Replacing Oduah

It is not only disappointing that it took her so long to leave, but also surprising that an attempt would be made to present the dismissal as a resignation that happened at her request!  Nigerians are neither deceived nor impressed by her departures. The whole affair has been so badly mismanaged that cynicism and sarcasm […]

It is not only disappointing that it took her so long to leave, but also surprising that an attempt would be made to present the dismissal as a resignation that happened at her request!  Nigerians are neither deceived nor impressed by her departures.
The whole affair has been so badly mismanaged that cynicism and sarcasm are the overriding popular reactions. Ms Oduah had been enmeshed in controversies and corruption scandals.  Her personal conceitedness, exaggeration of her self-importance, and irresponsible managerial style aside she appeared indispensable to the Jonathan administration. It should be clear that the president acted against his wish. Jonathan has developed a reputation for giving so much space and accommodation to his ineffective, due process shy, egomaniacal ministers. Many questions remain unanswered. Why was Oduah retained for so long? Was she probed? If so then where are the findings of the reports?

She ostensibly resigned in absentia barely seven months after nine of her colleagues were sacked and two weeks after the President sent a list of 12 ministerial nominees to the Senate for confirmation. Many of the Oduah’s critics say good riddance to bad rubbish and better late than never. As far as they are concerned she has unfairly been given a soft landing and protection from prosecution for violation of the Procurement Act. To her supporters the persecution of Ms Oduah is selective. Other ministers have done much worse than her and continue to get away with it. Those who see everything in ethnic terms wonder why the Minister for Petroleum Resources, whose tenure continues to witness mismanagement and large-scale frauds at the ministry, has not been convinced to resign or forced out. After all she has caused far more trouble for the administration than Oduah ever did. The saddest aspects of Oduah’s story are the failure by the presidency to act decisively to punish the corrupt and the deliberate attempt to introduce an ethic sentiment.  She had reportedly been found guilty by two panels which probed the purchase of two over-priced bullet proof cars by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. As soon as the story broke, ethnicity was introduced in her defence.  South East Chiefs and Ibo ethnic organizations were stupidly mobilized to belittle themselves by storming airports and generally muddling up the issue. A major problem we face in this country is that ministers are appointed principally as representatives of ethnic groups and not for their competence or moral merit. Nigerian Presidents are in the habit of appointing top party members as ministers rather than the best qualified tested technocrats. Although the President clearly has the power to both hire and fire his Cabinet members, Ministers are supposed to be officers of the Federal Government of Nigeria and not necessarily servants of the ruling party. Nigerian Ministers are not specialists but general duty staff who can be posted anywhere.  Over the years selfish reasons of patronage and reward to party loyalists have been used in their appointment, rather than objective criteria or consideration of national interests. The ideal should be to appoint Nigerians of integrity and proven track records to positions where they can be effective. The Deputy General Secretary of the Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) Comrade Abioye said Ms Oduah’s tenure was full of irregularities and all the superficial re-modelling of airport terminals and upgrade of facilities didn’t follow due process. The president of the Aviation Round Table (ART) Captain Ore said that the sack of Oduah was good news for the industry and that her successor should come and correct the many mistakes and errors committed in the process of the aviation sector transformation agenda. In finding a replacement for Ms Oduah President Jonathan must ensure that merit and not politics determines the appointment. In 2012 he made ministers agree to a performance contract, despite this service delivery is still poor. Current ministers have not really made any impact or enjoyed any public confidence. It’s evident that the so called “screening’ of ministers by the Senate serves no useful purpose as despite all propaganda to the contrary Jonathan is actually handicapped by his ministerial team. Making the right ministerial choices will go a long way to helping the president convince the public that he and his team have something to offer beyond 2015.

However nothing is really expected to change and everyone expects him to appoint a replacement ministers who can mobilize votes rather than those who can deliver public service. Ms Oduah and former Minister for the Niger Delta, Mr Orubebe, were chosen for their electoral value. Along with others they floated the Neighbour 2 Neighbour (N2N) organization which campaigned for President Jonathan and was later found to be involved in controversial and illegal activities.  Registered in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a non-governmental organization (NGO), N2N were not supposed to be involved in any political campaign for either an individual or a party. Oduah also had something in common with “kerosene mike”, the former Chief of Staff to the President. Reports had it that the second bulletproof car was in his possession. Paradoxically, it’s hard not to feel some sort of “sympathy” for politicians who are sacked for corruption. Companies such as Coscharis Motors which have repeatedly featured in scandals from COJA, to CHOGM, Bankole Cars episode and now Oduahgate go scot free and trade profitably to the detriment of the nation. Many Nigerians feel that President Jonathan has zero-commitment to the anti-corruption war and it is expected that he will simply re-appoint Oduah to a “juicier” position if (or when?) he is re-elected to office.