10 ministers who have to put in super human performances if they want to make a difference to Nigeria’s fortunes

By Ayo Akinfe 

(1) Adamu Adamu: Minister of Education
With 13m our-of-school kids, Nigeria is the truancy capital of the world. We have become a nation of dropouts. Mr Adamu has to set himself a target of at least halving this by 2023. Can he please build at least two primary schools and one secondary school in each of our 774 local government areas 

(2) Ogbonnaya Onu: Minister of science and Technology 
No nation can develop without technology as it is what makes you competitive in this hostile global economy. We simply need to start manufacturing or we will remain an eternal and perpetual importer. Mr Onu needs to set targets for car manufacturing, ship building, aircraft assembly and the nation becoming self-reliant when it comes to manufacturing consumer goods like TVs, fridges, laptops, mobile phones, washing machines, microwaves, etc 

(3) Adeniyi Adebayo: Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment
This is arguably the toughest job of all as Nigeria’s fundamental problem is that we are a mono economy. Unless we diversify, we will never grow our GDP and national budget. Mr Adebayo needs to set himself a minimum target of double digit economic growth every year between now and 2023. If we have 20% GDP growth every year between now and 2023, we be on the verge of a $1trn economy 

(4) Geoffrey Onyeama: Minister of Foreign Investment
I notice his job description has changed and to be honest, it is for the better. Nigeria has no need for foreign policy at the moment. What we need is a foreign investment policy. Mr Onyeama should set himself the target of attracting about $50bn in foreign direct investment each year between now and 2023. Our diaspora is set to remit $25bn in 2019, so asking for FDI of twice this amount is perfectly reasonable 

(5) Zainab Ahmed: Minister of Finance
In my book, this is the number three citizen in the cabinet after the president and vice president. Rather than direct his ministers to the hapless cabal king Abba Kyari, President Buhari should have asked them to make Ms Ahmed their first point of call. If their plans make no economic sense, they have no business in Aso Rock. Ms Ahmed should deliver a $1trn economy to us by 2023 or she should regard herself as a shameful failure 

(5) Sabo Nanono: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
As we debate diversification, agriculture is the one sector ready to go as we already have the raw materials there. Mr Nanono actually has an easy job. All he has to do is get processing going with a view of making sure that proceeds from the sale of agricultural products match the $25bn we are generating from crude oil annually by 2023. Cocoa, cassava, yam, kolanuts, coco yam, shea nuts, millet, sorghum, cashews, coconuts, etc are all in abundance across Nigeria 

(6) Babatunde Fashola: Minister of Works and Housing
No country will ever go anywhere without infrastructure. Roads, rail, airports, shopping malls, housing estates, industrial estates, town centres, etc are what fuel economic growth, attract investors and facilitate the movement of goods and services. I am glad power has been removed from Fashola’s portfolio, so he can concentrate on the job at hand. Can he start off by telling us how many housing units he intends building annually and how many kilometres of road he will tar each year 

(7) Olamilekun Adegbite: Minister of Mines and Steel Development
Whenever I read about Ajaokuta, Aladja, Jos, Oshogbo and Katsina steel mills, it is easy to see where Nigeria’s problems lie. We will forever remain an agrarian economy dependent on crude oil until we start mass producing steel. How do you manufacture machine tools, get factories working and churn out finished goods without steel? Mr Adegbite must make us a mass steel producer 

(8) Rauf Aregbesola: Minister of Interior
Over the last year, insecurity has taken over Nigeria in an unbelievable manner. Our problems are not external as it is Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, kidnappers and armed militia formed by politicians that are causing all the mayhem. President Buhari has been reluctant to move against some of these vested interests, so I hope the appointment of Ogbeni Aregbesola is him delegating authority. I really hope Aregbesola will be able to defy Aso Rock and clamp down on these miscreants. Ogbeni Aregbesola has to ignore the directive to contact Abba Kyari and just get on with his job. He also has to secure our borders by forming a Border Guard to stop weapons entering Nigeria 

(9) Rotimi Amaechi: Minsiter of Transport
Personally, I would like Amaechi to focus 90% of his energy in one area - rail! If we have a comprehensive national railway network linking all 774 local government areas with a standard gauge line running at about 150km per hour topped up by high speed lines connecting Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Onitsha, Enugu, etc, we are home and dry. Amaechi should also get us to start manufacturing rail carriages, engines and tracks in Nigeria 

(10) Saleh Mamman: Minister of Power
We all know the score. Nigeria needs about 250,000MW of power if she is serious about becoming a global industrial giant. Mr Mamman needs to come up with a programme that includes hydro, thermal, solar, wind and gas powered electricity. He then needs to attract investors into the distribution and transmission network. He has until 2023 to deliver on this