Tinubu and His Baggage of Failed Governors

POLITICAL NOTES

Unlike President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed the best among the former Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as members of his cabinet in 2015, the incoming President, Bola Tinubu may be tempted to flood his cabinet with failed governors whose only achievements were their contributions to his victory.

Among those who made President Buhari’s list of ministers in 2015 were the former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and his counterpart in Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.  They were among the best-performing governors in the country during their eight-year tenure.

While Fayemi was appointed to head the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Fashola was the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.

However, it is doubtful if APC still has the likes of Fashola and Fayemi among the governors who would complete their eight-year tenure on May 29.

The likes of Fashola and Fayemi such as Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State and few others still have one term of four years to complete their tenure.

Most of the outgoing governors of the APC who are Tinubu’s hangers-on are those who were alleged to have plundered their states’ resources without any visible infrastructure to show for eight years or those who turned their states to killing fields.

While some of these outgoing governors allegedly elevated corruption to an art in their states, others allowed bandits to ravage their states.

Some of these governors who deliberately played religious and ethnic politics in their states, turned a blind eye when indigenous communities in their states were being wiped out by invaders who were believed to have an expansionist agenda. Governors under this category also promoted divisive policies that encouraged religious intolerance and ethnic supremacy in their states.

Unfortunately, these failed governors are strategically positioning themselves to fill the vacancies in the federal cabinet when President Buhari hands over to Tinubu.

While Buhari could boast of Fashola and Fayemi who provided good governance and basic infrastructures during their eight-year tenures, Tinubu can only boast of former governors whose only achievements were their contributions to his victory.

Some of these failed governors will not only enmesh Tinubu’s administration in corruption but also serve as divisive factors with their actions and utterances in a country he is seeking to unite.

To avoid flooding his cabinet with failed politicians who will end up as a liability to his administration, Tinubu should work out a reward system for failed governors who contributed hugely to his success.