There is something that touches me about ministers, either in the church, community and government space. Governance is actually about serving the people, and nation.
Ministration, is not a mystery nor rock science. Indeed, ages down the line, we are actually defined by what we bring to bear at our little corner or space.
In our Cultural tourism industry, service to nation and people hardly factor, just few persons, administrators, feels obliged to serve and account for their stewardship.
It’s only in our sector, that our Permanent Secretary is not known to the majority. She is the hidden masquerade, known only to her minders.
Our masquerade Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Ministry of Information and Culture, does not mingle with industry practitioners, and neither does she understand the ecology of media professionals, working day and night to promote Nigeria. She is the queen of Culture and Tourism, yet hardly assertive of her call.
So what happens up the ministry, takes reflective cover in about six out of the nine agencies under the Ministry of Information and Culture.
I don’t really know and if it’s true that a man can be addressed by how well he is dressed ( performance) , then time has come to ask about who is ministering to us at Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), National Gallery of Arts, National Orientation agency, Center for Black and African civilizations, National Theatre, National Museum and Monument and Nigeria films and Censors Board.?
Someone told me last week that he does not know that the Ministry have such agencies and yet the industry remains poorly rated on the ladder of socioeconomic development interventions.
I have deliberately left out of the performing fingers of National Council of Art and Culture (NCAC), National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and National Institute for Cultural Orientation ( Nico) out of nine leperous hands.
The Ministers at those three agencies, have shown enough grit and vision to deliver. Conduct a public quiz, the home truth will hit you about the need to minister to the Ministers in the Ministry of Information and Culture and its agencies.
I know a lot of people want me to say Lai Mohammed, our Minister of Information and Culture, has not ministered well. But let me shock you, Lai Mohammed has discharged his ministerial duties to best of the comfort and discomfort of our people, depending on one’s right to take side as it please anyone constitutionally.
As for me, Lai Mohammed is the face of government in Nigeria. He does not only speak for the government, he is the only minister that can minister to other ministries, profile their achievements, their budget defense and implementation.
It is also a job he does well by organizing well funded media tours to evaluate and report projects in other ministries than his own ministry.
Let explain before mischief makers will go to town. Lai Mohammed, travels with his aides and” select” journalists from Nigeria Television Authority or News Agency of Nigeria, as his industry “team’. So he has done well, but my problem is that his team has never reported to us how much funds government pumps into Culture and Tourism agencies.
Again let me explain myself. We have seen Minister Lai Mohammed sharing with us mouth watering funding intervention in Aviation, Water Resources, Rail Transportation, and even climates change, but those who trouble me, will claim, they have not seen our dear hardworking minister, ministering such interventions, not excluding budget breakdown of the ministry and its nine agencies at any point in time.
We are at summer period of budget presentation and defense, our Minister and his angelic Ministers at our various parastatals are muted to this strategic call
It has been like that for a long time but again, don’t you guys out there, think time has come to minister to these misfiring ministers and the Permanent Secretary, who actually is the technocrat, at the wheels of the ministry of Information and Culture.
Let me say here ooo, that uncle Lai Mohammed, had in the past ministered to NTDC but we all know the outcome. He is being supportive of the new eaglet Director Generals, only that I hear, he is merciful to National Theatre and Film and Censors Board.
Let us put it in Perspective, Minister Lai Mohammed needs help to get grip of supervisory expectations on some of the agencies that had become subject of discussions at pepper soup joints in Abuja.
There are very earthquaking but disturbing silent workers restiveness in most of the parastatals, if not address quickly by Minister Lai Mohammed, could consume the industry and its agencies.
Orosanya report on agencies mergers is still beginning for implementation, ditto our covid 19 intervention funds. We want to see our Minister, supported by the Permanent Secretary, and the agencies heads, sit out and minister to us.
Other Ministries and agencies have long moved on after Minister Lai Mohammed helped announce their stupendous monetary intervention on COVID 19 , why our own come get k leg nau?
Now, I went in search of the scriptures to help me define what is ahead of men and women, who fail in their duty to live up to expectation, persons who are privileged to be a appointed servants of the people, wherein indeed ministers are so named.
Matthew 24v 45 asked “ who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? You can read further down the line to know what becomes of those appointed by the President to touch our lives, carry us along, tell us how much Mr President has allocated for each agencies, how it will impact on our lives and create jobs
We are tired of watching the announcement of government goodies to other ministries and agencies, while ours are ambushed and in darkness. Am looking forward to answer. Let our able Minister and his DG’s address us. We don’t want to carry placards ooo.