Urging Tinubu To Shun Patronage Appointments -By Isaac Asabor

There is no denying the fact that not a few Nigerians have been expressing hopes and expectations about what the just kick-started administration under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has to offer given the present state of the nation’s economy. Despite the challenges in the country, which the immediate past government; under the leadership of former President Muhammadu Buhari inherited its predecessor, and consequently exacerbated throughout the eight-year period the administration lasted, not a few Nigerians are reposing confidence in Tinubu’s administration that it would be better than Buhari’s administration given the fact that the bar of good governance was never raised. Rather, a school of thought believes that the bar was brought down to its nadir so much that whoever becomes the nation’s president will perform better.

However, a different school of thought in its views differs from the foregoing outlook as it is of the belief that Tinubu in his tenure, or tenures if given a second chance, can only perform well if he shuns political patronage in making appointments or hiring the leaders that will be part of his government.

The reason for the foregoing view as expressed by the school of thought cannot be farfetched as it is no more news that political appointments are made on the basis of partisan loyalty. In fact, elected officials at the national, state, and local levels of government use such appointments to reward the people who helped them to win elections. This practice led to the saying, “To the victor go the spoils.”

Without resorting to highlighting what political patronage looks like in this context, it is expedient to make reference to an opinion article titled, “The burden of political patronage”, written by Akpo Esajere and published in the Guardian newspaper on November 9, 2015.

He wrote, “There is something of a “Casino-Effect” in the sharing and compensation in the Nigerian power politics that Nigerian. For all shades of financiers, political godfathers, party founders, sponsors, backers, foot soldiers, supporters, promoters, and thugs who serve as private armies and mobilize for demonstrations, it is an investment. They demand rewards and gratifications. They constitute both a blockade and a drain to economic and social order.

“Remembering the 2014 confab and some of its useable recommendations

“With a cabinet of 36, Buhari may have discovered that it is not an easy task to implement a lean and effective government under the current democratic arrangement. In the United States, which system Nigeria tries to copy, the federal cabinet of the “senior” executive branch of government under the current President, Barack Obama is only 15. George Washington, the first President of America, had set off with a cabinet of four secretaries (America’s name for ministers), a small, effective, and purpose-built advisory group”.

Without any iota of exaggeration, political patronage in appointments is fueled by favoritism, cronyism, and nepotism. As for favoritism which is far-reaching of the foregoing related terms that have “ism” as a common suffix, it is just what it sounds like; it is favoring a person not because he or she is doing the best job but rather because of some extraneous feature-membership in a favored group, personal likes, and dislikes, among others primordial sentiments. Favoritism can be demonstrated in hiring, honoring, or awarding contracts. Without a doubt, patronage is offering public service jobs to those who may have helped elect the person who has the power of appointment.

Cronyism is a more specific form of favoritism, referring to partiality towards friends and associates. As the old saying goes, “It’s not what you know but who you know,” or, as blogger Danny Ferguson put it, “It’s not what you don’t know; it’s who your college roommate knows.” Cronyism occurs within a network of insiders-the “good ol’ boys,” who confer favors on one another.

Lastly, Nepotism is an even narrower form of favoritism. Coming from the Italian word for nephew, it covers favoritism to members of the family. Both nepotism and cronyism are often at work when political parties recruit candidates for public office.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to urge Tinubu to eschew political patronage and appoint the best hands to his administration as not doing that will mess up the principles he said in his inaugural speech on Monday, May 29 will guide his administration. Thus, regarding the first principle, he said “Nigeria will be impartially governed according to the constitution and the rule of law, and regarding the second principle he said, “We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our sub-region, while as to the third principle he said, “We shall remodel our economy to bring about growth and development through job creation, food security, and an end to extreme poverty”.

Regarding the fourth principle he said, “In our administration, Women and youth will feature prominently”, and as to the fifth principle, he said, “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.

At this juncture, permit me to say that the president has already asserted that his government will be that of competence. Against the foregoing backdrop, it will be recalled that he recently, ahead of his inauguration on Monday issued a signed statement titled, ‘Nigeria: At the Cusp of Renewed Hope’, wherein he said, “There has been talk of a government of national unity. My aim is higher than that. I seek a government of national competence. In selecting my government, I shall not be weighed down by considerations extraneous to ability and performance,”