A few weeks ago, President Bola Tinubu announced a cabinet reshuffle to establish a more favorable economy.
Tinubu sacked five ministers, reappointed 10 others, appointed seven new ministers with Senate approval, and appointed the Ministry of Niger Delta Development to oversee regional development committees. Eight measures were taken, including renaming the ministry and abolishing the ministry. Strengthening sports development and transferring its functions to the National Sports Commission, etc.
The following ministers were dismissed:
– Ujuken Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs
– Laura Adejohn, Minister of Tourism
– Tahir Manman, Minister of Education
– Abdullahi Gwarzo, Minister of Housing and Urban Development
– Jamila Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development
This personnel change marked a reorganization in line with the requirements outlined in the Oronsay report.
This can be seen in the merger of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Arts and Creative Economy to form the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy.
The President also abolished the Ministry of Niger Delta Development and created in its place the Ministry of Regional Development, which would oversee the various regional development commissions in the country, including the Niger Delta Development Commission and the North East Development Commission. as the North West Development Commission and the South East Development Commission recently established by the Tinubu administration.
Creating separate ministries for each region, as was the case in the Niger Delta during the early governance period, would result in unnecessary duplication and increase governance costs.
As part of the reorganization, the president also ensured that the two ministerial positions in the Ministry of Police and Ministry of Youth Development were abolished, further reducing overhead costs.
But while these changes should be celebrated, the elephant in the room is being ignored.
Despite these changes, pressing issues such as high inflation (rising from 32.70% in September to 33.88% in October 2024), weak naira, insecurity, and rising fuel prices remain unresolved.
What is so striking about this personnel change is not only what has changed, but also what has remained the same.
Therefore, the question remains. Now that the restructuring is over, what will Tinubu do next for Nigeria?
Given the country’s insecurity, inflation, unemployment, fuel shortages, and persistent power grid breakdowns, perhaps the president should have initiated personnel changes from the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Oil, and Power. Is it?
However, these ministries were ignored.
Reforms and personnel changes are important, but if important sectors are left unaddressed, these measures risk being seen as mere window dressing, essentially changing the container without changing the substance.
This will deprive Nigerians of the impactful changes they are longing for.
However, former Ogun State Deputy Governor, Senator Gbenga Kaka, has said in an exclusive interview with Naija News that all hope is not lost.
Do you think there was a need for a reshuffle in the presidential cabinet or do you think the focus should be on Tinubu’s economic policies?
“We need both. By the time Tinubu takes on the responsibility of governing the country and seeks a mandate fully given to him by the people, he naturally knows his responsibilities.
“First of all, continuous monitoring of feedback, review, and control is essential to effectively managing processes, whether building social or mechanical structures.
Plan, organize, and adjust execution strategies, and analyze and review feedback. This allows us to continue to tweak the structure from time to time to comply with what we have in mind to provide for the good people of the country. . I mean, he just did that and I don’t think there’s any reason for anyone to be concerned.
“His successes and failures are recorded as his own, no one says Gbenga kaka. That is the responsibility of the president. You have the privilege of changing your team members to continue striving towards that goal.Therefore, as long as there is nothing wrong with it.
“But some people may think that it is a sign of instability, and I wholeheartedly disagree with that idea. You have to keep moving until you get the right balance of the structure. If for some reason you make a mistake in your selection or placement, you have to keep making changes until you get the right balance.”
Isn’t reshuffling the cabinet without changing economic policy the same as changing the packaging of a product without changing its substance?
“I’m a marketer, so if I have a product and the brand doesn’t seem to be selling, I would just rebrand it. The product is functioning normally.”
But the economic policies remain the same, with the president saying he supports economic reforms and may not change them anytime soon.
“You are jumping the gun. Where is the policy? Economic policies that are not working, whether you like it or not, have no choice but to change. People can only dream that one day the dollar-to-naira exchange rate will return to normal. There is.
“The wilderness cannot continue as it is. People expect action to contain fuel prices rather than ongoing open market pricing. In Dangote, our monopoly is booming. What we can do is open up the market further and make it more competitive. Some of us believe that subsidies should not be completely abolished, even if possible. It is the provision of education, portable water, and medical care, as well as social amenities that affect everyone else considerably. One.
“So, as much as possible, make things easier (or at least bearable) for the people and avoid creating a government by and for the elites.”
So, what you are saying, in short, is that you believe that if economic hardship continues, Mr. Tinubu may cave in and make changes.
“I don’t know how he feels, but I’m just analyzing the situation my way. Like I said, the money stays on his table. Whether he changes or not, the most important thing is The goal is to produce results. Subsidies are provided even in developed countries, and many things are covered by subsidies.
“When I think of insecurity, I mean fear for life, property, and health. People forget that we face food insecurity.
“People forget that we have many forms of insecurity other than life and property. Education, food, health, electricity, pure water to replace portable water, etc. are just a few.” No, but there are some concerns about the continuation of subsidies that deserve serious attention, as many citizens will not be able to fully absorb subsidy reductions. ”
“Partial or total abolition of subsidies will be meaningless unless there is a recognized deterrent effect on those responsible for past sabotage of government goodwill.
“Therefore, he has to come up with his own solution of abolishing subsidies, but in abolishing subsidies, those responsible for getting us to this point have not yet been punished and Until this is completed, civilians will suffer.”We cannot just walk away.” ”
