Tinubu’s Government of Portfolio Misfits – An Underperforming Cabinet of Smart Square Pegs in Mismatched Round Holes (Dr. Ope Banwo, The Mayor Of Fadeyi, reviews Tinubu’s government ministers and portfolio allocation as a possible explanation for the government’s underperformance in its first year. Read the full article at: https://mayoroffadeyi.com/tinubus-cabinet-of-portfolio-misfits)

While it is indisputable that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu does have a few round pegs in round holes in his cabinet, it is now not so surprising that a government with some very accomplished superstars in their own rights could be so underwhelming in its underperformance as a collective after a full year in the saddle.

It is true that we have some ministers who are round pegs in round holes, like Lateef Fagbemi in Justice; David Umahi in Works; Bosun Tijani in Digital Economy; Simon Lalong in Labour and Employment; Dr. Tunji Alausa in State at Health, and Wale Edun in Finance. (Whether they are performing well or not in their properly matched portfolios will be the subject of another upcoming article that I have tentatively titled ‘The Paper Tigers in The Asiwaju Government.’) However, it is clear that a huge number of ministers that President Tinubu and his APC party have assigned to run the affairs of various ministries are super misfits for their assigned portfolios.

For those who may be wondering why a collection of some of the most accomplished people we have in Nigeria can’t seem to deliver amazing performances over the last year, the real reason may lie in the fact that most of them have been given portfolios in which they have no training, no experience, and no domain expertise. While many of them do have enviable resumes, they have spent the last year in a trial-and-error phase as they tried to apply their considerable intellects to their different ministries. Consequently, Nigerians have become guinea pigs in their hands, when most of these ministers could have hit the ground running if only they were deployed to areas more aligned with their academic strengths, domain expertise, and experience.

I recently began to wonder why a government with some of the most accomplished technocrats, politicians, and administrators gathered by President Tinubu seemed to be engaging in trial and error with their policies, unable to commit to announced policies for even a few months before reversing them and changing directions. So, I decided to review the list of our ministers and compare their education, experience, and expertise with the portfolios the president has assigned to them.

What started as a casual review of the ministers and their portfolios soon revealed an alarming pattern of carelessness by our president in the deployment of the chess pieces he had at his disposal for taking our country out of the doldrums imposed by the 8 years of lackluster performance by the previous government of Buhari, a government that the current president has publicly admitted he helped to birth. What President Tinubu has done, in my humble opinion, is like a coach who had a great group of talented football players but chose to assign a player with the skills of Osimhen or Rashidi Yekini to play defense just because they are great players, and then assign a Yobo or a Christian Chukwu to play offense while making Jay Jay Okocha the goalkeeper simply because they are great players. They may eventually figure it out because the truth is, talent matters, but their first season is most likely to be a disaster …. and that’s exactly what we are witnessing in Nigeria right now.

Our President had a ministerial team of 42 mostly highly accomplished individuals (if you remove about 5 or 6 that have no business being named ministers of anything), but he has slowed down his own government, and, by consequence, the people and progress of Nigeria, by miscasting about 30 of them into the wrong portfolios. Frankly, it is almost as if he closed his eyes and threw darts to assign them to the different portfolios, from what I can see.

I would guess our President was operating under the flawed and misguided belief that any smart operative can fit anywhere, as many government apologists have argued whenever this issue is raised. Yet, the government’s below-par results so far are proof that he was wrong. Of course, APC never admits errors, but results don’t lie. If they were doing well, there would have been no need for Days of Rage protests or the archaic and annoying need to roll out their Sopono, Agodongo, and Oro deities to prevent the people from making their point very loudly in a nation-wide protest.

My aim is not to attack the government of Jagaban but to point out some of these issues regarding the Cabinet of Misfits in the hopes that Mr. President will take a long look at these misfits and recast them properly or remove some of them altogether before it is too late. Too many Nigerians need this government to succeed, and fast.

Here are my findings for the apologists of the Asiwaju government to explain to the Nigerian people. Ironically, I strongly believe that if these men and women had been properly deployed, Nigeria could have been much better off. As it stands, we are suffering untold hardship while these square pegs in round holes spend months trying to sharpen themselves to fit into their assignments.

Misfit #1: BADARU ABUBAKAR – MINISTER OF DEFENSE – An accountant/businessman with ZERO experience in security or defense issues was miscast as Minister of Defense.

Résumé: Badaru, as he is popularly called, was a one-time chairman of the Nigerian Presidential Committee on Fertilizer Distribution to Farmers and also a former chairman of a presidential committee on non-oil revenue. He is the founder of Talamiz Group. Abubakar is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a B.Sc. in Accounting. After graduation, Badaru established his business, the Talamiz Group, a conglomerate with diverse interests in automobiles, manufacturing, agriculture, animal husbandry, and commodity distribution.

Yet, this is the best person our president could find to be our MINISTER OF DEFENSE? There is absolutely nothing in his education, career, or interests that prepared him for this role. He has no training, experience, or domain expertise in anything to do with security or defense. So we must pointedly ask the President or his apologists: What is he doing in the Ministry of Defense? What, in his experience as an agriculturist or animal husbandry expert, qualifies him to handle defense? What are we missing here?

Misfit #2: ABBAS LAWAL – MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT – A teacher/administrator with experience in defense matters was miscast as Minister of Environment, where he had zero training, experience, and domain expertise.

Profile Summary: Lawal was the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government under Governor Uba Sani. He was also the Secretary to the Kaduna State Government under Governor Nasir El-Rufai, from May 2015 to May 2023. He also served as Chief of Staff to El-Rufai when he was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from July 2003 to July 2007. From September 1999 to February 2001, he served as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education. During the period between February 2001 and May 2003, Abbas was at the Ministry of Defense, serving as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for the Nigerian Army. Before all this, he was a lecturer at the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, from 1982 to 1989.

So what does this man know about the environment, and what in his educational life or practice would make our president assign him this globally important portfolio? No wonder we have no clue what to do in this area so far that the world can recognize.

Misfit #3: HANNATU MUSA MUSAWA – MINISTER OF ART, CULTURE AND CREATIVE ECONOMY – An accomplished Marine, Oil & Gas lawyer was miscast as Minister of Arts and Culture, where she has no previous practical experience, no training, and no domain expertise.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): Hannatu is a Nigerian lawyer, politician, and author. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Law from the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom. She then pursued two postgraduate Master’s degrees: one in the Legal Aspects of Marine Affairs from the University of Cardiff in Wales and another in Oil & Gas from the University of Aberdeen.

Musa has had a varied and successful career in different fields. She has worked as a lawyer in private companies, providing legal counsel and representation in various matters. She has also specialized in marine affairs and oil & gas law. She also served as a lawyer on the prosecution team in the 2003 presidential election petition involving Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo.

She is obviously a supremely educated lady, but why did our president, in his wisdom, assign her the portfolio to handle Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy? Why is that done in a nation that has seasoned and experienced people with passion and dedication for the arts and culture? What a square peg in a round hole!

Misfit #4: FESTUS EGWAREWA KEYAMO – MINISTER OF AVIATION AND AEROSPACE DEVELOPMENT – A fire-breathing human rights activist and lawyer (SAN) was deployed to the Ministry of Aviation, where he had no previous experience, training, or domain expertise.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): He is a Nigerian lawyer, SAN, columnist, and human rights activist. Keyamo was appointed as the Director of Strategic Communications for the 2019 re-election bid of President Buhari and later appointed Minister of State for Labour and Employment.

Ironically, Keyamo, who began his legal career in 1993 at Gani Fawehinmi’s Chambers, literally made his name as a lawyer in his tireless fight against the Lagos State Assembly for absolving the same president he now serves under from charges of certificate forgery. He was counsel to the leader of the Niger-Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, in his trial for treasonable felony, and lead counsel in the treason trial of Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of the Movement For The Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). Keyamo was also counsel in the murder case of Bola Ige.

Nobody can argue with Keyamo’s accomplishments as a tireless lawyer and his indomitable spirit, but nothing in his varied past showed he had any experience, knowledge, or ideas in the aviation industry, in a country with lots of technocrats in that industry. He is another square peg who has really worked harder than most to sharpen himself into a round pole for his president.

Fortunately for Nigeria, and to Keyamo’s credit, many will agree that he has performed very well despite not having any antecedents in the aviation industry. So one is left to imagine how much of a superstar he could have been in this government if he had been placed in a ministry more suited to his education, practice, accomplishments, and experience, like Justice or Labour. Nigeria is in too bad of a state not to put our round pegs in round holes for a faster turnaround.

Misfit #5: DR. BETTA CHIMAOBIM EDU – MINISTER FOR WOMEN AFFAIRS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION (CURRENTLY ON SUSPENSION) – A medical doctor was appointed to handle poverty alleviation and women affairs.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): She is a Nigerian medical doctor turned politician. She was Cross River State Commissioner for Health until her resignation in 2022. She was also National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum.

In 2015, Edu became the youngest person to be appointed Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Benedict Ayade, on Community and Primary Healthcare. In 2020, she became Chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Taskforce. In August of that year, she was appointed National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum. Edu is a Fellow of the Royal School of Public Health and the African Institute of Public Health Professionals.

While Betta Edu did serve as the National Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for about a year before being made one of the youngest national ministers, Mr. President, of all people, should know that being the National Women Leader of a political party, where her duties are primarily limited to mobilizing women for parties, and being the Minister of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation for the nation, is a whole different ball game. Yet, he inexplicably gave her the highest cabinet rank focused on women in our country.

This is a supremely qualified young medical doctor who is more at home with a stethoscope and organizing high-level parties for well-heeled politicians and Ikoyi people, than with empowerment meetings, visiting poor neighborhoods, or meeting with the poor to understand their needs. No wonder she had no clue how to play the poverty alleviation game and took everything the technocrats told her at face value, which got her into trouble when she was made the fall girl for the scandal of personalizing the depository of funds meant for poverty alleviation. She is cooling her heels out in the cold right now, a victim of being miscast for the wrong portfolio.

Misfit #6: OLUBUNMI TUNJI-OJO – MINISTER OF INTERIOR OF NIGERIA – This is an IT wizard with so much to give the nation in the IT field but was miscast as Minister of Interior, where he had no previous experience, education, or domain expertise in interior matters.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): He is an engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, politician, and former member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria. Before his advent into politics, Tunji-Ojo was an accomplished business and management executive with a flourishing career in ICT, becoming the CEO of a leading indigenous ICT consulting company in Nigeria, Matrix IT Solutions Limited, at the age of 24. As a professional, he holds a certification in Ethical Hacking. He is also a certified CompTIA Network Plus Engineer and a Britannia Hardware A+ Management Certificate Holder.

In Nigeria, he consulted for the World Bank and several government agencies, including the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), and National Health Insurance Scheme, Abuja (NHIS).

In collaboration with the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), he pioneered the first Nigerian Content Workshop (NCW) in 2016, a forum for all stakeholders in the Oil and Gas Industry to discuss freely the Policy Framework to improve indigenous participation and make use of the Nigerian Content Policy to domicile the best global productivity and performances in Nigeria.

So how did this man, who is clearly an IT prodigy, end up in the Ministry of Interior with all his qualifications and experience in tech? Square pegs in round holes!

Misfit #7: ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA – MINISTER OF MARINE AND BLUE ECONOMY – An accomplished insurance professional was miscast in the role of Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, a domain in which he has NO education, NO experience, and NO expertise.

Oyetola graduated from the University of Lagos with a Bachelor of Science in Insurance in 1978 and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 1990. In 1980, Oyetola joined Leadway Assurance Company Limited as an area manager and worked there till 1987, when he moved on to join Crusader Insurance Company Limited as Underwriting Manager between 1987 and 1990. In 1990, he joined Alliance and General Insurance as Technical Controller and served in that capacity until 1991 when he left the organization to start his own company, Silvertrust Insurance Brokers Limited. He was appointed as Chief of Staff to the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

Oyetola also served as Executive Vice Chairman of Paragon Group of Companies between 2005 and 2011. He was also Chairman of Ebony Properties Limited. He had been a Director of Pyramid Securities Limited until 2011. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute in London and Nigeria. He is also a member of the Nigeria Institute of Management.

Can anyone tell me anything in this man’s education, experience, or expertise that qualifies him to do a good job in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy? Really?

Misfit #8: HEINEKEN LOKPOBIRI – MINISTER OF STATE FOR PETROLEUM RESOURCES – A superbly trained and experienced lawyer in environmental rights and environmental law was miscast as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, a domain in which he had NO training and NO practical experience.

He previously served as Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2015 to 2019 and as Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District from 2007 to 2015. He is a former speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.

Heineken Lokpobiri received his degree in Law in 1994 from Rivers State University of Science and Technology. He is an expert in Environmental Rights and Environmental Law and holds a Doctorate degree (Ph.D.) from Leeds Beckett University, UK, in 2015. Lokpobiri was a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003, and speaker of the house from June 1999 – May 2001.

Nothing in his storied career, education, or experience showed he had any experience in managing petroleum resources. With our president himself, whose only ‘experience’ in the oil sector too was working for a few years as an accountant in Mobil being the Minister of Petroleum Resources, is anyone surprised that seasoned private sector operators like Dangote, corrupt NNPC technocrats, and the oil cabal are running rings around the ministers and this government’s anemic subsidy removal strategy? Square pegs in round holes.

Misfit #9: IBRAHIM GAIDAM – MINISTER OF POLICE AFFAIRS – An accountant and finance expert with zero experience or expertise in police matters was miscast as our Police Affairs Minister.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): He is an accountant/teacher with knowledge, experience, and domain expertise in accountancy. The Governor of Yobe State was a trained teacher with a Borno Teachers’ College (BTC) Teachers’ Certificate. He got a diploma in Accountancy from Ahmadu Bello University and a BSc in Accountancy Degree in 1990. He became a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria.

As an accountant, Ibrahim Gaidam worked in several government ministries in the old Borno State, later Yobe State. He was assistant director of finance in the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure, and acting Director of Finance and Supplies in the Yobe Information and Culture Ministry. Ibrahim Gaidam left the civil service in 1995 when he was appointed the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, and then Commissioner of Commerce and Industries. He returned to the civil service and from 1997 to 2007, he was a Director in the State Finance Ministry and Permanent Secretary in various other ministries.

He has zero experience with police or police matters, and yet he is the square peg our president chose to put in the round hole of police affairs when he has amazing experienced people in that domain, even in his inner circle of geniuses.

Misfit #10: BELLO MUHAMMAD (A/K/A BELLO MATAWALLE) – MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENSE – A man with domain expertise in rural development and local/chieftaincy affairs was miscast as the Minister of Defense.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): His experience and domain expertise is in Water Resources, Rural Development, and maybe Youths and Sports. He is the former governor of Zamfara State from 2019 to 2023. He attended Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and later went to Thames Valley University, London. Matawalle worked as a teacher at Government Girls College, Moriki, and Kwatarkoshi before joining the Federal Ministry of Water Resources. Between 1999 and 2003, he served as Zamfara State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Commissioner for Environment, Rural Development, and then Commissioner for Youth and Sports.

That’s our Minister of State for Defense, and we are wondering why we are struggling to protect our territories from a ragtag team of cow herders and okada-riding mercenaries.

Misfit #11: ADEBAYO ADELABU – MINISTER OF POWER – An accomplished accountant/banker was miscast to run the Power Ministry, where he had zero experience, zero training, and zero domain expertise.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): His experience, education, and domain expertise is in accounting and banking. He is a former Deputy Governor, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and currently serving as the federal Minister of Power of Nigeria. He was the 2019 Oyo State gubernatorial candidate for the All Progressives Congress. Adelabu received a first-class degree in Accounting from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Adelabu has also taken up professional courses in various business schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, Euromoney, and the University of London.

Adelabu started his career with PriceWaterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), an international firm of chartered accountants and management consultants. During his seven years with the firm, he led and managed various audit and consultancy engagements for large banks and non-bank financial institutions within and outside Nigeria. He was on secondment to the Central Bank of Nigeria for one year in 1999 when he led the finance team on the CBN re-engineering and corporate renewal project tagged “Project EAGLES.” He later joined First Atlantic Bank as the Financial Controller and Group Head of Risk Management and Controls. He was later promoted to Chief Inspector of the Bank in 2002 and Group Head of National Public Sector Business in 2003.

Adelabu moved to Standard Chartered Bank as the West African Regional Head of Finance and Strategy (Consumer Banking Business) with dual offices in Lagos and Accra. He was there till 2009, from where he became an Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nigeria’s largest bank, First Bank of Nigeria Plc. (FBN) at the age of 39. Adebayo was appointed by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in February 2014 as Deputy Governor, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Adelabu serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nigeria InterBank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) and has chaired the board of the Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC). He is also a serving member of the Board of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

Again, he is an undoubtedly and supremely accomplished financial and banking superstar that our president cast in the role of Minister of Power. So, we must ask the president, with all his accomplishments and zero experience or education in the power sector, what is he doing as our Minister of Power? He would probably figure it out in the end, but in the meantime, Nigerians are still condemned to perennial power failure as the banker tries to figure out what’s wrong with Kainji Dam or why no amount of money thrown at the problem has yielded results. We keep putting square pegs in this all-important sector and then do night vigils for God to intervene and do His ‘Let There Be Light’ creation move again.

Misfit #12: HENRY DELE ALAKE – MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS – A consummate and highly accomplished information czar, hardcore media executive, and multiple-award-winning journalist was sadly miscast as Minister of Solid Minerals, a domain in which he has zero experience, zero education, and zero training.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): He is a Nigerian journalist, activist, and technocrat, and a former Commissioner for Information and Strategy of Lagos State. Alake got his BSc in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos.

Alake was the Director of Media and Communication of the Buhari Campaign Organisation in 2015.

Alake contributed to the establishment of Lagos Television (LTV 8), the sister station of his employers, the Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation. He later joined Concord Press, publishers of the Concord Group of Newspapers – National Concord and Sunday Concord, as a writer and editor.

Easily one of the most accomplished media personalities in Nigeria, Alake is a former Vice-President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. He belongs to several national, regional, and international professional bodies, such as the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and West African Union of Journalists. He has also received several honors and awards for his meritorious service in journalism. He was awarded the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) International Gold Award in 2000, Special Recognition Award, Radio Lagos, and Public Service Award, ECHNONEWS, amongst others. He was a former chairman of the Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation Chapel of the NUJ and is currently a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (ENGE).

This is a superstar operator in journalism, information, and media communication. Yet, our President, in his inscrutable wisdom, felt he could best serve his cabinet in the Ministry of Mineral Resources, a domain in which he had no training, experience, or practice, unless he was involved in secret minerals mining that we know nothing about. What a miscast operator!

This is a gritty man of steel, media-savvy, and consumate media strategist who by right should be spearheading the information or mass communication efforts of our government. He is a man who could impose the will of the government in the ongoing media war without violence, but he is too busy right now trying to learn and figure out how to turn our solid minerals into gold—no pun intended. What a miscast of a champion.

Misfit #13: JOHN OWAN ENOH – MINISTER OF SPORTS DEVELOPMENT – An accomplished farmer with finance-related legislative experience was miscast as Minister of Sports Development when there is nothing in his history, practical experience, or training that showed he knew anything about sports development.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): Enoh graduated from the University of Calabar in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and was the best-graduating student of his Sociology set. He attended several courses at home and abroad on capacity building in aid of his legislative work. Enoh is a fellow at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CEPACS) at the University of Ibadan.

Enoh owns numerous farms where he conducts agriculture and livestock production. The farming venture he started in 2000 has cultivated about 2,000 hectares of land as of 2021. Enoh’s farm spreads across various parts of Cross River State and includes about 150 hectares of planted palms in Agbokim Waterfalls, expanding to about 100 hectares of planted palms at Etara-Ekuri. His ventures lie in Etung LGA of Cross River State. Enoh is said to operate an out-grower scheme in communities where his farms are located.

He served as Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Culture & Tourism (2003-2005) and the House Committee on Appropriation (2005-2007). In his second term, he was Chairman of the House Committee on Finance (2007-2011). He chaired the Committee on Appropriation in his third term (2011-2015), and served in the 8th Senate (2015-2019) as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

Enoh has nothing in his résumé, training, experience, or special expertise in any area of sports development. Yet, he was appointed Minister of Sports Development by President Bola Tinubu. Nothing in his education, experience, or practice suggests he knew anything about sports. So, is anyone still wondering why we didn’t even win a plastic cup at the last Olympics? Stop worrying; the man was still busy trying to understand the process for making sure the incompetent technocrats in our sports ministry registered our athletes on time.

Misfit #14: PRINCE SHUAIBU ABUBAKAR AUDU – MINISTER OF STEEL DEVELOPMENT – An Oxford-trained banker with outstanding achievements in banking and finance was miscast as Minister of Steel Development, an area in which he had zero training, zero practical experience, and, of course, zero domain authority or connections.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): He is a Nigerian investment banker and politician. Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Economics from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, in 2001. He earned a Master’s Degree (M.Sc.) in International Securities, Investment, and Banking from Henley Business School, University of Reading. Audu also obtained a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Oxford in 2013.

Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu has over 20 years of experience in Corporate and Investment Banking and Wealth Management within the Financial Services Sector.

He started his career with Investment Banking and Trust Company Limited (“IBTC”) in the Global Markets and Treasury Department for two (2) years, then moved to Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited as one of the pioneer promoters, and together with his colleagues in the Banking Group, they set up the Pension Fund Administrator (“PFA”), which is currently the largest in Nigeria. They equally set up the Investment Management Desk, and he was later appointed as an Executive Director in the Asset Management Subsidiary.

In 2013–2023, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu became the Chief Executive Officer of the Venture Capital Business at Stanbic IBTC Group. He has worked and garnered experience at various banks, including the Bank of New York Mellon in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and Credit Suisse Global Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, amongst others.

By education and experience, this is another powerhouse in banking and finance and a former governor, but with zero knowledge or expertise in the steel production industry, he ended up as the Minister of Steel in our nation, and we are all wondering why Ajaokuta Rolling Mills deactivation continued to be a black hole of government funds and our dreams of dominating in steel production remain a mirage?

Misfit #15: LOLA ADE-JOHN – MINISTER OF TOURISM – An accomplished banker and IT expert was miscast as Minister of Tourism, a domain in which she had no training, no practical experience, and no domain authority or even known interest.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): She is a Nigerian information and technology expert and banker. Lola Ade-John studied computer science at the University of Ibadan and holds a master’s degree in the same field from the same institution.

After her graduation, Ade-John worked with Shell Petroleum as a systems analyst. She then proceeded to work with Magnum Trust Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, and Ecobank. After her time in the banking sector, she set up Novateur Business Technology Consultants in 2013.

Yet, on 16 August 2023, with zero experience, education, or practice in anything even remotely close to tourism, she was appointed Minister of Tourism by President Bola Tinubu. No wonder we cannot seem to harness the humongous potential of our nation to be the tourism destination of Africa. This is also a big reason why tiny Rwanda and countries like Kenya are eating our tourism lunch, with only a fraction of our rich culture and tourist destinations.

Misfit #16: SA’IDU AHMED ALKALI – MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION – A man with practical experience in information management was miscast as Minister of Transportation, a domain in which he had no practical experience, no training, and no domain authority as far as we can see.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): Alkali obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics and became a public servant. Alhaji Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali was formerly the Commissioner of Information in the administration of Governor Danjuma Goje. With nothing in his background, experience, education, or practice, the Sarkin Gabas Dukku was pronounced Minister of Transportation by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 16 August 2023.

How this man qualified to be Minister of Transportation, Mr. President didn’t explain, and our legislators, who kept fighting about their legislative oversights when it comes to buying N200 million naira cars and getting allowances to go and disrupt our public officers at their jobs, didn’t ask the nominees during their vetting exercise in the National Assembly.

Misfit #17: UJU KENNEDY-OHANENYE – MINISTER OF WOMEN AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – A lawyer and experienced Nollywood movie producer is now our Minister for Women Affairs and Social Development in a nation of so many women with experience and domain authority in that area.

Résumé Summary (Source: Wikipedia): Uju is a lawyer, entrepreneur, politician, and film producer. She earned her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1996 and holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Abuja, obtained in 2002.

Kennedy-Ohanenye practices law and is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association. She is also involved in real estate and the education sector. As the CEO of Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye & Co, she provides legal services to individuals and corporations. She also serves as the founder and head of Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye Academy, a private educational institution.

She is actively engaged in the film industry within Nollywood as a producer. Her production portfolio includes titles such as Mama Onboard, The Senator, The Governor, and The President. She is also the president of the Association of Nollywood Producers (ANP).

This smart lady was taken out of her comfortable waters and made our Minister for Women Affairs when there is nothing in her experience and practice that prepared her for this extremely specialized ministry. No wonder she is behaving like a civil rights activist rather than someone to execute ideas and projects to elevate women. She is busy jumping into every secondary school and primary school matter in total disregard for protocol.

And it is amazing that I have only discussed 17 out of the over 30 people who are clearly portfolio misfits, but this article is already too long as it is. Anyone can review the entire list of 42 ministers and confirm this glaring fact for themselves. This is not an unfair attack on President Tinubu’s choice of portfolio assignments but verifiable facts.

Bottom line, President Bola Ahmed needs to take a really critical look at these misfits in the different critical portfolios and make adjustments before it is too late. Some need to be reassigned to areas where they can really excel, while others need to be taken out of the government completely. There is too much at stake right now to be playing too much political calculation in giving people portfolios. We need men and women who have experience, education, practice, and domain expertise in whatever portfolio is given to them. We do not have time for any more trial and error while people figure out areas of responsibility they have never been involved with.

My name is Ope Banwo, The Mayor of Fadeyi, Prince of Ikala Kingdom in Ijebu-Mushin, and the recently selected Ohanifere Of Igboland, repesenting the Fadeyi side-of-life Constiuency of Nigerians who are suffering from the eyije-eyioje ‘trial and error’ of this government and I officially call on our President Bola Tinubu to do SOMETHING about shaking up this cabinet of portfolio misfits soon.