For four months, the anxiety was high. So also
were expectations. And when the list of ministerial
nominees was still not forthcoming, permutations
took over. Even conmen were not left out in the
emerging equation as they quickly moved in,
telling desperate politicians that they have the necessary links to get their names on the final list
of nominees. In the process, many unsuspecting
Nigerians were fleeced of their hard-earned or
fraudulently acquired money.


The newspapers too and the social media were
not left out as they scrambled to undo one another
with different “scoops” and “exclusives” on
who and who will make the list. In other words,
the rumour mill came alive and spilled out different
names at different times. But all these came to an end last Tuesday when Bukola Saraki, the Senate
President, formally read out the names of
President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees for
ministerial positions. Since then, the debate has
changed. Now that Nigerians have an idea of those
who will form the new cabinet, the debate is now about whether the waiting game was worth it or
whether those now penciled down are the best
materials the country can produce at this time.


It has not been easy though. The list has attracted
divergent views. While some people believe that
most of the names on the list are made up of
‘analogue’ people or spent forces who have
little or nothing to contribute, others believe that
there is nothing in the list to suggest that the much- vaunted change under the current dispensation is
on course. The reason is simple. Many people
believe that some people who might have been
tainted by corruption or with corruptive tendencies
actually made the list of ministers as against the
promise of putting in place, a new Nigeria, where all Nigerians will be proud of their country.
Besides, in many states, people seem unhappy
about the names of some nominees due to one
complaint or the other.


The summary of the whole thing is that quite a
good number of people are not happy with the
final list for different reasons. A lot of people are in
doubt if the list was the handiwork of just one
man, the president himself, as being peddled
around. They may be right. Looking at the list, it is obvious that the All Progressives’ Congress, APC,
leadership had substantial influence on the list
because majority of the nominees are APC
members. This is a confirmation that the party
machinery had inputs in the compilation of the list.
In that case, the party leaders must have breath down the neck of the president to be able to get
the names of the party members to be
accommodated in the list as against what majority
of Nigerians had expected.



Majority of Nigerians had expected a list that will
feature names of renowned technocrats,
professionals and others who have distinguished
themselves in their fields of endeavour. Quite a lot
of them are scattered across the ivory towers,
blue chip companies and elsewhere in the country. Others are making waves in the Diaspora by
contributing actively and significantly to the
economic development of foreign countries. They
are doing this at a time their fatherland is
wallowing pitifully in a slough of ignorance,
poverty and bondage. And it is so, because those who have constituted themselves into local
champions and tin-gods in Nigeria will never allow
them the opportunity to contribute their own quota
to the development of the nation.


From what I was able to piece together, Buhari
had wanted to go it all alone by picking his
ministers himself. It later turned out that most of
the people he had his eyes on, were people he
knew when he was in power many years ago
both as President and Petroleum Minister at different times. Some of the people are now in
their late 70s or early 80s. In fact, some of them
have suffered stroke or one form of infirmity or
another, a situation that made the president to
beat a retreat. It is believed that it was at this point
that the party seized the initiative and started bringing all manner of people for consideration as
ministers. Certainly, this cannot be Nigeria’s first
eleven.


Source - http://thenationonlineng.net/these-analogue-ministers/

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