Nigeria may be on the economic downturn, but it seems from   all indications that it’s still business as usual in government   circles.  While the poor masses face precarious socioeconomic troubles,    our government officials are going around as if the call for a deliverer, the   renewed hope expectations are skewed against the poor and not for the   poor.        If there’s one minister who has enjoyed unbelievable   support from President Tinubu in recent times and possibly more than others,   it is Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Culture and creative economy   

    Though she has practically failed to justify the   confidence reposed on her by the president,  Hannatu Musa Musawa still   wants to spend about three billion naira on culture research and development   without any known admissible delivery ecosystem.        It is worrisome, though, considering the economic bedlam   in the country, yet the national assembly passed such a humongous budget   without pity to the sorry state our economy and the Nigerian people. No   wonder the anti-graft agency is on the neck ex corrupt ministers.        Please can someone explain or justify such a huge amount   for cultural research and development that is not already in the public space?   Is it a padded baggage in Hannatu’s ministry?       Even her budget for 2024 cycle also captured road construction   in her home state of Katsina and also in Bichi, Kano, where her father   grew up, indicative of projects driven by nepotism.       Maybe someone need to explain to us when it became the   mandate of the ministry of culture to build to roads and install street   lights! What should the Ministry of Works be doing? Coastal roads   alone?     

  Thank God that all the budget positions can be gleaned   from the budget office and also in public space, so it is wise that this   government which has asked Nigerians to wait for better days,  to tell   us why a whopping three billion naira should be thrown into the sea for     cultural research.        If you are careful enough to also interrogate the budget   of the ministry’s eleven agencies, there are also the same allocations   for the same items, some cleverly bearing different project titles. It is the   way we roll in Nigeria while our people suffer.    Nigerians are watching, and it’s evident that the    renewed hope agenda is being rubbished by super failed ministers such as   Hannatu Musa Musawa.    

    Last week,  she ranted  out of desperation to   mark down her zero performance metrics , stating that the rested Abuja Carnival   would be resuscitated come November,  possibly forgetting that the   National Festival of Arts and Culture ( NAFEST) takes place in same calendar   month,  except however she has unilaterally changed the date with the   states having no  say or input.  

     As we look forward to May 29 Democracy Day   celebrations, we hope Hannatu Musawa will join the ranks of those who came to   culture, failed woefully, and shoved aside for poor performance.    

By Biodun Ojekunle