As former President Buhari began to make his early appointment, there was widespread outcry of “Northernisation” as 85% of the political appointments were northerners. Former president Buhari response was that while he would honor the constitutional requirement to appoint his ministers from across the country, people who will closely with me would be appointed based on their loyalty and trustworthiness not their ethnicity. The question that was never answered was that why was it that people from other ethnic groups were not loyal and trustworthy enough to join his inner circle, be his close confidant?
Citing George Orwell in his book Animal Farm: “All Animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” Having 82 appointees from South as against 75 from Northerners is nothing if the Northerners holds nearly all important posts. It is therefore imperative to say that, it is about quality and not quantity!
Drifting away from the former President Buhari appointment, one would have think that by now the new administration would set a precedent standard to strengthen the leadership of Nigeria in order to move the country forward but as it is, currently all the appointment President Tinubu has made so far are either from the same ethnicity or political party faithfuls then again, Nigeria have never for once benefited anything from this ethnicity appointment by all the previous president.
It is high time we all have a rethink about this ethnicity appointment and start appointing those capable of pioneering the country Nigeria to a greater height. Nigeria needs to reclaim it name as the GIANT OF AFRICA.
A flash back to the Jonathan administration although it wasn’t the best administration since the inception of our democracy but it was evident how his cabinet was filled with different ethics in Nigeria and also some of his appointees was filled with non-party and his administration, established in Nigeria was 9 new federal universities, at least 1 federal university in each state in Nigeria, 125 almajiri schools across the 13 northern states, 27 Girls school in Adamawa, Yobe, Zamafara, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Delta and Akwa Ibom. Under that administration Nigeria was rated as the largest economy in Africa and the 23rd in the world by the World Bank. Still the same administration that the monthly allowance for National Youth Service Corps member was reviewed and increased from 9,700 to 19,800.
Former President Jonathan multilingual cabinet drove Nigeria agriculture sector towards food-sufficiency in 2013 Nigeria’s food import reduced by over 40% and with an output of over 45 million metric tonnes. Moving forward Nigeria was ranked as the world largest producer of cassava by the food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nation.
All these and many more was archived during the former president Ebele Jonathan administration and thanks to his multiethnic cabinet.
We can evidently see what an administration with different ethnic cabinet can do, A look at this writ-up will signal that it is very fair to say the President Tinubu administration is greatly biased when it comes to Ethnicity as most if not important position are fillies with the Yoruba. A nation carried away with ethnicity can never progress as there will always be much bias in the realm of affairs, while some ethnics get what they want others will greatly suffer.
I’m Chief Dr Patrick Osagie Eholor, otherwise known as Ultimate Equal, President One Love Foundation, I’m not writing this as a Labour Party candidate I’m writing this as a Nigerian because I am closer to the people and I speak for them. I will continue to speak the truth into power.
