The political strategy of appointments, by Uche Diala
As it stands, President Bola Tinubu might well be announcing appointments until the eve of the 2027 elections.
As it stands, President Bola Tinubu might well be announcing appointments until the eve of the 2027 elections.
I pondered over that when, early on, he cancelled almost all major appointments, from Board membership to Ambassadorial positions and everything in between.
It is obviously a strategy to keep a leash on many people, and that appears to be working, at least politically.
A good deal of those who are not talking or who have joined the league of those defending any and everything, from the ridiculous to the absurd, are people who are hoping for one appointment or the other. That includes some otherwise really intelligent folks who one would otherwise expect ought to know better.
Such persons fear that if they stepped out of line, they would be blacklisted, especially with an active mob of emotional blackmailers and unprincipled and directionless attack dogs on rampage.
However, while that might be a good political strategy intended to put a leash on some people, it also has a potential downside – mainly it has a negative effect on governance.
Aside from the fact that the possible helpful contributions of such people, either in objectively critiquing the administration’s policies or in pointing out areas of lapses or of need, the over stretched appointments keeps disrupting the flow of governance and the synergy and focus needed to elevate governance.
Equally, as the annouced appointments continue to appear overly one-sided, it has the potential of breeding more bad blood, disunity and disenchantment.
Ultimately, it might backfire politically. Apart from fueling sycophancy and eye service, those who eventually lose out, and many surely would, will come out with greater venom against the administration. Their current silence or pretentions of support is neither out of love nor ignorance of the fact that things are not going in the right direction.
Speaking from a patriotic and effective governance standpoint, it would have helped if the majority of appointments, except for those which come up by virtue of isolated expiration of tenures, were done with, so we can focus squarely on governance.
On the contrary, this strategy has created a situation where we have essentially remained in politicking mode, even midway into the tenure, at the expense of governance, to the detriment of the nation and Nigerians.
A situation, for instance, where the country has been without substantive Ambassadors for nearly two years, is definitely not healthy for the nation and our external relationships.
But, then, who is really bothered about the nation, Nigerians and governance?
What do I even know?
So long as a second term is secured, nothing else matters. We shall see about that.
For now, I can effectively say, it is no longer my cup of tea.
#GodBlessNigeria
©️ Uche Diala
