economic and security recovery already points to a looming question on the administration’s will for a new course.

Let me be clear: this is not to take away from the quality of the few changes effected. However, the Nigerian public were programmed to expect a wider-reaching restructuring that would bring fresh thinking and vibrant leadership into some of the key ministries. The economic and security challenges facing our nation require nothing less than a bold reimagining of our federal executive council.

Especially disappointing is the apparent failure to improve coordination between some key ministries. Interrelatedness of our economic and security problems requires an all-minister response, working in full harmony with each other. In the limited reshuffle, that means we retain largely the same team that has struggled to present a united front in addressing our economic and security woes.

Retaining ministers whose capacity for innovative solutions in their respective portfolios has been very limited sends a very disstresing signal on the administration’s apparent satisfaction with the status quo. Maintaining status quo at a time when unprecedented challenges are facing nations worldwide is retrogression. Nigerians deserves better.
That said, one must also understand the political complexities accompanying cabinet reshuffles in the rather peculiar political terrain that is Nigeria. The delicate balancing that always has to be made between federal character, political alignments, and the need not to rock the boat often ties the hands of the executive. There are times, however, when leadership demands those hard decisions that would be for the greater good.

The President Tinubu administration was sworn into office on the altar of renewed hope. But this modest reshuffle seems to have prioritised political stability over the urgent need for transformational leadership in this country. While stability is important, it mustn’t be at the expense of good governance and economic recovery.

Going forward the administration must understand that, this reshuffle would not be assessed based on political astuteness but its impact on the lives of ordinary Nigerians, and the retained ministers must justify their retention in the cabinet through demonstrable improvements in the respective ministries assigned to them.
For those of us in the bold reformers’ ranks, this reshuffle constitutes a missed opportunity. We, however, remain eternally optimistic that the administration might be more courageous in its next sets of decisions affecting our collective national destiny. The challenges facing Nigeria require nothing less than transformative leadership from top to bottom.

The following months will also be crucial in determining whether this conservative approach to cabinet reorganisation was prudent or a missed opportunity to inject fresh energy into the federal executive council. In any case, as citizens, we have to remain vigilant and continue to demand accountability from both the retained and newly appointed ministers.

While the first cabinet reshuffle by President Tinubu may have fallen short of popular expectations, attention now needs to focus on ensuring that the present team delivers on their mandates. The Nigerian people are not infinitely patient, and this administration needs to understand that modest tweaks in the cabinet mean nothing if those are not matched by bold policy measures and better governance results.

The tsunami that we expected may not have materialized, but the waves of public expectation continue to rise. Now, it falls to the retained ministers and newly appointed ministers to prove stability was the wiser choice over wholesale change.

Dr. Halimah writes from Kano and can be reach via [email protected]