By Enuma W. Okoli
A new dawn and epoch of optimism has been bequeathed on the Nigerian landscape by the decisive victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the March 28 2015 presidential poll. The high expectations of the majority of Nigerians are not totally unexpected, given the rot and uncertainties on our national landscape prior to the presidential polls. Since the swearing of the president into office on May 29, a lot of “water has passed under the bridge” as the proverbial saying goes.
One thing that has gained currency and prominence is the legendary impatience of majority of Nigerians at the perceived slow pace at which the Buhari administration has taken off. It has, therefore, become imperative to set the records straight, so as to help manage the expectations that people have of the new administration.
The haste which many impatient people want the new administration to embrace cannot be in the best interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. This is because a meticulous and deliberate process of administration is certain to be more beneficial for the greater interest of the country at this time. From the reports of the transition committee headed by the respected Ahmed Joda, it is obvious that the new administration of Buhari is starting from a shaky ground.
It is also public knowledge that the previous administration did not pass on vital information to the Joda-led transition committee. Not surprisingly, this slowed down the pace of the transition committee and delayed it in coming out with a comprehensive report about the general state of things in the country. It is this report that is expected to “chart the road” and serve as a working template for the Buhari administration.
If we take a cursory look at the trajectory of past events in the country, we will observe that most of the policy flip flops and policy reversals with their attendant confusion and distortion in the polity were caused by haste and inadequate study of policy trends and objectives.
The country has suffered much from this in the past, and we cannot afford to continue to follow this same path of “too much motion and too little movement”.
In project management and administration, the need to get the planning stage right is very important. This is because all other stages in the project /administration life cycle depend on the planning stage. Once the planning stage is gotten right, it can be taken for granted that all other things will work well if meticulous care is applied.
The best analogy that suffices here can be likened to the foundation of a high rise building which must be solid and deep enough for the entire high rise building to stand upon.
Nigerians should give the President enough time to plan the trajectory of his administration, because if this is done, we shall all benefit tremendously from it.
Besides, for the “change” mantra of the administration to be really meaningful to all and sundry, much time needs to be dedicated to the planning process for a full maximization of the different dimensions of the change we so much desire.
Part of strategies which the Buhari administration has adopted to bail the economy out of its dire straits is the desire for a very lean government. This is expected to lead to a drastic cut in the number of ministries and even federal parastatals. This commendable approach requires time, so that a workable framework for the operation of the expected change can be produced. The anticipated effect of this is the expected savings the government will make in overhead costs which will be ploughed back into the development of critical infrastructure.
Another area in which some critics have attempted to stampede the new administration is in the delay in constituting the new federal cabinet, and the appointment of persons into other key offices. Most of us can attest to the modest and silent achievements of the administration in the past one month, even without key appointments being made.
The modest achievements in the improvement in the general security situation, the reduction/near absence of vehicular queues at filling stations across the country, the improvements in the power situation, the expected commencement of operations by the nation’s refineries, the goodwill and renewed interest in Nigeria by the international community and so on show that there may be no direct correlation between the time of setting up a federal cabinet and achieving positive results.
The issue of appointments needs not be over-flogged as there is existing precedence set by previous administrations where appointments into key offices were not done for as long as sixty days after the inception of those administrations. By nature, the president is not given to impulsiveness. He cuts the image of an administrator who always thinks through his actions before he takes them. When such actions are eventually executed, the finesse of such actions is enduring and clear for all to see.
The Buhari administration is a project for all Nigerians in which everyone is a stakeholder. Hence, we should not attempt to stampede the administration, but rather support it for the general good.
Mr. Okoli is the author of President Buhari’s biography: General Muhammadu Buhari: Principled and Transparent