In every new dispensation, any question about who ought to be the boss or occupant of a certain post, is like asking ‘Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?’ Obviously, the man or woman who can sing tenor. In the same vein, the question about who ought to be the Minister of Finance in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet warranted the appointment of an individual well suited for the role; is President Buhari’s choice, Kemi Adeosun, the perfect candidate for the position of Nigeria’s finance minister?
Prior to her appointment, the media space was awash in gossip, claims and counter-claims over Adeosun’s competency for the post but President Buhari put paid to the schism by appointing the woman widely believed in some quarters to be a greenhorn and thus an inappropriate choice to head the nation’s finance ministry.
But while Adeosun and her apologists gloated and rejoiced over her emergence as the nation’s finance minister, despite all odds, The Economist, an international economic news magazine, has lent its voice to the shrill mantra of the anti-Kemi Adeosun campaign. The magazine recently described Adeosun as poorly qualified to manage the country’s economy.
In its review of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers, the magazine also described Okechukwu Enelamah, the Minister for Trade and Investment, as “a respected businessman,”but noted that he “may lack the clout to stand up to the president.”
“Africa’s biggest economy, which relies on oil for 70% of its revenue, is sputtering as prices fall. Economic policy has been adrift since Mr. Buhari came to power, and investors complain about the central bank’s use of trade controls and import restrictions,” argued The Economist. “However, the new finance minister, an accountant who cleaned up the books of one of Nigeria’s smaller states, is poorly qualified for the job. Her counterpart in the investment ministry is a respected businessman, but he may lack the clout to stand up to a president with statist leanings.” The report quoted Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central senatorial district, as saying: “It’s a government with local professionals and without superstars.”
Adeosun, who is expected to better Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the immediate past coordinating minister of the economy, has over two decades experience in financing and capital management. With an economics degree from the University of East London and a post graduate degree in public financial management from the University of London, Adeosun honed her financing skills at Price Water Coopers and Chapel Hill Denham Management. She was the commissioner for finance in Ogun state, from 2011 to 2015, a post she was to retain, before Buhari’s national call. On the other hand, Enelamah initially trained as a medical doctor, but went on to qualify as a chartered accountant, earning an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is the CEO of African Capital Alliance (ACA), which principally invests in Nigeria and countries in the Gulf of Guinea, and is reputed as the leading independent private equity firm investing in West Africa. He previously worked at Zephyr Management L.P., New York, and South Africa Capital Growth Fund, Johannesburg. He also worked with Arthur Andersen and Goldman Sachs.