PMB and The Wandering Albatross

I was unaware that Albatross actually refers to a large seabird, belonging to the biological family Diomedeidae. My brief research reveals they live in the region of the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean.

An albatross aloft can be a spectacular sight. These feathered giants have the longest wingspan of any bird—up to 11 feet and the wandering albatross is the biggest of some two dozen different species.  However, according to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) many albatross species are in trouble and need our help. Commercial fishing practices are considered the greatest threat to the survival of many albatross species. Other threats include loss of habitat, introduced predators, eating or becoming tangled up in plastic, oil spills and climate change.

The end of the year is certainly not a time to circumlocute so I shall endeavour not to stray further into the biology of the specie. But the purport of this piece is to visit the implications that the name Albatross imposes on us at this time.

At this point I have deployed ‘Wandering Albatross’ to bring to life the peculiar situation we have foisted upon us by our brand of democracy because of the impressive credentials our President presents and the nature of the appointees serving him.

Buhari who joined the Nigerian Army by enrolling at age 19 at the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1961 has had an impressive career up to date. He rose to become State Governor, Federal Commissioner, General Officer Commanding and Military Head of State. Who also ran the Petroleum Trust Fund and he was elected President in 2015 on a crest wave of ‘Change’.  We were assured that with his credential he would impose discipline on the government, with his probity he would wrestle corruption, and with his radicalism he would usher in a new Nigeria.

But day after day, we receive news of the confounding scale of the incompetence of his government. The recent ones are the mind bugling; the Petroleum crises and now the appointment of dead Nigerians into various board appointments.

There is no evidence so far that he reflects in his over 400 appointments the many patriotic technocrats and the quiet achievers who have remained at home, steadfast and committed, holding together the fraying fabrics of our society against all odds. Beyond cases of isolation there is nothing to indicate his government has been constructed to deliver good governance or is composed of good men and women who are able to contribute their energies in a new spirit of public service to make our nation what it should be.

In reality, his appointees, if not dead, have become wandering albatross dotting the space of governance in Nigeria. They are unaware of their incompetence, they are unsackable and unmovable and unsanctionable and so the wandering continues.

The only silver lining in governance, the Vice President has been dimmed since the return of the President to robust health and so the conundrum continues. The year 2018 will be decisive for this government and this Nation and President Buhari must not take his re-election chances for granted.  I urge him to set the Vice-President aloft, free him, let him flourish and the sight of your government will be a spectacular sight to behold. 

*And of course my prayers are with the President and his family at this time...