Democracy and the Making of the President’s Cabinet in Nigeria: A Reflection of the Olusegun Obasanjo’s and Goodluck Jonathan’s Cabinets

Abstract

The Presidency, especially in Federal systems, holds peculiar and haunting fascination for scholars in their attempts to diagnose the workings of modern governments. The increasing powers of the Presidency, the recurrent debates over their use or abuse and the continuous interrogation of the extent of the legitimate use of such powers, invariably compel attention to the study of the Presidency. In Nigeria, a critical inquiry that goes beyond the surface seems to be long overdue and an appraisal of the making of a Presidential cabinet appears a vital part of the advancement of knowledge in this regard. Thus, this study is a review of democracy and the making of the presidential cabinet in Nigeria with a reflection of the Olusegun Obasanjo’s and the Goodluck Jonathan’s Cabinets. The aims are (i) to investigate the role of the President as crisis manager when a nation faces serious internal security challenges; (ii) to appraise the President’s role as manager of the economy – especially when fiscal and monetary policies are set in the context of double – digit inflation and severe economic dislocations; and (iii) to assess the interactions between the President, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the National Assembly. The study reveals among many others that for the President to be effective he needs a cabinet that fully understands what he wants to achieve, the way he wants to go about it and the time he wants to achieve it. In fact, the president needs a cabinet that shares in his vision of development for the country. Sequel to the above, the president should rely more on expertise and competence by lifting square peg into square holes.