Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari, Shehu Garba wrote this article about the incoming ministers of President Buhari who will be sworn in this Wednesday 11-11-2015. Read the article below:



Before a skyscraper rises out of the ground and becomes a towering edifice, the foundation must go deep into the ground, sometimes as low as 150ft. Month after month, the labourers continue to dig and build, their diligent work taking place completely out of sight. In the same period it takes to complete the foundation of a skyscraper, several duplexes may spring up nearby.
Concerned onlookers may wonder about all the time invested in an unseen structure and ask, “But why can’t we see the building you say you are building?”
During the past few months since he took on the mantle of CHANGE, President Muhammadu Buhari has been restructuring the foundations of the Nigerian government, which have disintegrated and putrefied over decades of mismanagement. He has been busy cleaning out debris and plugging loopholes, before laying new and fresh blocks. When he spoke to them at the three-day retreat welcoming them to the cabinet, the President told the new ministers that “ we have already taken deliberate measures to plug leakages of government revenue and resources.”

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is one example. Under this new system, all government revenue, income and payments are being handled via one single account which will be maintained by the Central Bank. This way, the government will have direct supervision of inflow and outflow. Cases such as that of Nigerian Maritime and Security Agency, NIMASA (currently under investigation by the EFCC) where billions of dollars were channelled for questionable purposes will be a thing of the past. Nigerians can expect more transparency and less misappropriation of funds by agencies of government. Government will begin to realise her revenue in full measure and agencies will be able to spend only within their budgets.

Still on the issue of government revenue, the prospect of the Nigerian government generating more money through the Nigerian Customs Service is set to increase with the change of management that was effected recently by the Buhari administration. With accountability and integrity at the top, Nigerians can expect that revenue from that agency will double or triple.

The Ministry of Finance just got the customs to repair broken down scanners at the ports to ensure maximum generation of revenue. Officers had left the scanners unrepaired, and in some known cases deliberately sabotaged them so that assessment is done manually to satisfy greed on their part.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has also begun to implement a programme of increased awareness among Nigerians regarding the payment of taxes. This is being followed by a strict programme of persuasion and enforcement. Within a short while, the Nigerian government will begin to realise a marked increase in revenue from VAT.

All these foundation blocks have been laid to ensure that the Nigerian government has enough revenue with which to make life better for every Nigerian, especially as the price of oil continues to look precarious.

These measures, taken together represent a major push by the President to increase internally-generated revenue, reduce over-dependence on crude oil earnings in a way that will bring stability and predictability in the financing of government programs.

The situation of the economy is not an ordinary one. It is a crisis, a crisis itself inherited by the Buhari administration, and one that cannot be ignored. Two weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund, IMF predicted that the GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa would fall to 3.75 percent in 2015 which is the lowest in the last six years.

Nigeria along with Angola, the leading oil economies on the continent have been hit hard by oil prices which have gone down by more than 50 percent in the last 12 months.

It is on account of this that the President warned the new ministers of what to expect:

“The work of restoration and renewal is urgent and immense. The expectations of Nigerians are high. Our determination to succeed and change the fortunes of our country must be equal to the challenge.

“I have invited you to join me in this urgent mission for our country. I am convinced that in accepting this invitation you are also equally determined to take part in this patriotic undertaking.

So finally, the underground work is coming to an end. With the inauguration of ministers taking place on Wednesday, it is now time for Nigerians to watch the edifice of CHANGE begin to rise out of a new and strong foundation. Our country’s season of austerity is coming to an end. Life will get better for every Nigerian, in every geopolitical zone of our country.

As President Buhari said in the opening address during the retreat that took place last week, “You are coming on board the ship of governance at an interesting time. So much has been said about the state of our economy. It is expected that we make the running of Government at all levels as lean as possible, avoid waste and conserve resources. As ministers, you must be the vehicle that will administer the change.”

President Buhari, who shrugged off “experts”and their “scientific” predictions to receive a historic mandate- the first time that an opposition candidate defeated an incumbent administration since independence has been speaking of the huge popular expectation of Nigerians who gave this mandate. They are waiting, impatient and agitated.

The new ministers will do well to pay heed to the President’s call for prudence, austerity through the avoidance of the type of extravagance that had weighed down the finances of government in the past. Under the past administration, some ministers had as many as 15 special assistants and so many policemen in tow.

Let the new ministers learn from the President who game a recent directive that he didn’t want have more than eight vehicles in his convoy.

Nigerians should get set to see and experience more of the CHANGE for which they voted overwhelmingly for the Buhari administration if the cabinet avoids micromanaging specifics and kowtowing to God-father interests to join the President in putting policies in place to make the country a favored destination for investors both global and local.

There is little doubt that there is light at the end of the tunnel although it will take much hard work to make it a new dawn.

-Malam Garba Shehu (SSA, Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari).


******


What are your thoughts Friends?

cc lalasticlala obinoscopy Dominique

You mean the incoming noise makers?

You and your boss should stop these masturbatic rants and deliver the business for which he took power.

Change agents ko, change demon ni

khristals:
.. Jonathan came, we all had high hopes.. but for four years he seemed to have been doing what we may choose to term "foundational structuring".. cos most things he accomplished seemed totally invinsible..
Now the General is also working on this so called 'foundation'.. when in the world will someone raise a structure we CAN see cos this sub-structure seem to be taking too long!
...Instant CHANGE was promised before the elections..
same story will be said told a year from now..
only the hand of God himself can deliver naija from the pit hole she's fallen into..

Bro pls don't give up on this nation, I strongly believe WE that voted for BUHARI got the decision right dis time around.


Comparing BUHARI to jonathan is a disrespect bro cuz while one took us backward by his cluelessness the other one is striving to get a crippled entity back on its feet.

GOD bless NIGERIA and deal with the looters.

Strory land Story land ..blah blah blah blah blah ..

Wailers Oya do ur jobs

The poster above me is a sickened Apc supporter

Is this one high ni ? When buhari knows that it is same set of people he was going to add to his cabinet, why was he wasting away productive months?

Agent of backwardness. Nonsense.

.. Jonathan came, we all had high hopes.. but for four years he seemed to have been doing what we may choose to term "foundational structuring".. cos most things he accomplished seemed totally invinsible..

Now the General is also working on this so called 'foundation'.. when in the world will someone raise a structure we CAN see cos this sub-structure seem to be taking too long!


...Instant CHANGE was promised before the elections..

same story will be said told a year from now..


only the hand of God himself can deliver naija from the pit hole she's fallen into..

Wailers...over to you.

Nelsizzy:
Is this one high ni ? When buhari knows that it is same set of people he was going to add to his cabinet, why was he wasting away productive months?

Its better to 'waste' months to solidify plans than years to loot us dry

Let's wait and see.

So Mr President has been laying solid foundation for the past six months since he became president? To be sincere, He spent much time laying such foundation.
As for the ministers,i don't expect anything extra-ordinary from them because most of them are known to be career politicians.

I wish the president all the best.

I hope they deliver. Nigerians have suffered enough.

coolhamid:
So Mr President has been laying solid foundation for the past seven month since he became president? To be sincere, He spent much time laying such foundation.
As for the ministers,i don't expect anything extra-ordinary from them because most of them are known to be career politicians.

I wish the president all the best.

He has control over his cabinets.....career politician or technocrats.

clevadani:
I hope they deliver. Nigerians have suffered enough.

my thoughts exactly.

lorbah001:



He has control over his cabinets.....career politician or technocrats.

Excellent contribution because you have noted what matters the most i.e the notion that Buhari has control over his cabinet. How many times have we seen excellent football coaches worldwide do incredible things with mediocre teams? Buhari's cabinet is a good and balanced one in my opinion but most important is the efficacy Buhari can get out of them by supporting, challenging and appraising them regularly.

I have always said that one of the greatest problem of Nigeria is the lack of any form of effective checks and balances at all levels of our governance capable of keeping leaders accountable to the people and to their own bosses like Buhari. When Buhari insist on performance and demand it, as a non-negotiable condition of employing other and with stern consequences for incompetence/non-performance, then some Nigerians will be surprised that even so-called career politician can perform wonders.

lorbah001:



He has control over his cabinets.....career politician or technocrats.

So because he has control over them, you think some of the ministers won't devise another strategy to loot? Knowing fully well that their oga at the top will sack them if their shady deals are exposed. Many of them are known to be corrupt, corruption is in their DNA.

This should definitely make front page. Seun, Obinoscopy and Lalasticlala, please do the needful.

coolhamid:
So Mr President has been laying solid foundation for the past seven months since he became president? To be sincere, He spent much time laying such foundation.
As for the ministers,i don't expect anything extra-ordinary from them because most of them are known to be career politicians.

I wish the president all the best.

May 29th to Nov 11th is not even six months. Where did you get your seven months?

coolhamid:
So because he has control over them, you think some of the ministers won't devise another strategy to loot? Knowing fully well that their oga at the top will sack them if their shady deals are exposed. Many of them are known to be corrupt, corruption is in their DNA.

you are not telling us anything new. Even in advanced democracies and developed nation, many would steal and give in to corruption if the system is slack and encouraged/tolerated such. The article specifically explained this to you by listing some of the 'foundation-repair' Buhari has carried out, with more to come, to reduce Avenues of looting Nigeria. The least you can do is give credit where due and support what is a step in the right direction instead of just being pessimistic and speaking as if you are 100% sure Buhari will fail. What is written below I would have expected to catch your eye and receive your praise as it is a bold and revolutionary development which will certainly bear massive dividends. Yet for some reason you missed it and prefer to talk as if you only expect things to be business as usual. Anyway each to his own. I am happy with what Buhari is doing and would stake my reputation on the notion that Nigeria will be a much better nation within even the next 10 months talk less of in 4 years time.

the President told the new ministers that “ we have already taken deliberate measures to plug leakages of government revenue and resources.”

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is one example. Under this new system, all government revenue, income and payments are being handled via one single account which will be maintained by the Central Bank. This way, the government will have direct supervision of inflow and outflow. Cases such as that of Nigerian Maritime and Security Agency, NIMASA (currently under investigation by the EFCC) where billions of dollars were channelled for questionable purposes will be a thing of the past. Nigerians can expect more transparency and less misappropriation of funds by agencies of government. Government will begin to realise her revenue in full measure and agencies will be able to spend only within their budgets.

I dont really envy the difficult job of buhari's media clowns.

Gbawe:


you are not telling us anything new. Even in advanced democracies and developed nation, many would steal and give in to corruption if the system is slack and encouraged/tolerated such. The article specifically explained this to you by listing some of the 'foundation-repair' Buhari has carried out, with more to come, to reduce Avenues of looting Nigeria. The least you can do is give credit where due and support what is a step in the right direction instead of just being pessimistic and speaking as if you are 100% sure Buhari will fail. What is written below I would have expected to catch your eye and receive your praise as it is a bold and revolutionary development which will certainly bear massive dividends. Yet for some reason you missed it and prefer to talk as if you only expect things to be business as usual. Anyway each to his own. I am happy with what Buhari is doing and would stake my reputation on the notion that Nigeria will be a much better nation within even the next 10 months talk less of in 4 years time.

Why will I be expecting that a man I campaigned so hard for to fail? I lost hope in this administration since the day he appointed those career politicians as ministers.Look at all the ministerial nominees , most of them are known faces that have been government for donkey years with no convincing CV. Why not new faces since he came on board on the premise of CHANGE?
The problem with all APC guys on Nairaland is that, you see all critics as enemy of progress.

What will I gain from PMB failure but I will definitely gain much if he succeed in fixing Nigeria.

"He was elected president to implement the change agenda. I cannot remember anybody telling us that finger-pointing would be part of it."

PassingShot:

May 29th to Nov 11th is not even six months. Where did you get your seven months?

Edited... Six months

coolhamid:
Edited... Six months

Just told you it was not even six months yet! A whole three weeks to make it six months and you're already approximating it. You exhibit a trait of a wailer.

coolhamid:
Why will I be expecting that a man I campaigned so hard for to fail? I lost hope in this administration since the day he appointed those career politicians as ministers.Look at all the ministerial nominees , most of them are known faces that have been government for donkey years with no convincing CV. Why not new faces since he came on board on the premise of CHANGE?
The problem with all APC guys on Nairaland is that, you see all critics as enemy of progress.

What will I gain from PMB failure but I will definitely gain much if he succeed in fixing Nigeria.

No one called you an enemy of progress but you perhaps need to appraise whether you have a low threshold for pessimism when logically, and looking at the facts, you have no reason to be anything but optimistic. For example, let us look at your constant quip about "career" politicians. Is it just about bringing in new faces no one knows? Is that what will make you happy? Was GEJ not a 'new face' when he came on the scene and is this not what won him the election with Nigerians expecting he would be different to the so-called 'career politicians', like Atiku, we all love to hate. Yet 'new' GEJ turned out to b one of the worst leaders Nigeria has ever known and I would even wager that Atiku would have been a far better President than Jonathan !!!!

Conversely, are you suggesting that Buhari should ignore proven performers and talented leaders like Fashola, Fayemi and Amaechi merely because they held political offices? Did these guys not have other careers before politics? Why also ignore the many core technocrats in the list like Prof Daramola, Kemi Adeosun, Prof Onwuka or Ibe Kachikwu who many agree is already doing a sterling job at the NNPC? What is wrong with Dambazau who is a thoroughly intelligent, well-educated and accomplished soldier? The likes of Ogbeh you can label career politician acquitted himself very well at the ministerial screening and shocked many Nigerians, with his knowledge and vision, since many of us routinely assume anyone from the old school is clueless, thieving and incompetent. If Buhari can supervise the likes of Ogbeh and get efficacy out of them then can their ability not be harnessed to the benefit of Nigeria? Also, it is not difficult to make the argument that Buhari nominees (like Ngige, Ogbonaya onu et al) 'bring something' even if they had been involved in politics for many years. Do not just discriminate against the nominees because of past involvement in politics. Show they are incompetent and have a history of achieving nothing positive.

Gbawe:


No one called you an enemy of progress but you perhaps need to appraise whether you have a low threshold for pessimism when logically, and looking at the facts, you have no reason to be anything but optimistic. For example, let us look at your constant quip about "career" politicians. Is it just about bringing in new faces no one knows? Is that what will make you happy? Was GEJ not a 'new face' when he came on the scene and is this not what won him the election with Nigerians expecting he would be different to the so-called 'career politicians', like Atiku, we all love to hate. Yet 'new' GEJ turned out to b one of the worst leaders Nigeria has ever known and I would even wager that Atiku would have been a far better President than Jonathan !!!!

Conversely, are you suggesting that Buhari should ignore proven performers and talented leaders like Fashola, Fayemi and Amaechi merely because they held political offices? Did these guys not have other careers before politics? Why also ignore the many core technocrats in the list like Prof Daramola, Kemi Adeosun, Prof Onwuka or Ibe Kachikwu who many agree is already doing a sterling job at the NNPC? What is wrong with Dambazau who is a thoroughly intelligent, well-educated and accomplished soldier? The likes of Ogbeh you can label career politician acquitted himself very well at the ministerial screening and shocked many Nigerians, with his knowledge and vision, since many of us routinely assume anyone from the old school is clueless, thieving and incompetent. If Buhari can supervise the likes of Ogbeh and get efficacy out of them then can their ability not be harnessed to the benefit of Nigeria? Also, it is not difficult to make the argument that Buhari nominees (like Ngige, Ogbonaya onu et al) 'bring something' even if they had been involved in politics for many years. Do not just discriminate against the nominees because of past involvement in politics. Show they are incompetent and have a history of achieving nothing positive.

Bro, one of the nominees used 79 million naira to design a website that should have been less than a million naira.
Another nominee used millions of naira to buy bed in state house when he was a governor.
I can go on and on, these guys embezzled public funds by inflating contract figures, and you are here defending them..
In a sane society where corruption is a capital offense, many of the nominees would be in jail.

PassingShot:

Just told you it was not even six months yet! A whole three weeks to make it six months and you're already approximating it. You exhibit a trait of a wailer.

Dude approximation is allowed when dealing with figures.Afterall, it's more than five months

PassingShot:

Just told you it was not even six months yet! A whole three weeks to make it six months and you're already approximating it. You exhibit a trait of a wailer.

He is not a wailer and I seem to remember he was a supporter of Buhari before the election. The problem with my brother Hamid may be that he is one of those who does not understand the sheer scale of the damage Ali Baba (GEJ) and his forty thieves (Allison-Madueke et al) did. They think buhari, without taking stock and fixing the 'foundation' coupled with the other reality of seriously reduced earnings from oil, will begin performing miracles in two months. This is why 5 months and 1 week has turned into 7 months. Some expect shiny new roads and changes overnight and when such is not forthcoming they become negative and give up to then embrace doom and gloom.

Even the article shows many great steps the Buhari government has taken to banish corruption and vastly improve the efficiency of collecting all income accruing to Nigeria so such can be used on the people. It is only someone who has given up quickly and prematurely who will then ignore those great efforts to embrace negativity alone. Like I asked before, have we seen anything like the TSA since our democracy began in 1999? what of the Buhari government announcing bravely and correctly that Nigeria will stop using middlemen to sell crude and buy refined derivative of crude? Is this not what the world, and even Ribadu with his petroleum task force recommendation, has asked one PDP government after the other to do to no avail? Yet Buhari comes in and carries out this ultra-pivotal and transformational change within six months of being in power still some choose to be pessimistic alone. Why not acknowledge these positive development, get behind the Government and wait a reasonable period of time for all these great effort to start bearing results before the completely unnecessary pessimism?

coolhamid:
Bro, one of the nominees used 79 million naira to design a website that should have been less than a million naira.
Another nominee used millions of naira to buy bed in state house when he was a governor.
I can go on and on, these guys embezzled public funds by inflating contract figures, and you are here defending them..
In a sane society where corruption is a capital offense, many of the nominees would be in jail.

Fashola and Fayemi have given their own satisfactory version of events yet you choose to believe what the PDP and the likes of Fayose are saying without giving Buhari nominees a chance. Do you know that Fashola succeeded to make Lagos the only State in Nigeria that can finance itself? Do you know, because of Fashola, that Lagos would be one of the top economies in Africa if an independent nation? So that level of talent should be ignored and lost to Nigeria because of political character assassination carried out for cynical reasons?

Like I said before, if you wish to see the negative alone and make it glaring you have no interests in the many positives then perhaps you are highly impatient and your threshold of pessimism is very low. Look at the "new boy" who "had no shoes" (GEJ) PDP gave you and the "technocrats" (Allison-Madueke, Aganga, Okonjo Iweala et al) Jonathan chose? Did anything good come out of them individually or collectively? Yet the likes of Fashola, Amaechi, Fayemi et al who, even with their faults, remain some of the best leaders in Nigeria are those we should banish? I see also you skilfully ignored many core technocrats on the ministerial list, Like Kachikwu who is already doing great, to be focusing all your attention on Fashola, Fayemi et al. This really confirms you as "objective" indeed.

Gbawe:


Fashola and Fayemi have given their own satisfactory version of events yet you choose to believe what the PDP and the likes of Fayose are saying without giving Buhari nominees a chance. Do you know that Fashola succeeded to make Lagos the only State in Nigeria that can finance itself? Do you know, because of Fashola, that Lagos would be one of the top economies in Africa if an independent nation? So that level of talent should be ignored and lost to Nigeria because of political character assassination carried out for cynical reasons?

Like I said before, if you wish to see the negative alone and make it glaring you have no interests in the many positives then perhaps you are highly impatient and your threshold of pessimism is very low. Look at the "new boy" who "had no shoes" (GEJ) PDP gave you and the "technocrats" (Allison-Madueke, Aganga, Okonjo Iweala et al) Jonathan chose? Did anything good come out of them individually or collectively? Yet the likes of Fashola, Amaechi, Fayemi et al who, even with their faults, remain some of the best leaders in Nigeria are those we should banish? I see also you skilfully ignored many core technocrats on the ministerial list, Like Kachikwu who is already doing great, to be focusing all your attention on Fashola, Fayemi et al. This really confirms you as "objective" indeed.

Dude , stop making comparison between PDP and APC, Afterall APC has been preaching change from inception. We all know that both APC and PDP are corruption filled parties. It's just that one party is good at using the media to cover its tracks.

FYI, I never condemned all the ministerial nominees, am not just pleased with some faces known with corruption.