Adeola Aderounmu
The news that Mr. Jonathan has dissolved the cabinet today is not to be received with any form of jubilation. If anything it is a new cause for worries.
Mr. Jonathan unfortunately does not have the choice of handpicking the executive members. For several years the system of governance in Nigeria is not based on merits or knowledge of the individuals in their chosen fields.
Right now what is going on is lobbying (which is normal and fair enough) at the different states of the federation where the new cabinet members will come from. At the end of the (new) long wait-which is a serious deficiency of the system-names will be drawn up from the different geographical areas of Nigeria.
The people who will get nominated will be happy for the invitation or re-invitation to loot and steal from the masses. This is the process since 1960-bring in people and let them lie and steal!
The Nigerian National Assembly will also be bubbling by now. We have seen these shameless people in the past soliciting for bribes from nominated candidates so that they can be confirmed by the senate.
For me, history is just going to repeat itself. The senate members will collect bribes, the new executive members will be square pegs in round holes or the other way around. The cycle of idiocy will continue.
There is nothing wrong in dissolving or re-shuffling the cabinets. I’m just afraid that I have seen thousands of that before in my life time. Things only get worse.
We run a system where everything we do is too cosmetic and irrational.
Rather than cabinet reshuffling I would have called these ministers to give an account of their stewardship and achievements. I would have recommended them for prosecution for all the monies that they have stolen. I would have used them as examples of how “not to steal and loot”. I would, as a leader, try to give good examples of what it means to lead.
These men and women will walk away from governance with all the monies that they have stolen and looted. They will be replaced with new categories of thieves. The whole nonsense will continue.
Mr. Jonathan is trying to ascertain his command, but in the end, he will get new people around him that he barely knew.
There are more pressing issues to face in Nigeria.
There is war in Jos. Niger Delta is waging war against Nigeria. There is poverty, millions of Nigerians-more than 70% of the population are extremely poor and living on less than 2 dollars per day. We are talking about approximately 90m people or more. It is one of the biggest human tragedies of modern times. Highly overlooked, but the consequences will make Biafra and Somalia to be children’s plays if Jos and Niger Delta escalate into full blown wars. The rest of the world will not be spared, and this is not going to be the price of gas only.
These grave problems dwarf the significance of the cabinet change in Nigeria, no matter how relevant it seems to the present occupiers of the seat of power.
Nigeria is on a brink, the gun-powders are leaking. Add the wars to the unemployment, insecurity of lives and properties and the uncertainties of everyday life, we are starring at a human disaster on the rise.
Something must give way, otherwise Nigeria will give way and hundreds of nations may arise. No one knows what the consequences and repercussions will be. It’s time for those in the rock to wake up. Even the rock is not immune from weathering. It can happen..!
A View From The Scandinavian 
New cabinet, same malpractices, poor administration, same gloss and spin and the same inadequate results (or possibly even worse).
How can Jonathan cross examine existing cabinet members. He only has to look into the face of his wife and he’ll see she has been accused of money laundering. He himself almost ran away when asked to declare his assets upon taking office. Why do you think that was the case?
I have my reservations about Jonathan, after reading the article below:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201003150884.html
You will recognise, his aim is not to give his all in this spell as the acting head of state. He has his sights set on a future presidency. (You can see he is only thinking about himself).
What is he waiting for? The time to act is NOW, nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.
That being the case you can’t expect to see any decisive, brilliant or daring moves. So the country will continue to experience a decline in fortunes, until it will eventually give up the ghost. Another wasted opportunity, I think.
You are right when you say the country is facing some big challenges. The thing is in Nigeria, most people don’t care. Whole villages of people can be murdered and hardly anything is done or said about it. This is a country where the president hasn’t been seen in nearly 6 months, not even as much as a “hello” or a wave to the people he presides over, but yet some people insist he is the president. What a calamity. How pitiful and stupid are the state of affairs there.
People stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the warning signs, and continue to carry on as if they are immune. When they recognise it, that will be too late. The rich can always jet abroad. What about the rest?
Have you asked yourself, why is it you, all the way in Sweden (land of cleanliness and order, home of Ikea, Ericsson, Scania vehicles etc), can see this all the way from Scandinavia? Yet those on the ground in Nigeria, can’t! What is wrong with Nigerians? Must they be flown to Sweden for their eyes to be opened?
LikeLike