Incompetence Incorporated® -By ‘Tope Oriola

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s speech at an event organized by the Nigerian National Order of Merit unwittingly contributed to a major national debate. Premium Times quotes Osinbajo: “To build a new Nigeria, we need a new tribe of men and women of all ethnicities, of all faith committed to a country run on high values of merit, integrity, hard work, justice and love of country.” I would have loved to hear that from Professor Osinbajo when the children and other family members of the elite were hired under shamelessly clandestine circumstances by the CBN and FIRS.

Nonetheless, Osinbajo’s statement — whether or not he realizes it — is a sharp critique of the administration in which he serves. I became genuinely concerned for the Buhari administration the moment political appointees began to be named. The ethnocentric nature of the appointments, the familial/communal connections and the patent lackluster record of most of those who have since become major players in the administration suggested that the new government would redefine incompetence even by Nigerian standards. My argument at the time was bi-dimensional. First, it was irresponsible of the president to make such lopsided appointments in a deeply divided country such as ours and second, the president was in fact not appointing the most qualified (Fulfulde speaking) northerners. President Buhari severely damaged his government from the start by appointing individuals with limited capacity. This was partly why Aisha Buhari spoke out a few weeks ago.

I served recently on my department’s selection committee for two academic positions in criminology. Each of the four members of the committee ranked all the candidates. The ranking criteria were numerically scored. Each of the four committee members had to explain why s/he ranked a candidate higher if others ranked him/her lower (or lower if others ranked a candidate higher). One committee member had to leave the meeting prior to discussions about two candidates whose applications he had supported with letters of reference. The three of us in the room discussed the two candidates extensively. One of them made the long-list; the other did not. Our committee’s work ended as soon as we submitted a long list to the Dean’s Advisory Selection Committee (DASC). Our colleague had to step down from DASC which took over from us once a candidate he supported made the short-list. Someone from the initial committee had been put on standby. Each of the shortlisted candidate is required to give a job talk that is open to the public (hence, their intellectual depth is rigorously tested), have a teaching demonstration, and attend an interview. This is a remarkable hiring process given that the university employs thousands of professors. The elaborate process ensures that unqualified candidates rarely make it into the system. The Buhari government, however, has had multiple instances where people rejected their publicized appointments. One nominee wrote an open letter to the president arguing that she was neither informed nor consulted until her appointment was announced in the press. What if the nominee had gleefully accepted a position for which she was unprepared? This is one of the reasons why some countries function efficiently while others do not.

There is no doubt that there were lots of problems in Nigeria when Buhari assumed office but how many of such problems have been solved? How many kilometres of federal roads have been tarred since 2015? How many jobs have been created in the private sector? In what area has the Buhari government excelled?

It is worth reiterating that apart from suicide bombings, there is no new problem in Nigeria. Buhari appeared to have been consumed with the passion to acquire power but did not put in the required background preparation. This would have included getting himself up to speed on the major issues, assembling a think-tank to focus on various aspects of governance (including specific methodologies for fighting corruption) prior to announcing his candidacy and a transition team to get the best persons Nigeria had to offer.

The incompetence of the current administration is being aired in 3D. The death of NYSC members is one of the latest manifestations of a mix of incompetence and negligence. The mismanagement of persons displaced by Boko Haram ranks second only to the Babalawo economics of the current administration. The report of Human Rights Watch on the abuse of women and young girls at Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps by officials provides another example of the failure of the current government to successfully administer anything. From the northeast to Abuja — right under the nose of the president — IDPs are being robbed and sexually molested by people who were employed to ensure their safety. Organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières, the Red Cross, UNHCR and several other Nigerian NGOs and individual-led efforts have largely taken over roles that a responsible government ought to perform.

Government officials are stealing and diverting relief materials meant for displaced persons. They are selling children and young girls into sexual servitude. You know you have really messed up when the Nigerian Senate complains about your performance. The dereliction of duties is atrocious and constitutes an impeachable offence. You can’t manage the economy; you can’t provide assistance to IDPs; you can’t properly screen political nominees; you can’t provide electricity; you are flying abroad for medical treatment despite huge allocations to Aso Rock clinic: What exactly is your government capable of doing? Why did you spend a huge part of your life chasing political power? This is the height of incompetence.

President Buhari is in real danger of earning himself the title of Nigeria’s most incompetent president. Would it be fair? History will be the judge but it is the nature of the business he voluntarily entered. Those who love President Buhari (and I consider myself one of them) must now inform him to be wary of ending his political career in ignominy. Given his age, he is unlikely to have more opportunities to make amends. President Buhari should focus on making a success of this term rather than engaging in political permutations for a second term.

There was a scandal a few years ago at one of the federal government schools for gifted children. Many of the supposedly gifted children were failing at rates that would be considered alarming in regular secondary schools. The reason was simple: Several of the children were there because of family connections, bribery and/or federal character. The school became a laughing stock. I doubt that it has recovered from the reputational damage. Our moment of truth as a country is drawing ever closer: Do we wish to continue with our current way of life or find a new direction?

Nigeria’s current structural arrangement is fragile but has proven to be stubborn and resilient. We may continue to roll this way as a country but it is the path to perpetual misery for our citizens and irrelevance in the international community. However, we may decide to exorcise the demon that abhors excellence in our country by electing a competent candidate in 2019.

‘Tope Oriola is professor of criminology at the University of Alberta, Canada. Twitter: @topeoriola