Ministerial Candidates Should Win Elections in Their States to Qualify as Ministers

By

Abubakar Alkali

alkalizai@yahoo.com

 

The ministerial screening exercise conducted by the 8th senate has been adjudged to be a success at least to the extent that all the ministerial nominees passed the test and were confirmed. Albeit, very few people expected otherwise for obvious reasons. Apart from the fact that section 147 (2) of the 1999 constitution has been satisfied, there are quite a few lessons to take home from the exercise. The constitution was also clear in section 147 (3) that the President shall appoint at least one minister from each state. A glaring constitutional lacuna appears apparent in that the constitution was not explicit on the grassroots attachment and connection of the ministerial nominees to their states and constituencies. This is critical because politics is about the grassroots and if a ministerial nominee has no basic understanding of his community then the question arises as to their qualification to represent their state at the federal executive council. If a person is going to represent his state then it is fair to say that he/she should demonstrate a certain degree of connection with that state. To this extent, it is necessary to have a provision in the constitution which stipulates for the position of ministers to be contested at elections just as the positions of senators and members of the house of representative who are also representing their states.  Ministerial candidates should contest and win elections as ministers in their respective states before they qualify to represent their states as ministers so as to establish a bond with their constituencies. The proposed ministerial elections should be held just like the Presidential and national assembly elections. However, it should be noted that I am not calling for a parliamentary system of government in Nigeria neither am I calling for the continued retention of the current presidential system which is too expensive for Nigeria and doesn’t suit our ground peculiarities. What I am calling for is the creation and implementation of a pan African and uniquely Nigerian political system called AFROCRACY  which is in tandem with the dictates of the universal declaration that democratic ethos have no universal application.  Any political system that a nation decides to adopt is democracy to that nation. AFROCRACY is a balance between the Presidential and parliamentary systems to promote eradication of poverty and strengthening of institutions (This is a topic for another day).

 

If a minister is representing his/her state at the esteemed federal executive council (FEC) and he/she cannot memorise even half of the local government areas in that state, then a question arises on the extent to which he can effectively represent that state.  Can a ministerial nominee who lived almost all their lives in Lagos or Abuja or a combination of the two cities still be judged as qualified to represent their state where they know no one and nobody knows them in the state? It is clear that some of the ministerial nominees have very little or no links with their grassroots, constituencies or states even though they are Bonafide indigenes of these states. This fact is further confirmed by the numerous petitions against the selection of several nominees which were predicated inter alia, on the lack of any connectivity with their constituencies and corruption. In one particular petition submitted by the senators representing one of the states, it was stated that the nominee doesn’t know anyone in the state neither does anyone knows the nominee. I vividly recall a question put across to another nominee on 2 occasions on how his nomination would impact to his state to which he gave no clear answer. But one has to understand the nominee’s less than impressive answer to the question because the constitution gives room for one to live all his life in Lagos and still represent another state as minister.

 

It is imperative to state that the nemesis of corruption in Nigeria, the father of anticorruption in Africa and a leading light in the global war against corruption, our own President Muhammadu Buhari has done exactly as the constitution stipulates regarding nomination of ministers. However, the issue is with our constitution which doesn’t bother to attach any bond between a ministerial nominee and his/her state except a certificate to confirm that he is an indigene of that state..

There is also the need to assign portfolios to the nominees prior to their confirmation by the senate so as to allow for a more effective senate screening process. For the senate to confirm the nominees, there is the need for the nominees to go through an effective and rigorous screening process to ascertain their competencies on the particular ministry they are going to be assigned to. If a nominee should just read some few lines in his/her CV and ‘bow and go’ then the whole exercise is not worth it. The unpopular ‘bow and go’ syndrome was created to defend and cover up mediocrity. If the portfolios are assigned to the nominees, the senate will have the chance to thoroughly investigate their technical competencies. It was clear during the screening exercise that several questions put forward to the nominees were general and couldn’t be used as a yardstick to judge their technical competencies. Some questions put forward to the nominees sounded as typical questions asked by Journalists.

 

More interestingly, some of the questions asked during the screening exercise were pointing to the direction that only the executive arm constitutes government. Of course, the government has 3 tiers as stipulated in the constitution namely the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. However, some questions seem to show that some of our distinguished senators have actually left it all to the executive to handle. A lot of the issues that were raised during the question and answer session should have been dealt with at committee levels in the senate. For example, a question was put forward by a senator to a nominee as to what she would do if she finds herself as a member of a committee set up to rescue the Chibok girls. But the committee the distinguished senator was referring to should have come from the senate. Everything cannot be left to the executive because the constitution was clear that the national assembly can make laws on all issues contained in both the exclusive and concurrent legislative lists. One issue a lot of people would want to find out about the senate is the role it has played in the rescue of the Chibok girls and other innocent Nigerians held captive by Boko haram. Nigerians are yet to see the response of the senate on the Chibok girls rescue which is long overdue. Nigerians are yet to see a high powered senate committee making its impact in the fight to rescue the Chibok girls and have a sustainable solution to the on-going relentless carnage perpetrated by Boko haram. The closest we have seen so far was a representative of the senate President ‘receiving’ the bring back our girls group (BBOG) at the gates of the national assembly with a promise that he will take their complaint to the ‘appropriate’ quarters. Or is it a fact that the senate is not interested in drawing a line with Boko haram? The senate needs to up the tempo and compliment the efforts of the executive in the war against insurgency after all they are the representatives of these innocent people that are being killed daily. With innocent constituents being killed nonstop by Boko haram in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa atates, one wonders who the senators in these states are representing or at best what have the senators in these states done to stop the killing of their constituents. Indeed everything should not be left to only the executive to handle.

 

Another distinguished senator also asked one of the ministerial nominees about the unfortunate stampede at the last Hajj in Saudi Arabia which led to the death of several pilgrims including Nigerian pilgrims. The nominee’s response was that he was sure that the Saudi government will do everything possible to avert a reoccurrence. The issue here is that since the incident in which over 150 Nigerian pilgrims are reported to have lost their lives, the good people of Nigeria are yet to see a response from the senate on this issue. What several Nigerians are expecting to see from the senate is a timely and robust response to synergise with the relevant agencies such as the Hajj commission and the Saudi authorities to find ways of identifying the remote causes of the incident, accounting for all Nigerians who lost their lives and helping the survivors where necessary. After all the senators are the representatives of the people that are affected and in the best position to stand for the Nigerian pilgrims who are their constituents. A distinguished senator also asked the same nominee about the on-going and increasingly brutal conflict between the Fulani herdsmen and farmers which is gradually assuming a nationwide dimension. Again, the good people of Nigeria are yet to see any interventions from the senate on this conflict. What Nigerians are waiting to see is our senate coming into the issue through the relevant committee and engaging with all stakeholders in finding a lasting solution afterall they represent the constituents affected and therefore in the best interest to mediate between the warring Fulani herdsmen and local farmers. Everything cannot be left to the executive to handle.

 

Our country needs a new constitution that will contain the fundamental changes that we need to eradicate poverty from our country. The current constitution is defective because it promotes income inequality and disproportionate distribution of resources through unjustifiable acquisition by a select few ad their families to the detriment of the majority. The national budget is currently at 90% recurrent expenditure and a mere 10% capital expenditure while the rate of poverty is almost 90% in some states. This is unsustainable. The rising rate of unemployment in our country which stands at over 40% is a time bomb that could explode at any time. What is required in this country is to ensure a fair distribution of resources through 2 key areas: Job creation and a social security system. The aspect of social security our country Nigeria should focus on is the payment of monthly stipends (at least N5,000) to the disabled and unemployed youths to protect the dignity of the disabled and support the youths to look for a job.