Former Senator representing Bayelsa East, Ben Murray-Bruce, has urged President Bola Tinubu to appoint more “mad men” into his administration, saying Nigeria needs people willing to confront entrenched interests and challenge a broken system.
Murray-Bruce made the call in a statement directed at Tinubu, stressing that his support for the administration should not prevent him from offering constructive criticism.
“Mr President, I write this as a supporter of your administration and as a Nigerian who wants you to succeed. But support must never become sycophancy,” he said.
“Sometimes, the greatest service a supporter can render is to tell the President what others around him may be too comfortable — or too frightened — to say.”
He said by “mad men”, he meant Nigerians who were willing to challenge the status quo, confront powerful interests and reject mediocrity.
“Mr President, Nigeria needs more mad men in your government. And before anybody deliberately misunderstands me, let me explain what I mean by mad men,” Murray-Bruce said.
“I mean men and women who are crazy enough to confront a broken system, step on powerful toes, offend entrenched interests and refuse to accept mediocrity simply because mediocrity has become normal.”
According to him, the country needs officials who are focused on delivering results and are willing to become unpopular if that is necessary to serve the country.
“We need people who wake up every morning obsessed with results. We need people who are prepared to become unpopular in Abuja if that is the price of becoming useful to Nigeria,” he said.
Murray-Bruce cited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, as examples of the kind of officials he believes the administration needs.
“Look at the Central Bank under Olayemi Cardoso. Whatever disagreements anybody may have with individual policies, there is no question that the institution has undergone a serious reset. Discipline and credibility have returned to monetary policymaking. That is one mad man,” he said.
He also commended Ribadu, saying the security chief had brought “seriousness, coordination and strategic direction” to the country’s security architecture.
“Ribadu is prepared to work, confront problems and take responsibility. That is another mad man,” he said.
The former senator, however, said two such officials were insufficient for a country with a population of more than 200 million people.
“Mr President, two mad men are not enough for a country of more than 200 million people. We need another one in petroleum. In fact, give us two more,” he said.
Murray-Bruce called on Tinubu to make the rehabilitation and commercially viable operation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries a priority.
“Mr President, make the rehabilitation and commercially viable operation of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries a national obsession,” he said.
“And please, no more excuses. Nigerians have heard enough explanations about turnaround maintenance, contractors, technical reviews, committees, timelines and billions spent. We want products coming out of those refineries.”
He urged the government to explore different ownership and operational models if necessary, including partnerships with technical operators and private investors.
“If government cannot operate them efficiently, find the structure that can. Bring in world-class technical partners. Introduce private capital where necessary. Restructure them. Concession them if that produces the best outcome,” Murray-Bruce said.
“But whatever model is chosen, the objective must be brutally simple: MAKE THE REFINERIES WORK.”
He pointed to the Dangote Refinery as evidence of what could be achieved in Nigeria, saying the private refinery had demonstrated the potential of large-scale refining capacity in the country.
Murray-Bruce proposed that the three government-owned refineries should target at least half of the Dangote Refinery’s 650,000 barrels-per-day nameplate capacity.
“Mr President, let the three government-owned refining complexes target, at minimum, the equivalent of 50% of Dangote’s nameplate refining capacity — about 325,000 barrels per day of reliable, commercially viable throughput,” he said.
“Then push beyond it.”
He said Nigeria should aim not only to meet domestic petroleum demand but also to become a major exporter of refined products across Africa.
“Nigeria should not merely aspire to satisfy its domestic demand. Our ambition should be much bigger. We should become a refining powerhouse for Africa and a major exporter of refined petroleum products,” he said.
On crude oil production, Murray-Bruce urged Tinubu to find an official capable of achieving the administration’s ambition of increasing production to four million barrels per day by 2030.
“Your administration already has a stated ambition of taking Nigeria towards 4 million barrels of oil per day by 2030. Mr President, find the mad man who will deliver it,” he said.
“Find somebody who considers 1.5 million barrels unacceptable when the national ambition is 4 million.”
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