(Etcetera. Photo: Filed)
Why do Nigerian Presidents so often fail to make quality appointments? Unlike beauty, quality does not lie in the eyes of the beholder. Every new president promises to nominate talented, qualified people to fill into positions in their government. Yet, they all make more than a few appointments that do not satisfy the call for “able, creative, and experienced people,” who will serve as “the most important ingredient in the recipe for good government.” Most of the names I have seen on President Buhari’s ministerial list do not represent the best and brightest Nigeria has to offer.
The President might be having problem with the issue of trust, thereby looking to appoint only those that will stay loyal to him, but we also want him to look beyond loyalty. No matter how loyal appointees are to the President, they also need to know what to do and how to do it once they get the jobs. The ability to manage, design, and effectively carry out new programmes, implement key legislation, and deliver services should be prominent—indeed primary—criteria for choosing potential appointees.
Those who have cited loyalty as the reason why mostly northerners have been appointed so far into the President’s cabinet should note that there are no systematic data on how loyalty results in effective performance in governance. I can also argue that loyalty or not, political appointees are often not truly loyal to the President because they also have personal agendas, thereby having multiple loyalties.
Even where appointees are responsive to presidential agendas, some tend to lack the managerial skills to enact those agendas successfully. Most of the names I see on this list are political lobbyists, presidential campaign workers, and trusted aides to political godfathers. Some may have substantial policy expertise, but almost all are essentially soloists, not team …Read More
Source:: The NET
