I have always
wondered what it takes to be the minister of any ministry, especially
in Nigeria; but since I discovered that there are no special training
programmes to qualify individuals for such positions, I have shifted my
curiosity to why most ministers of the Federal Republic behave like
‘local almighties’.
Those of us who
have reason to visit one or two ministers regularly in Abuja would
understand where I am coming from; moreso, now that we have been
opportuned to visit and meet with ministers from other parts of the
world, especially the western world.
It is this
privilege of serving as minister that becomes a do-or-die affair after
elective posts have been canvassed and won. Individuals who feel they
have contributed to the victories of the president, governors or
senators begin to breathe down the throat of these victorious
politicians with a clear and very obvious assertion: “it is because of
our unshakable support that you are where you are, so remember to pay
back with this or that position”.
They actually
choose, according to their perceived level of godfatherism, the
juiciest of ministries for their wards in order, some say, to recoup
and plan for the next election. And the circle continues because, to
them, it is business and a very profitable venture at that.
Our thrust however
is to draw the attention of the would-be minister to the little fact
that they are there to serve and not to be served. It is about time we
started getting our priorities right. A minister is a servant; in fact,
even all those elected who have more legal authority over the people
are supposed to be our servants and, now that our votes are beginning
to count, they should be more conscious of this fact and drop the act
of thinking that they are ‘local almighties’.
It can be very
annoying, to say the least, when the convoy of a minister almost runs
you off the road; then his bodyguards and aides add insult to injury
when you have genuine reason to do business with that minister’s
office. Let us go down memory lane and we would be amazed at the number
of ministers who have actually performed; individuals who have dared to
be different; people who have really transformed their sector or
produced landmark projects that left their imprints on the rocks of
time. Well, a few have complained about their inability to perform,
blaming it on the inept or wicked civil servants under them who strive
to sabotage their genuine efforts. Well, that claim should be left for
another discussion.
Man made demi-gods
When I visited the
United States in 1997, we were about 15 people from 14 different
countries in the world attending a programme on “Drug abuse prevention
and education”. In the first hotel we were to lodge, as we were
registering at the hotel reception, one black man directly in front of
me was almost shouting at the front office girl,
“I said I am a
junior minister from Mauritius, junior minister”. The girl continued
writing as if nobody has spoken in front of her, obviously filling out
his data in the guest form. But the man, who felt a bit hurt at not
receiving enough attention, repeated emphatically, “didn’t you hear
what I said, I said I am a junior minister from Mauritius and you
didn’t bother to look up”.
The girl, very
calmly, raised her head and said, “I heard you the very first time you
spoke and I’m already writing down your details.” With that she
continued as if nothing had happened.
I almost choked
with fear where I was standing. Does this girl really know who a
minister is? Knowing where I was coming from and looking back now, I
realized that a minister is nothing, unless we make them something by
the way we fear and tremble in their presence.
Perhaps it is a
black thing to behave like a tin god. That man was from Mauritius and
he wanted to be given preferential treatment like most Nigerian
ministers are wont to do.
However, for the next three weeks we stayed together, that man from
Mauritius never made the mistake of dropping that title anywhere else
and we ate together, attended lectures together, partied together,
laughed, held ourselves as we took photographs together. Can I try that
with any Nigerian Minister? The answer is very obvious, because the
moment most of them get to that seat, their blood automatically changes
to blue.
