For some months now, many Nigerians have grown weary with the President Goodluck Jonathan’s style of leadership, and his caravan of ministers most of whom seem to have run out of ideas on what to do in office. Nigerians have watched helplessly as the ship of the country continues to drift; pundits say it is as if nobody is in charge. From all fronts, the poor masses are being pummeled and lamentation is being heard from all corners of the country.

Recall that the President only made up his mind on selection of members of his cabinet two months after the inauguration of his administration on May 29, 2011 following the general election in April of same year. The delay attracted comments from analysts who said it was a sign of indecision which they termed as dangerous and ominous.

When the names were made public, critics accused the President of recycling tired men and women, who had become so used to holding public offices that they no longer see the challenge of performance.

However, some commentators give the President thumbs-up, saying it showed that he was being careful not to make mistake in the selection process.

Close to one year in office, it appears Nigerians are not getting the dividends of democracy contrary to the volumes of campaign promises that were unleashed last year.

Analysts insist that the level of poverty in the country at present is higher than what the case was when the masses went to the polls last year. Estimates put the percentage of Nigerians living below poverty line at about 70 percent.

It is believed that the best way to assess a performing government is to assess the level of deliveries by various ministries. Those who hug this view explain that the President does his job through the ministers and that the failure of such ministers is equally that of the president.

It was on this premise that many Nigerians had expected a shake-up in the cabinet of President Jonathan.

A cursory look at most of the sectors of the economy will reveal that it is either that those at the helm of affairs in those areas are sleeping or they are overwhelmed by the magnitude of challenges on their beats.

A few days ago, some national dailies had reported a proposed plan by President Jonathan to drop some ministers and also to appoint new hands. It was also reported that some names had already been forwarded to the State Security Services (SSS) for screening.

Late last month when the rumour was making the rounds, it was said that ministers and politicians aspiring to become members of the Federal Executive Council had started lobbying key figures in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), including the newly elected national chairman, Bamanga Tukur.

Before the rebuttal by the Presidency on the reported proposed cabinet shake up, expectation had run high that some fresh blood was going to be injected into the system.

Denying any plan to carry out some reorganisation in the cabinet, some sources at the Presidency had said the rumour was the handiwork of certain politicians who we re bent on seeing some key ministers dropped from the government.

Beyond the denial, however, the Presidency has indicated interest in reviewing the performances of all the ministers with the aim to assessing their relevance in their individual ministries.

Critics have described as an affront on the Nigerian electorate, the President’s decision to cancel the planned cabinet shake up.

According to Maxwell Mbamara, a legal practitioner and social commentator, the decision of government was a slap on the faces of poor Nigerians who, according to him, are fed up with the state of affairs in the country.

“To say that Nigerians are fed up with most of the ministers and their offerings is to put it mildly. Can you imagine that some of them have been there since July last year without anything to show for it, they are just there occupying space? What Nigerians get on a daily basis are empty promises that are never met. They have fantastic blueprints and roadmaps but those fantastic ideas die on the paper on which they are drawn. When I heard of the rumour of shake up, I thought the Presidency was serious, and I was actually looking forward to seeing new faces and not just new faces, but new faces with good intention for the country,” Mbamara said.

According to him, “the greatest problem holding down this country is corruption. And unless that monster is tackled, Nigeria cannot make progress. Agreed that there is the issue of corruption in every country, but the degree varies. It is a big issue in this country because, people steal more than 85 percent of the budget while committing only 15 percent to work, whereas it is the other way round in developed economies. The people are tired of people who serve their stomachs in government. Mind you, nobody says they should not eat where they work, but they should be reasonable. If the President decides to carry along with those who have not performed, he is also going to be judged by the performance of those ministers at the end of the day.”

An analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said if President Jonathan has decided not to drop some non-performing ministers, it means a vote of confidence in such ministers.

“I was a little bit taken aback by the report that there was no plan by the President to drop some ministers. The reason is that I am not quite comfortable with the performance of many of the ministers. To me, nothing is happening, we are just marking time. If you go round the country and in all the sectors that the ministers are supposed to be fully in charge, you can’t see anything. The performances are only on the television and pages of newspapers. Day in day out we hear all manner of promises, yet they are not being fulfilled. What the President is telling Nigerians is that he is comfortable with the level of performance of his ministers; but he should not forget that Nigerians are already tired of his style of leadership. Nigerians are indeed despondent; it appears we have come to a crossroads,” the analyst said.

Reports have it that the President will soon begin the evaluation of his ministers’ performances, it is expected that the exercise will eventually lead to sack of some of them who fail to meet the criteria set by the chief occupant of Aso Rock Villa.

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