Cabinet Reshuffle: Of A.T. Gwarzo and a wrong scorecard

Finally, the much-anticipated cabinet reshuffle by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came, resulting in the sacking of five Ministers, appointing seven new ones and redeploying 10 to other ministries.

While cabinet reshuffle is an age-long strategy for maintaining leadership balance, addressing underperformance and appraising performance metrics and consolidating hold on power, the downside to a misstep may garner far-reaching consequences including loss of valuable expertise and experience, disruption of ongoing projects, demotivation of performers and ultimately ridiculing government image and credibility.

Considering Nigeria’s complex political dynamics, one may excuse why so many incompetent and non-performing Ministers in the Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope’ administration were spared, but it falls short of expectation that loyal, politically relevant and technocratically accurate Ministers will be thrown under the bus.

For example, while in Nigeria, a Minister of State is a junior minister who assists the minister in overseeing specific department, agencies or projects within the ministry, and also coordinating with the principal minister, other ministers and key stakeholders – ensuring representation of the principal minister in various capacities, I am yet to know the failure of people like His Excellency Abdullah Tijjani Gwarzo, that will warrant him being summarily thrown under the bus.

An accomplished gentleman and astute grassroots politician who grew through the ranks from Local Government Chairman all the way to Deputy Governor, State Party Chairman and Minister and one of the rare political leaders in Kano State that has good relationship with everyone, A.T. Gwarzo’s accomplishments in his ministry of assignment is not debatable.

The man has woven experience and expertise together in repurposing his mandate in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda since his inauguration as the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development on Monday, August 21, 2023.

Together with the Honourable Minister Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, he developed a roadmap to revitalize the housing and urban development sector, leading to the formation of four reform task teams in the newly reestablished Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, which had previously been part of the Ministry of Works and Housing.

Additionally, they launched the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates program, which has begun in about thirteen states and the FCT, generating an average of 6,250 jobs per site.

H.E. A.T. Gwarzo led the ministry’s delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai in December 2023, where he delivered Nigeria’s address at the Ministerial Meeting. He also headed the country’s delegation to the African Urban Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from September 4-6, 2024.

H.E ATM Gwarzo led the country’s delegation to a bilateral meeting in Madrid Spain with NYESA VALORES CORPORATION S.A on a partnership to develop the Nigeria Social Housing program and the establishment of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs on 8th October, 2024.

He also participated at the Munich Housing Expo in Munich, Germany, on 9-10 October where he presented the gigantic strides in the Nigerian housing sector and called for collaboration with international partners in that regard, with many international companies expressing interest to invest in the Nigerian housing and urban development sector.

He was instrumental, alongside the honourable minister Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, in bringing about the technical forum on the 2024 Review of Compensation of rates for crops and economic trees, the first in sixteen years, which sought an upward review of the rates, the forum was held on 21-22 October, 2024.

As a member of the Federal Executive Council, the Minister of State has actively participated in all council meetings over the past year. He has also represented the President at various official functions during this time.

Furthermore, he facilitated the enrollment of thousands of Kano State indigenes into the Presidential Conditional Grant Program of the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industries, and coordinated the efficient distribution of food palliatives through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Again, I ask, with all these accomplishments and more up his sleeves, where is A.T. Gwarzo’s failure?

Notably, H.E. A.T. Gwarzo was replaced with another candidate from Kano, even if this move is dissected through the lense of political correctness, it beggars belief how Ogun, South Western Nigeria has four Minister’s while Kano the biggest political base of the North has only two. Unless there is a “yorubanisation” undertone to this, Kano deserves the honor of having at least three ministers if not four like Ogun. The retention of A.T. Gwarzo and the addition of the new candidate. This in my opinion would have been the best option for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

While arguments of marginalisation is rife in the light of the debate that the State Minister for Housing is from Kano North where Deputy President of the Senate Barau Jibrin and APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje hails from, it is also arguable that the Jigawa ministerial nominee from Babura is from the same local government with the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, thus, where delivery, loyalty and value is requisite, such arguments cannot hold water.

Granted that Ministerial sack or cabinet reshuffle is a prerogative of the President, he owes Nigerians an explanation as to why the absence of failure is being penalised. His Special Adviser on Policy Coordination Hadiza Bala Usman aka “head girl” can do this on his behalf.

While at it, the internal working mechanisms of the President should understand that A.T. Gwarzo is not just a man representing Kano North, he is a household name that represents Kano, North West and by extension Northern Nigeria. The former ACN governorship candidate has an unrivaled acceptance in the nook and cranny of Kano and the North, so relegating his representation and value to Kano North alone is arrantly ridiculous.

This is a man who from time immemorial is always at the forefront of defending the interest of the president even to the detriment of his own interest and ambition. It is on record that the National leader of the Kwankwasiya movement in Kano, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso ferociously fought his senatorial ambition because he did the bidding of Tinubu during the APC primaries that produced Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

If one must talk about performance, as a state minister, A.T. Gwarzo is sterling in comparison to people like Ibrahim Geidam, the retained minister of police affairs.

Again I ask, where is A.T. Gwarzo’s failure and why was he affected? Even though I have it on authoritative grounds that he was removed due to sectional arguments raised by the Deputy President of the Senate, which ended up convincing President Tinubu, I like to think that his independent mind must have told him by now that he made the wrong move.

This is definitely one of the wrong calculations made by President Tinubu and he should make no mistakes about it, “Ruwa Baba” as he is popularly called is very much loved and revered by the people of Kano State. He is a grassroots politician of note whose visibility is all over Kano State not restricted to a Senatorial District.

President Tinubu can do better by appointing Yusuf Ata without sacking Abdullahi Gwarzo. For the umpteenth time, with its indisputable contribution to Tinubu’s emergence, Kano deserves the same honor as Ogun.

We therefore beseech President Tinubu to recant on Gwarzo’s sack and reconsider recalling him with immediate effect. By doing so, Tinubu will not be the first leader to recall a valuable appointee.

During World War II, Winston Churchill, Britain’s Prime Minister, sacked his trusted ally and friend, Lord Beaverbrook, from his position as Minister of Aircraft Production in 1941 over policy disagreement and personality clashes. Beaverbrook advocated for prioritizing aircraft production over other war efforts and his demanding nature conflicted with other cabinet members.

However, upon realising that Aircraft production declined significantly after Beaverbrook’s departure, Churchill recognized Beaverbrook’s exceptional organizational skills and leadership and 1942, Churchill reappointed Beaverbrook as Minister of Supply, leveraging his expertise.

Similarly, Napoleon Bonaparte once briefly exiled Marshal Davout during the French Revolutionary Wars due to perceived disloyalty. Recognizing Davout’s military genius, Napoleon reinstated him, leading to crucial victories.

Modern-day applications of rehiring valuable individuals can be seen in various sectors; in business, companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft have rehired former employees or executives, leveraging their expertise and institutional knowledge. Similarly, politicians like US President Joe Biden have reappointed experienced officials, such as Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, to tackle complex economic challenges.

This strategy fosters continuity, stability and innovation. It ensures leaders prioritize talent, expertise and results, driving success in diverse fields enabling them to acknowledge and understand the importance of surrounding themselves with valuable individuals.

It also demonstrates examples of leaders recognizing and correcting mistakes, prioritizing effectiveness over personal differences.

While Tinubu must have definitely misfired in sacking T. Gwarzo, like other great leaders of his, we urge the President to recant and re-appointed the man whose performance is largely perceived by the general public and his constituents failure of which may affect the APC’s electoral prospects in upcoming polls.

It is still not too late for the President to reverse his decision in the interest of the people and his future in the politics of Kano. I dare say, H.E. A.T. Gwarzo has no failure.

~ Adnan Mukhtar is a political commentator and university lecturer. He writes from Abuja.