Editorial: If in office, please be in power too

Instructively disruptive

In the space of two weeks the peace and camaraderie of the Nigerian Twitter community has been upturned with the sudden tweeting diarrhoea of a government apparatchik.

Now, one is hardly concerned about self-important people whose sudden closeness to power inflates their ego to the point that they take off like rudderless Zeppelins their feet never to touch the ground again.

Certain lives just have to take that course when they trade in their intellect for becoming fawning mouthpieces, at least they get paid for it having literally inveigled and worked their ways into the positions they now hold – it appears, that is the impression many have, with the situation being somewhere between unfortunate and the truth.

Swatted with the constitution

That said, every government that cannot make its activities have a direct impact on the people it governs needs a propaganda agent, a political strategist, someone in the mould of Joseph Goebbels who will find a way of conveying events and activities in spite of and despite the government as positive visionary acts of the leaders – that is really what they are paid to do.

Recently, each challenge or criticism of the government has been rebutted with an innocuous Machiavellian ploy; we are to read the constitution and by doing so we have a panacea for unrepresentative democracy because suddenly our knowledge will make politicians more respectful and fearful of the electorate. Bunkum!

I have had wool pulled over my eyes many times before that this was just beyond the pale; it is like saying, reading the Bible will make you a priest, maybe a medical encyclopaedia could make me doctor, a NASA manual an astronaut – the scale of absurdity is cause for amusement.

A false numbering of days

The fact is, Nigerians have expectations of their government, and whilst the cabinet of this current tenure might well be less than a hundred days in power, the President has been insisting he has only been in power for 100 days when in fact he assumed office substantively on the 6^th of May 2010 after the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua; that gives us an estimate of just 488 days.

That is not to consider the fact that he was acting President from the 9^th of February 2010 and he exercised full executive mien by redeploying ministers immediately and then dissolving cabinet 3 weeks later whilst the comatose President haunted the corridors of power like a ghost.

Now, if we are to have the impression that over a year in the office of President was inconsequential and then the 100 days after inauguration with an almost lacklustre cabinet except for a handful of competent people the Presidency is still in planning stages, you have to wonder if the problems Nigeria has faced for too long and have been over-documented to the point of distraction have suddenly become invisible as to be literally non-existent such that the President risks being labelled as ineffective and clueless when there is every possibility he is not.

Paralysed by the sense of good fortune

Now, President Goodluck Jonathan did not always present this sense of unawareness bordering on rank incompetence, in March 2010, this was a man who appeared to show promise and had opportunity that his story shows would naturally have been well beyond his dreams of good fortune.

It would be sad that having been given the responsibility he is left paralysed by the incredulity of his personal achievement and attainment of office when he should be motivated to make the best use of the power that he now wields.

It takes a lot to be a Nigerian, a proud one at that if you have had to face the issues at home and the consequences abroad – we all, at home and abroad are unwittingly ambassadors of that great country, even those of us who have the convenience of dual-nationality where our citizenships confer better opportunities rarely ever deny our heritage or attachment and earnestly deep desire that Nigeria begins to operate in the realm of what has been its long recognised potential.

If in office, be in power too

What gets passed off as implacable criticism at most times is simply the refusal to be satisfied with low expectations, easy wins and gimmickry. Anyone who aspires for office cannot be so oblivious of the key issues that affect Nigeria and Nigerians at large that they cannot hit the ground running.

However, amidst this general concern we have those to whom President Jonathan has become an object of hero-worship, he can do no wrong, he is infallible that he has transcended humanity to the status of demi-god, the recounting of his amazing achievements dulling the senses with soporific boredom; the sun always rises in the East and you can be sure to see dark shadows if the sky is not cloudy – maybe I have seen too many circus acts to be impressed with the ability to sit in a chair.

In the end, of whom much is given, much more is expected – if one is in office, surely, it is only right to expect that the same is in power doing with all the hope and imagination one can muster what brings lasting change and progress to Nigeria and Nigerians everywhere.

The 1^st semester report has long reached the landfill, maybe the next might find a file and the end-of-year report can make the dean’s list but it will be based on action and results not mere good intentions and propaganda – this time, whoever is President is not taking us for ride.

Nigeria: Presidency seeks the nth opinion

The captain needs crew

Steering the ship of state called Nigeria can be an arduous task and one should not begrudge a president the availability of human resources and more to concentrate on that job so as to perform to the best of his ability and hopefully for the best of Nigerians the dispatch of this responsibility.

The reference article from AllAfrica.com might soon be archived and hence, I take the liberty to quote extensively from it for record purposes in this blog to ensure that the context is maintained.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Jonathan Appoints Danjuma, Anyaoku Into Policy Committee

Soon after President Goodluck Jonathan took office as Acting President, he appointed a Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) [1] which was formed to “provide alternative inputs into policy formation; promote good governance in the areas of power, economy, security, infrastructure, social sector, the electoral process and the fight against corruption … It will evaluate policy implementation and advise Jonathan on areas requiring adjustments.”

“The council will also advise the Acting President on how to maximize the benefits derivable from government's efforts; advise on such actions and programmes that may improve credibility and performance of the government; and advise on any other matter referred to it.”

The PAC packed with expertise

The council was headed by Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd.) and constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze as deputy with the other members being a “former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Alfa Belgore, former Secretary-General of Commonwealth Emeka Anyaoku, former Inspector-General of Police M.D. Yusuf, former Minister of Science and Productivity Bartholomew Nnaji, pioneer Managing Director (MD) of Guaranty Trust Bank Fola Adeola {recently selected as a Presidential Running mate of a rival aspirant}, Mallam Abubakar Gimba, ex-Shell MD Basil Omiyi and Ambassador G. B. Preware.”

“Others include Chairman, National Economic Summit Group Sam Ohuabunwa, ex-MD of FSB International Bank, Mallam Muhammed Hayatuddeen, former Deputy Speaker Chibudom Nwuche, former Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation Kanu Agabi and President of Africa Business Roundtable and former Minister of Industry Bamanga Tukur, former Mtel Chairman Hajiya Halita Aliyu, Chairman, Allied Energy Kase Lawal, Alhaji Ismaila Isa, Alhaji Magaji Danbatta, Prof. B. G. Bajoga, Dr. (Mrs) Sally Bolujoko and Mrs. Mariam Uwais are also members of the committee.”

The Nigerians called to service to advice the president on this council could not be faulted for their wealth of experience in governance, law, business, academia and international relations; they represented a broad cross-section of advice made available to a neophyte President who could do with all the guidance he could get.

The PAC belittled

The PAC recently produced a report that criticised the size of government and the need to trim down ministries and presidential aides to which an unnamed source within the presidency has responded saying, “that the Danjuma group is made up of people who do not understand the workings of government.”

The source further stressing that, “Danjuma and his people have become infamous because of the report. To them, the group does not understand issues like national character or the constitutional provision for the engagement of assistants.”

Having now been in office for over a year, it would be sad to conclude that power is already having a corrupting influence on this accidental president such that hubris is clouding his judgement that he feels that the PAC have no idea of what they are talking about.

The constituents of the PAC seem to be people of greatly independent means and they could easily have been gainfully employed in other activities than to have their counsel belittled because they have refused to play sycophant or genuflect to the Presidency by rubberstamping all actions especially where it appears the National Assembly has abdicated their responsibilities for oversight and moderation of the powers of the executive arm of government.

The Court of Goodluck the First

No limit has been placed on the number of advisers the Presidency can employ but that does not mean that there should be a race to break records for the numbers that can be engaged to prop up the office and offer it a mystique of distance and unapproachability due to courtiers exuding self-importance that comes with closeness to power.

The Presidency now has 133 aides [2] in hierarchies of duplicated functions with that atrocious setup that allows the First Lady to have two protocol officers and the aristocratic luxury of ladies-in-waiting; who being a Dame of dubious provenance has become Nigeria’s equivalent of Marie Antoinette.

Too many advisors hamper decisiveness

It is utterly absurd that there are six physicians to cater for the health of the President, his wife and the vice-President, all of them in their different cadres of seniority might introduce a confusion of diagnosis where normally people might be satisfied with a second opinion; the possibility of an nth opinion in critical matters might stifle decisiveness, thoroughness and agreement leading to complications and poor treatment of assessed situations.

Insult is added to injury with a Senegalese and Malian tailor on hand to make the President’s clothes and other personal assistance with grandiose titles that include special assistants on presidential household matters, domestic affairs, domestic matters, household administration, social events and household matters.

Why matters should differ from affairs escapes me but there must be some reason behind the madness and the semantics that create the differentiation between the roles that allows for the abuse of office that engenders a Presidency that has suddenly come into power and is at risk of intoxication redolent of absolute monarchies of old.

Not needed better heeded

The First Lady does not need her coterie of genuflectors just as the President cannot suggest that the presence of these acquiescent followers at best and entourage of fawning backscratching groupies at worst makes him more effective at being the best President Nigeria ever had.

Their presence risks distracting from the business of government as the elixir of megalomania is fed the President appealing to his vanity through adulation, toadying and mastery of grovelling for attention and self-promotion and selfish interest.

The President might well heed the good advice of the PAC, they have nothing to gain or lose from giving him good counsel; so rather than castigate the PAC, the truth is some excess load needs to be shed allowing for refinement and quality before the making of the Court of Goodluck the First becomes the finest parody out of Nollywood.

Sources

[1] allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Jonathan Appoints Danjuma, Anyaoku Into Policy Committee

[2] 234Next.com | President Jonathan's 133 aides