By Philip Ojo
No doubt, one of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unique selling points is his ability to identify talents. It is certain that the first task for Tinubu is not forming a government of national competence; rather, it is to have a clear understanding of what he wants for Nigeria. Thereafter, getting the team to deliver comes next.
In answering the question of what Tinubu wants for Nigeria, I took a quick sojourn to refresh my thought on what Tinubu’s plan entails as contained in his documentary titled renewed hope. The 80-page action plan is loaded with beautiful thoughts. It’s an action plan that needs a serious-minded team to execute. In some cases, these plans had their goals and intended solution.
The promise to bring back the commodity board which had been abandoned for so long, the creation of grain reserves and food storage, rural infrastructural development, irrigation, access to finance, and farm cooperative among others are well thought-out. That’s just on agriculture; he still has unambiguous plans on national security, economy, power, oil and gas, education, and health care, among other very important sectors.
For ministerial lobbying, this area comes with many complexities, scheming, and state political peculiarity. Notwithstanding all these, Tinubu must look deep for productive personalities and not replicate a retirement benefit for former governors or political big-wigs. I had run some investigative checks on what’s disrupting the political space in Oyo State with regard to ministerial nomination speculations. I used the word ministerial aspirant because it is more of another contest for who would be Tinubu’s pick to fill in the ministerial slot for the state.
The mere fact that Teslim Folarin was unable to unseat Seyi Makinde had made the ministerial contest even more competitive among the gladiators. Folarin has a national political war chest within the APC, and many had speculated that he may be compensated for losing the governorship race by a ministerial nomination. But this reminded me how Sunday Dare was appointed minister and Adebayo Adelabu was also not compensated for the 2019 defeat.
If I were to pick for Tinubu, my choice would be Prof. Abideen Olaiya. His credential in politics and profession is a good catch for Asiwaju’s passionate drive for agricultural revival and food stability. Just like Prof. Ali Pantami’s success in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Abideen Olaiya has the pedigree to do the magic in the agriculture ministry, especially at this critical time when Tinubu needs extraordinary performers and technocrats.
Besides professional competence, Prof. Olaiya is a loyal member of the party that has made certain sacrifices as his ambition is for his party’s success. Prof. Olaiya is a sincere and dedicated advocate of good governance, a competent professional in agriculture, education, value reorientation and Youth development.
Prof. Olaiya was also involved in the establishment and management of private educational institutions from essential to tertiary levels, contributing immensely to the attainment of millennium development goals in the educational sector.
• Ojo, a public affairs analyst, sent in this piece from Oyo State