15 weeks passed since Muhammadu Buhari was elected Nigeria’s president, but he is yet to name his ministers. Actually, Buhari has said he will not form a cabinet till September.
It should be noted that the former military leader was elected based on his promise to end corruption in politics and the oil industry – Nigeria’s main income earner – and end the deadly Boko Haram group, which has killed at last 14,000 people since 2009.
But weeks have passed by and little appointments have been announced. Big political decisions have been delayed, while a new spite of Boko Haram attacks killed more than 430 people in July alone.
“At this stage, government is only functioning at about 25%,” cautions David Zounmenou, scholar at the African Institute for Security Studies.
“Buhari needs to act quickly. He needs to assert his role.”
The euphoria arose following Buhari’s election and swearing-in on May 29 is slowly disappearing.
Nigerians believed a page would be turned in the country where corruption in politics and the economy is almost widespread.
Ernst Jan Hogendoorn, Africa deputy director of research organization International Crisis Group, said that without ministers “Buhari will not be able to make many necessary reforms to begin to deal with the many challenges facing his administration.”
“As a worst-case scenario, Buhari might lose control over the country because other people will take the gap and move in,” he added.
However, the president has said that he is not in a hurry.
.Buhari’s words: “This task cannot and should not be rushed. Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place.”
The postponement is among other issues caused by ministers of the previous administration who didn’t give handover notes as promised, Buhari had clarified earlier, pointing fingers at his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan’s government.
He also has to accomplish a fierce interior power struggle for the top posts in administration, comprising the crucial economy, finance and defence portfolios, within his All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Buhari is trying to balance many competing interests, both within his coalition party and the different regions of Nigeria,” explains Hogendoorn.
A transition committee is now sensibly screening all candidates for corruption before drawing up a shortlist.
“Ministers will come when (Buhari) finishes scrubbing the floor which is littered with corruption,” presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said.
“There are too many leaks in the revenue system that must be plugged. He will not build on the rotten foundation (of Jonathan’s government).”
Meanwhile, analysts doubt Buhari will be able to reach this aim after decades of widespread corruption in Nigerian politics.
“A clean record is an impossible mission. In Nigeria’s political arena, it’s extremely difficult to find someone with clean record. I would say it’s not even two per cent of politicians,” Zounmenou said.
With each week going by without a fully operating administration, the pressure on Buhari to act is increasing.
“I know Nigerians are impatient for action. I realize the world waits to see evidence that my administration will be different from all those that came before,” Buhari admits in the op-ed.
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