Mr President, get world-class hands to do world-class work for Nigeria

With President Muhammadu Buhari currently in the US to attend the 71^st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York where he is billed to address the august gathering, there is a key task I believe he should be looking out to accomplish for his administration and for Nigeria.

Even as he meets with outgoing US President, Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the US leader’s final appearance at the UN session, and seeks for investors to invest in Nigeria’s critical sectors apart from other meetings he’ll hold while there, a principal assignment Buhari must get done is to search for world-class hands to do world-class work for Nigeria.

Why do I say this? Some Nigerians who can tremendously help his government work and reside there in the US. Of course, others are right here at home doing great things in the private sector.  He will find a good number of them in the multinational companies. Nigerians, who are world-class materials, also abound in the development sector. And there are many others who are scattered in different parts of the world, living their lives, making impact in their respective fields, distinguishing themselves and generally putting in their best to advance humanity.

Most of them think about Nigeria and lament about what the country has become. Many remember their fatherland and wish they have the opportunity to contribute their quota at government level. They all agree that our country has been let down by many successive political leaders even though the task of changing Nigeria for the better in our lifetimes is not an impossible one where there is the will.

That is why this point needs iterating: The responsibility of putting a quality team together lies with no one else than the leader. He is the one who will go in search of talents and competent hands who can help him accomplish his dream. I think President Buhari doesn’t have such team yet. The cabinet members he appointed last October didn’t meet up to the high expectations of Nigerians. And if most citizens don’t have much confidence in many of his ministers, how will they be impressed by what they do in office?

Put simply, Buhari’s current cabinet is not the best he can put together. It’s clearly not the best Nigeria can assemble!

A President, for instance, needs to be able to spot and identify quality people. Stars. And when he finds them, he reaches out to them. He then brings them close, nurtures them, guides them, inspires them and supports them with all they need to perform effectively and efficiently. He also monitors them to ensure they all keep on track in order to deliver his vision for the betterment of his people and the advancement of his country.

On this issue, I believe President Buhari is seriously under-utilizing the powers of his office for the good of the country. And the earlier he starts doing this, the better for everyone.

Presidents, Buhari inclusive, are vested with the powers of their countries and virtually unlimited access to getting whatsoever they want to get or whoever they need to work for them. So, why is he not using these? Why is he settling for less when he knows he can get the best if he searches for them well enough?

I can tell Mr President for free, in case he doesn’t know or has not been informed, that a good number of his cabinet members don’t impress Nigerians. The average Nigerian can’t even remember the names of most of them let alone feeling their impact!

It appears the problem our leaders have, most times, is that they are too lazy. They don’t want to do the hard and rigorous work of searching far and wide for these uncommon people. They also believe they don’t have enough time on their hands to conduct a rigorous search. Moreover, they limit themselves to members of their own political parties since they see it as the time to share the spoils of office and enjoy the labour of their work after a rigorous and tasking campaign. But even at that, I believe President Buhari obviously hasn’t even gone for the best hands his party, the APC, can offer whether as ministers or advisers!

Aside these, many leaders also constrain themselves by ethnic, religious and other selfish considerations that will not in any way help their leadership or advance their legacy. They forget that if they bring in competent hands into government and those ones perform distinctively, the credit would be theirs and that of their party, while Nigerians will be proud of them. Meanwhile, those invited would also count it as great honour to serve their fatherland.

Like I pointed out earlier, quality hands are never easy to find. Recruitment organisations even in the private sector attest to this much. It is a fact which must be admitted. You have to really search far and wide to get them. And even when you’re lucky to find them, they are not always free. They are busy people with lots of commitments. To get and engage them, they’ll thus need to be persuaded, convinced, cajoled and even induced to come into public service.

Many of them were brought in through such process during previous administrations. Some, based on the nature of their backgrounds and the value their principals felt they were going to add to their government, even received special arrangements to reward their service to the country.

Nigeria is not in short supply of such men, women and youth of immense talent with outstanding ability, impressive capacity and exposure, as well as unquestionable integrity and impeccable character who can stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in Africa or anywhere in the world. And they abound in whatever sector they may be needed or in whatever tribe or religion we may need them. The President needs such men and women. Nigerians await them.

Irrespective of where they may be, I believe our President must urgently go after them. His current cabinet is generally uninspiring. In an economy in recession, the competence of his economic team in pulling Nigeria out of the woods also remains suspect. That of his media handlers is calamitous. With their many cover ups, lies and sins against Nigerians, not mentioning the latest plagiarism scandal and the fresh lies to also sweep it under the carpet, by now, those ones ought to have been disbanded and replaced.

I should not forget to mention the sports minister who keeps embarrassing the country and ought to have been sacked with the shame he caused Nigeria during the Rio Olympics when there are better folks who can add more value if brought in. Some of Buhari’s ministers also have health challenges hindering them from effectively discharging the duties of their office. For how long will they stay on?

Again, if a high percentage of Nigerians think the information minister is a liar and nothing but a propagandist, how far can the President go with such character or how well does he think the cause of his government would be advanced in the long run?

All these, and more, are why Nigerians are throwing Buhari’s ‘change begins with me’ campaign back at him and his government since they are not impressed.

So, Mr President, please, be aware that Nigerians are tired of the mediocrity in your government. They want you to get competent people, world-class hands with first class brains that will do world-class work for Nigeria. These kinds of people are available and are ready to serve as true patriots. If you search for them, you will find them. You can even put up a compact team together consisting of members whose judgement you trust who will help you search for them. Other Presidents before you did this. Wherever they are in the world, get them into your cabinet. They’ll certainly help you to succeed and hopefully deliver the elusive change Nigerians have been yearning to see through your administration. My name is O’Femi Kolawole. And I just want to offer my free counsel to you towards the success of your government and ultimately the advancement of our country!