Last week, President Jonathan swore in 11 new ministers into his cabinet promising that more will soon be appointed. Considering that there are more than 40 ministers in the government, 11 ministers is not a significantly large number expected to deliver much that is different from what the Jonathan government has done so far.
However, we advise the ministers to do their best to keep the country going until till May 29, 2015 when a new government is expected to emerge, except, perhaps, the votersreturn the present government to power. The ministers should carefully study their hand-over notes and continue where their predecessor left over for best results.
While most other ministers would have to continue where their predecessors stopped, it would not be the same for the new Minister of Defence, General Aliyu Gusau, and his colleague, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. It would be recalled that the Ministry of Defence has not had a substantive minister for a long time.
It had a minister of state for some time, and later, a supervising minister who was not based in the ministry. Thus the coming of Gusau, and Obanikoro is the first time in about two years that the ministry would have its full complement of political heads.
The challenge before Gusau and his minister of state is to put together a good team, using the expertise available in the ministry, the intelligence services and the armed forces to work out a strategy that can turn around the present security nightmare facing the nation and bring peace to the nation.
It is only a joker that would say that the nation’s security strategy has not failed with the Boko Haram terrorists havinga field day killing, maiming and destroying lives and property in the North-east geo-political zone of the country.
That part of the country increasingly looks as if it has ceased to be a part of Nigeria, having been under emergency rule for about eight months; yet, the insurgents are having a field day wreaking havoc on the people of the area.
Recently, in a belated but significant acknowledgement of the fact that the federal government is unable to maintain law and order in the region, all federal government or unity schools in the area were closed down after a deadly attack by the Boko Haram which led to the slaughter of more than 40 students in their beds!
General Gusau and the minister of state have their job already cut out for them. No Nigerian wants or would entertain any excuse for failure in view of the huge confidence reposed in the new Minister of Defence.
The defence portfolio has been lying empty for long only for the new minister to be named to it. This shows the high degree of confidence which President Jonathan has in the appointees.
Though it is not fashionable in these climes for those who don’t perform to resign, it is hoped that General Gusau will bring to bear his experience as an intelligence expert to eliminate the terrorists in the North-east.
Unfortunately, another supposedly brilliant intelligence officer, Sambo Dasuki, has been National Security Adviser (NSA) for quite a while, yet, the nation’s security has been ridiculed by the Boko Haram with the NSA doing practically little or nothing!
The nation has committed huge sums of money to the anti-terrorist campaign; we hope that under General Gusau, there will be something to show for it other than several dead bodies of Nigerians killed by the Boko Haram.
