President Muhammadu Buhari in his first term in office, (2015 -2019) told a nationwide audience in a radio/television interview that he knew that people were calling him ‘Baba go slow”. He then added, “Those who are running, have you asked them where they were running to?”
The monologue represented the perception of the President by many Nigerians who felt that he had not prepared himself for the task of ruling and running the affairs of the country. It took him about six months to form his cabinet and urgent state matters were not attended to with the speed that they deserved. He had promised to tackle the problems of insecurity, corruption and a fledgling economy. It was evident that he faced the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast of Nigeria as soon as he came to power. Some quick arrests were made in respect of those alleged to have helped themselves with public funds in multiples of billions of Naira. However, the economy remained in comatose and instead of the relief the President promised, it was widely felt that more and more people were sinking into poverty. So, for four years, Buhari was scored very low on the economy, perhaps in most of his policies. Even his promise of safety of lives and property fell apart with the bloody herdsmen/farmers clash in many States from Northcentral to Southwest and Southeast States. There is also the lingering issue of banditry and kidnapping all over the place.
In spite of these ‘shortcomings’, for want of another word to describe the President’s performance in his first term, he came back to claim ‘the trophy’ of second term in office when he defeated his arch rival, Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 general election, the smoke of which is still smoldering. Let us leave the post-election issue on the sideline for now as the battle for certification of the true winner is now on its way to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land; Buhari had won at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that delivered its judgment slightly less than three weeks ago.
Instead, let us remember that the President made a promise when he was re-elected in February this year. He said that the speed with which he would take far-reaching decisions will surprise his supporters and astound his critics. Well, he has begun to make good that promise. He named 43 ministers that the Senate confirmed without delay, assigned them portfolios and they are all up and running in their respective offices. Now he has constituted an Economic Advisory Council, EAC.
This move has closed the ranks of his supporters and his strident critics. The divide seems to have fused because of the showers of praise on the President for setting up that Council.
These are areas of consensus everywhere. First of all the timing is believed to be right since the Council is coming at the threshold of the President’s second term. Secondly, the composition of the Council is generally on the face of it accepted as flawless, given the pedigree of members of the Council. In it is Professor Doyin Salami, the Chairman of the Council. Salami is a don at the Lagos Business School and one time member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Others are Mohammed Sagagi (Vice-Chairman), Sagagi holds Ph.D Economics from University of Warwick, UK and he is currently a Political Analysis Manager at the Northern Nigeria Skills Training Programme. Ode Ojowu, another member is Professor of Economics and former Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission. There is Shehu Yahaya who has Ph.D in Industrial Economics from the University of Sussex and he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Development Bank of Nigeria. Iyabo Masha, another Council member is the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund, IMF accredited to Sierra Leone. There is also Professor Chukwuman Soludo (former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria during the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and a Professor of Economics). Bismark Revane who is in the Council is Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd.
Thirdly, the frequency of meetings of the Council is monthly for technical matters and quarterly for scheduled sessions. The Council is at liberty to ask for unscheduled meetings whenever the needs arise. This is latitude that a body like this requires to do a thorough job of its assignments.
The President will cut bureaucracy to manageable size when it was said that the Council will report directly to him. This sounds good in many ears.
However, those who claim that they mean well for Nigeria have started looking beyond the cosmetics of the establishment of the Economic Advisory Council. Why is the Council loaded with academics without a single practical business person or even a street economist? You must have heard the private sector complaining already that it is not represented in the Council. Will the President accept the recommendations of the Council? Does he possess the political will to implement the recommendations that he accepts? What about the lethargic public service that serves as the graveyard of the most brilliant policy proposals? How can Buhari beat it to line? In a nation of varied and diverse interests, how can the work of the Council be insulated from political and social wrangling? Since the buck will end on his desk, can the President achieve necessary concurrence and consensus to move laudable economic policies into implementation stages to lend credence to his establishment of the Council? Questions, questions that will be begging for answers!
For Buhari, for the time being, it is not a false start to his second term in office, judging from the acclamation that has greeted his decision to set up the Council. It is also not impossible for the President to inject a couple of persons that may add value to the work of the Council.
For the generality of Nigerians, this is the time for the present administration to make haste ‘quickly’. This move meant to revamp the country’s economy should not be a flash in the pan.
*Atilade Atoyebi who now manages this website, currentnigeria.com was a current affairs analyst on Radio Nigeria (the biggest radio network in Nigeria) for over 25 years.
By Atilade Atoyebi*
President Muhammadu Buhari in his first term in office, (2015 -2019) told a nationwide audience in a radio/television interview that he knew that people were calling him ‘Baba go slow”. He then added, “Those who are running, have you asked them where they were running to?”
The monologue represented the perception of the President by many Nigerians who felt that he had not prepared himself for the task of ruling and running the affairs of the country. It took him about six months to form his cabinet and urgent state matters were not attended to with the speed that they deserved. He had promised to tackle the problems of insecurity, corruption and a fledgling economy. It was evident that he faced the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast of Nigeria as soon as he came to power. Some quick arrests were made in respect of those alleged to have helped themselves with public funds in multiples of billions of Naira. However, the economy remained in comatose and instead of the relief the President promised, it was widely felt that more and more people were sinking into poverty. So, for four years, Buhari was scored very low on the economy, perhaps in most of his policies. Even his promise of safety of lives and property fell apart with the bloody herdsmen/farmers clash in many States from Northcentral to Southwest and Southeast States. There is also the lingering issue of banditry and kidnapping all over the place.
In spite of these ‘shortcomings’, for want of another word to describe the President’s performance in his first term, he came back to claim ‘the trophy’ of second term in office when he defeated his arch rival, Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 general election, the smoke of which is still smoldering. Let us leave the post-election issue on the sideline for now as the battle for certification of the true winner is now on its way to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land; Buhari had won at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal that delivered its judgment slightly less than three weeks ago.
Instead, let us remember that the President made a promise when he was re-elected in February this year. He said that the speed with which he would take far-reaching decisions will surprise his supporters and astound his critics. Well, he has begun to make good that promise. He named 43 ministers that the Senate confirmed without delay, assigned them portfolios and they are all up and running in their respective offices. Now he has constituted an Economic Advisory Council, EAC.
This move has closed the ranks of his supporters and his strident critics. The divide seems to have fused because of the showers of praise on the President for setting up that Council.
These are areas of consensus everywhere. First of all the timing is believed to be right since the Council is coming at the threshold of the President’s second term. Secondly, the composition of the Council is generally on the face of it accepted as flawless, given the pedigree of members of the Council. In it is Professor Doyin Salami, the Chairman of the Council. Salami is a don at the Lagos Business School and one time member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Others are Mohammed Sagagi (Vice-Chairman), Sagagi holds Ph.D Economics from University of Warwick, UK and he is currently a Political Analysis Manager at the Northern Nigeria Skills Training Programme. Ode Ojowu, another member is Professor of Economics and former Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission. There is Shehu Yahaya who has Ph.D in Industrial Economics from the University of Sussex and he is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Development Bank of Nigeria. Iyabo Masha, another Council member is the Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund, IMF accredited to Sierra Leone. There is also Professor Chukwuman Soludo (former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria during the presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and a Professor of Economics). Bismark Revane who is in the Council is Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd.
Thirdly, the frequency of meetings of the Council is monthly for technical matters and quarterly for scheduled sessions. The Council is at liberty to ask for unscheduled meetings whenever the needs arise. This is latitude that a body like this requires to do a thorough job of its assignments.
The President will cut bureaucracy to manageable size when it was said that the Council will report directly to him. This sounds good in many ears.
However, those who claim that they mean well for Nigeria have started looking beyond the cosmetics of the establishment of the Economic Advisory Council. Why is the Council loaded with academics without a single practical business person or even a street economist? You must have heard the private sector complaining already that it is not represented in the Council. Will the President accept the recommendations of the Council? Does he possess the political will to implement the recommendations that he accepts? What about the lethargic public service that serves as the graveyard of the most brilliant policy proposals? How can Buhari beat it to line? In a nation of varied and diverse interests, how can the work of the Council be insulated from political and social wrangling? Since the buck will end on his desk, can the President achieve necessary concurrence and consensus to move laudable economic policies into implementation stages to lend credence to his establishment of the Council? Questions, questions that will be begging for answers!
For Buhari, for the time being, it is not a false start to his second term in office, judging from the acclamation that has greeted his decision to set up the Council. It is also not impossible for the President to inject a couple of persons that may add value to the work of the Council.
For the generality of Nigerians, this is the time for the present administration to make haste ‘quickly’. This move meant to revamp the country’s economy should not be a flash in the pan.
*Atilade Atoyebi who now manages this website, currentnigeria.com was a current affairs analyst on Radio Nigeria (the biggest radio network in Nigeria) for over 25 years.