When the appointments were announced on Monday, the identities of the appointees were shrouded in secrecy. Nothing was known about the military chiefs, mostly, and that should be expected because of the nature of their job. The military brass have held command and not political positions over the years. That their names did not ring a bell with the civilian public should not have been a surprise.
But it was for mischief makers. They wondered who these officers were. Where did they come from? What and what have they done in their lives? What is their career path? Where did they serve? Since many Nigerians did not know much of military history, it was easy to reach certain conclusions about one or two of the new Service Chiefs, just by going through their names.
What is in a name anyway? There is a saying that the hood does not make the monk. In the same way, a name does not, in most cases, reflect where the bearer comes from nor his faith. But often times, people are quick to jump to conclusions, especially where politics is involved. As a people, Nigerians like to play politics with everything. Unfortunately, the elite who should know better are most guilty of this.
Once they are not within the loop of power, they see nothing good in whatever the man in office does. In their eyes, there is no step that the President at that point in time takes that is good. No matter how good the President’s intentions are, they read ethnicity, marginalisation, sectionalism, nepotism, religion and partisanship into them. ‘Oh, he appointed that one as so and so because they are from the same part of the country’, they allege at times.
Or, they say, ‘don’t you know, that’s his in-law, that’s why he gave him that board appointment’. Many of us journalists have fallen into the same trap. Rather than educate the citizenry, we join in casting aspersions on the leader, just because we do not like him or do not share his political beliefs.
Journalism is a facts-based job. Stories, articles, opinions must be factual. Even where we are commenting, which we are free to do, we must not lose track of the basic facts of what we are commenting on. If we do, then we are writing fiction. These days, many engage in fictional writing without giving a hoot about what comes out of such irresponsible journalism. Whatever happened to the credo: “if in doubt, leave out”?
It seems some take delight in writing negative things about President Bola Tinubu, without first assessing the quality of his actions. It has been three weeks of action since he assumed office. The President has simply dazzled the world with his abilities. Just take a look at the line-up of the Service Chiefs. How can anybody in the right frame of mind fault the thinking behind those appointments? How? Except that person does not believe in the unity of Nigeria.
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This is why these wailers, to borrow the word of Femi Adesina, the spokesman of the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, went to town to crucify President Tinubu for not reflecting federal character, as constitutionally required in the selection of the Service Chiefs. This is false. The appointment of the Service Chiefs is a true reflection of Tinubu’s ingenuity.
It is a masterstroke of an appointment, which has left many of his detractors wondering how he pulled it off. Like the Pharisees did to Jesus, they too are asking no one in particular: ‘Who is this man?’ ‘Is this the same Tinubu?’ ‘The same man that we said was sick of mind and body that is carrying out these actions?’ What led them to the conclusion that Tinubu did not get things right was just in a name – the name of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
‘Ha!’ They rushed to town immediately. ‘We said it; didn’t we? He has done it againl He has left out the Southeast in the appointment of Service Chiefs; given two slots to the Southwest! That was how they jumped to conclusion, even before settling down to painstakingly run through the list. Yet, these are well enlightened people. As Baba will say, ‘enlightened people, my foot’.
How can they ever think that a President like Tinubu will do that? How can they, as right-thinking members of society, think like that? Again, Tinubu has shown them the stuff of which great political leaders are made. Ogalla is not from the Southwest but the Southeast as his resume shows. His army counterpart, Maj. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja is from the Southwest, while the air force chief, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar is from the Northwest.
Since anything Tinubu does must he criticised, some are asking why all the military brass are from the Southwest? But, are they? The critics are talking about the defence intelligence chief and the brigade guards commanders who were appointed along with the Service Chiefs. Can those officers be in the same class with the Service Chiefs, even as important as their positions are? The answer is in the negative, but military experts are in a better position to say.
For now, what has been done is done. As Omar Khayyam noted in his poem, Rubaiyat, ages ago: “the moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it”. Hearty congratulations to the Service Chiefs and others. May their appointments bode well for the country.
