E.T. Okere
A newspaper report earlier this week had it that members of the Federal Executive Council, made up mostly of cabinet ministers, are angling for one amongst them to emerge as the next chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, in succession to the late Abba Kyari. The report further stated that the reason the ministers are making this move is for the purpose of achieving “better synergy”. It also stated that the ministers believe that a chief of staff to the president from their fold will be “able to fast-track decision making on issues”. The report quoted a top “source” as follows “… their argument is that it will enhance synergy between the president and his cabinet since the ministers now report to the chief of staff…”
One thing that emerges from this report is that it suggests that the ministers were not altogether satisfied with the way things went under the late chief of staff. Of course, no functionary can be scored 100 per cent but the ministers’ current disposition raises further skepticism over the performance of the late Abba Kyari on whom many Nigerians have written several testimonials – both good and bad – since his death a forth night ago.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word, synergy, as “the extra energy, power, success etc. that is achieved by two or more people or companies working together, instead of on their own”. So, when the ministers say that there is need for “better synergy”, it suggests that there were some lacuna when the late Kyari held sway. Of course, no system is perfect or error proof and, as it is said, there is always room for improvement. Notice that the “source”, in the report in question, underscored the fact that “ministers now report to the chief of staff”. Therefore, for the ministers to crave to have one from amongst them appointed chief of staff suggests that they might not have been particularly satisfied with the way they were treated under Mallam Kyari. In order words, ministers had expected a better or more satisfactory handling of that arrangement than might have been the case under the late chief of staff.
President Buhari had at a pre-inauguration retreat – following his re-election – on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 told his then in-coming ministers that they will pass through his chief of staff to be able to get to him. “In terms of coordination, kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be channeled through the chief of staff, while all federal executive council matters be coordinated through the secretary to the government of the federation SGF”, the president had stated in his address.
The following day, Wednesday August 21, at the inauguration proper, the president repeated the same directives. He had said: “As I said yesterday, in terms of coordinating communication kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be channeled through the chief of staff while all federal executive council matter be coordinated through the secretary to the government of the federation in order to sped up the process of decision-making”. Notice that in the latter address, the president added “in order to speed up the process of decision-making”. Now, the question is: Was that being achieved under the late chief of staff? The answer to this question might be the underlining factor behind the current craves by the ministers.
There are no records of how the ministers reacted to that directive even though it could have amounted to sheer madness for any of them to protest openly. But not a few Nigerians expressed displeasure at the president’s decision. He was accused of “abdicating responsibility”, of making Abba Kyari “de facto prime minister” and of “reducing the ministers to the clerical aides of the chief of staff”, amid other insinuations. A well-known critic of the administration and ex-aide to President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, even want sarcastic. Omokri said the president decided to avoid the ministers because some of them were on the debtors list of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria while some were being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Omokri twitted thus: “I can’t really blame General @MBuhari for asking his ministers to pass through Abba Kyari if they need anything. Even you, would you like to associate with men who are among those owning AMCON N5tn and who have @ official EFFC corruption cases?”
But of all those who reacted, the fellow that would appear to have been vindicated, given the present circumstances, is elder statesman and member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai. Yakasai had been reported as saying that he did not expect any “miracle” to happen under the arraignment put in place by the president. “Our experience is that ministers line up in the office of the Chief of staff even to see him, let alone to see the president. If we continue with that, I don’t expect any miracle to happen,” Yakassai had been quoted as saying.
From the current moves by the ministers, going by the report under review, it does appear that as far as they are concerned, the “… speed up …” envisaged by the president was not achieved. The question, however, arises: How would appointing one of the ministers as Kyari’s successor guarantee the meeting of those expectations or the “synergy” the ministers are talking about currently. Speculations are already rife that one of the ministers, said to be even closer to Buhari than Abba Kyari, is certain to clinch the job.
If that comes to pass, it would appear that the ministers succeeded but not necessarily because the president acceded to their request but simply because he wants another core loyalist for the position. But, once there, the new chief of staff would cease to be a minister and even though the camaraderie might still exist, the relationship between him and the remaining ministers may never be the same as before. Given the nuances of presidential politics, the new chief of staff – the ex-minister – will be more protective of the president’s personal and official interests, than he would those of his former colleagues.
President Buhari in his tribute to his late chief of staff said Abba Kyari was “my loyal friend and compatriot for 42 years”. He further said: “Mallam Abba Kyari was the very best of us. He was made of the stuff that makes Nigeria great…” The president also testified as follows: “Working, without fail, seven days each day and every week, he acted forcefully as a crucial gatekeeper to the presidency, ensuring that no one – whether minister or governor – had access beyond another and that all those representing and serving our country were treated equally …. He made clear in his person and his practice, always, that every Nigerian – regardless of faith, family, fortune or frailty – was heard and is treated respectfully and the same”.
Mallam Kyari was described in some quarters as a “usurper” of presidential power. But going by the president’s testimonial, he scores his late chief of staff “A”. Yes, the president was not expected to castigate his loyal friend and compatriot, no matter what, but I like to believe that he meant every word of his when he described Kyari as “the very best of us”. I also believe the president was not trying to impress anybody when he chose those words. My former boss, Ikedi Ohakim, in his widely published tribute to Mallam Kyari drew attention to the fact that only President Buhari is qualified to write a testimonial on Mallam Kyari, because only he, Buhari, knew the brief he gave to his late chief of staff.
My view, therefore is that the ministers are being unnecessarily speculative over how the presidency will work under the next chief of staff. Going by the president’s testament, it is doubtful if he would agree with his ministers on their speculation on synergy. In my view, the ministers’ speculations further heighten the fears and anxieties among Nigerians over the issue of the usurpation of power in the Nigerian presidency. But the matter is not as simple as that. Addressing it will require a whole gamut of issues beyond the peculiar idiosyncrasies of a particular office holder.
Leave a Reply