At last, Buhari appoints his ‘prime minister’

By Debo Popoola
Before the primary election that saw the emergence of Buhari and Osinbajo as the presidential election flag bearer for APC, many Nigerians revelled at the prospect of having a combination of Buhari and Fashola at the presidency. But, ours is a society where everything counts, the fact that the two belong to the same faith made the prospect unrealisable.
The reason why many people wanted Buhari/Fashola candidacy is because, while Buhari is a thorough disciplinarian who takes no nonsense, Fashola is a tireless achiever whose dream of making Lagos a model city for all was, to some extent, fulfilled when he was the governor of the state. But at the end, the APC came up with a somewhat balanced combination- Buhari and Osinbajo.
But with the recent allotment of port folios by the President to his ministers, it is obvious that Mr President fully understands the capabilities of Mr Raji Fashola that he vested on him what, in a parliamentary system of government, will be regarded as the prime ministerial appointment.
Fashola has been put in charge of power, works and housing, a combination of two ministries that are the most vital in the development of any nation. A nation where there is stable electricity and good physical infrastructures is said to be a prosperous nation; and a nation where there are no such, the nation is not prosperous, such as ours at present.
In a parliamentary system of government, the prime minister is mostly in charge of the government while the president is more of a ceremonial head.
A quick backflip of history book to when Nigeria practised the parliamentary system of government:
Nigeria in the first republic between 1963 to 1966, operated the parliamentary system of government. During this time, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa were president and prime minister respectively. During this time, Nnamdi Azikiwe was only a ceremonial head and his function was restricted to attending international conferences and commissioning of projects. But the core of governance was carried out by Abubakar Tafawa Malewa.
Though Nigeria no longer practise parliamentary system of government, but the body language of the President  – he surely knows how to use that body language – is suggesting that his administration will likely borrow some concepts from the parliamentary system. This could be as a result of the president’s age. A 73 years old man may not have the vigour and energy to govern a complex and complicated country such as ours at present, so the need for a ‘prime minister’ becomes inevitable for the old man.
It is now left for Fashola to justify the faith and trust the president has in him. The task ahead of him may be a huge one, but to whom much is given, much is expected. If Fashola delivers, even much more than what he did in Lagos, then he is on his way to becoming a world renown administrator.
From another perspective, could this be a preparatory class by Buhari to prepare him for the big stage?