Nigeria's long wait for government

By Senan Murray
BBC News website, Abuja

Umaru Yar'Adua's election was widely condemned

It has been two-and-a-half months since Umaru Yar'Adua was elected as Nigeria's new president.

He was sworn in six weeks ago, but Mr Yar'Adua is yet to announce his cabinet - a delay that is crippling government business.

The contrast with new UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who had a new cabinet at work barely 24 hours after taking over in Downing Street, couldn't be more stark.

This reflects the difficulties of governing Africa's most populous nation - which has for the first time since independence experienced the successful transfer of power from one elected leader to another.

But the fact that Mr Yar'Adua has been grappling with a list of more than 100 politicians has not helped matters either.

Delays

Mr Yar'Adua asked each of Nigeria's 36 governors to nominate three candidates.

Olusegun Obasanjo handpicked Yar'Adua and still runs the PDP

The delay in whittling this down has also left many Nigerians questioning the style of the new government.

With no ministers, the job of running Africa's most populous nation is left to a small kitchen cabinet and a handful of aides inherited from his predecessor, former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The absence of a cabinet means that decisions take longer and the government is less visible as only Mr Yar'Adua, his secretary and his low-profile deputy constitute its face.

Recently, it took the new government four days to end a nationwide general strike embarked upon by union leaders to protest against increases in petrol prices, value-added tax and to demand higher wages.

Cabinet make-up

Ministers are very powerful in Nigeria, controlling the annual budgets of their ministries and agencies under them.

This means ministerial appointments are often reserved for ruling party members and their cronies, with appointments often a reward for contributions to the success of the party during the elections.

The government struggled to deal with the strike effectively

President Obasanjo had over 28 senior ministers - each with a minister of state as assistant - even though he pruned down the number to 20 towards the twilight of his eight-year reign.

In his second term in 2003, Mr Obasanjo decided to shift emphasis to merit in appointing his ministers.

He appointed respected professionals like former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Harvard-trained Obi Ezekwesili and high-profile former minister of Abuja, Nasir el-Rufai.

But people who know Mr Yar'Adua are not surprised by his long delay in appointing a cabinet.

"He is by nature very slow - some people would say careful. But it is typical of him to take his time about things," says Lawal Ibrahim, a reporter in Katsina.

They point to his two-month delay in appointing a cabinet when he became the regional governor of Katsina State in 1999 and say the new president is just being himself - a slow mover.

"The challenge is how to make sure that the states run effectively, which will take the pressure off the central government," Calestous Juma, a professor of international development, Harvard University told the BBC News website.

"It is not about size; it is what the cabinet actually does. Without a vision and programme of work there is a tendency for African cabinets to simply reflect ethnic interests."

Professor Juma suggests a slimmer cabinet for Mr Yar'Adua and more autonomy to the states.

But many Nigerians are already growing frustrated with Mr Yar'Adua's laid back style. They say the approach slows down government.

For instance, the Senate and the House of Representatives have yet to appoint members of their standing committees because they need to know how many ministries or agencies would be coming under their legislative oversight.

Political expediency

"This approach is not good for our democracy," says Mahmud Jega, journalist and public affairs analyst.

"There's no way the government can stabilise without ministers. For now, it's just the president and a handful of advisers running this massive country."

It is also being thought that the government's slow start might be that they are really thinking about having a programme of work before deciding on the persons to carry it out.

But Mr Yar'Adua appears to be pandering more to political expediency than speed as he tries to assemble a team to help him govern Africa's top oil producer.

Insiders say Mr Yar'Adua had drawn up a list of possible ministers but had to discard it last week when the opposition political parties began to show interest in his invitation to form a government of national unity.

He is said to be making a new list that will include opposition politicians from Gen Muhammadu Buhari's All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar's Action Congress (AC).

Big wigs

It is now being reported that Mr Yar'Adua's list has gone to the Senate for confirmation, but Nigerian presidency sources say politicians are still lobbying for positions in the new government.

There is also disquiet within the ruling People's Democratic Party party over the unity government proposal.

Many party big-wigs are not pleased at the idea of sharing the spoils with the losers and opposition from them is stalling the appointment of cabinet.

Nigerian politicians are more used to the doctrine of winner-takes-all, but the mildly-spoken former chemistry teacher is bringing a new generosity to the system even though his motives might not be entirely selfless.

The unity government idea is being seen as Mr Yar'Adua's effort to win legitimacy following his controversial victory in elections - which local and foreign observers condemned as heavily flawed.

Mr Yar'Adua admits that the elections were "far from perfect" and has promised to work on reforming Nigeria's electoral system.

Whether his new cabinet will help efforts to secure greater legitimacy for his rule, only time will tell.