Whispering Drums With Maigani
by Musa Ibrahim
Catching the President's eye
There is no doubt that since coming to power, President Babangida must have received numerous letters of congratulations and lobby. The lobby line must be so long. Well, for one thing, there are only 19 States in the country and there can be only 19 Governors. These have all been appointed, so there are no more vacancies in that direction. The lobbying should have naturally ended once the announcement had been made.
Some people expected fresh faces all through but the President in his wisdom decided to retain some old faces. What one would read between the lines here is that those retained were the humane ones among Buhari's appointed Governors or they were those who were courageous enough to face Buhari and tell him the truth.
It was said that there were hot exchanges between Buhari and the Governor of Lagos in connection with a dispute over a building in Victoria Island built without planning permission and belonging to one of Buhari's top financier friends. Anyway President Babnangida must have his reasons for carrying on with some of those Governors appointed by Buhari.
The new ones appointed are young and I understand that some people have criticized their appointments on the grounds of their young age. I certainly do not share this view. Age is never the sole qualification, what matters is intelligence and good judgement. Of course, one of Nigeria's problems is that there are some people who think age is everything and who never believe that the young can grow too. These same people keep on dyeing their hair so as to look young and yet condemn any young man on a job. On my part I wish the young Governors well and hope they will prove equal to the task.
Going back to the lobby line, I see that there are no vacancies for Ministerial appointments since the Executive Council has its full complement. There are a few carryovers from Buhari's cabinet. Here again, the President may have very good reasons for retaining a few, and I do not intend to question his judge- ment. The only comment is that those retained should always bear in mind that it is now a new man at the helm of affairs and he has a different compass! I also trust that those who were behind the countertrade will be investigated properly. They should explain why they pawned the wealth of the nation the way they did. It was said that a farewell party was held for the dis- missed Buhari ministers. The farewell party is no clean bill of health! This they must know for accountability must be demanded from all.
With the posts of State Governors all filled, likewise the posts of Ministers, the lobbying must have already turned to Ambassadorial positions. The Presi- dent will do well to screen through slowly and carefully the list of those who represent the country abroad. It is known that many excellent Ambassadors were compulsorily retired because they were appointed by the former civilian President Shagari. Buhari and Idiagbon substituted their relatives, friends and townsmen.
While I appreciate the fact that there are many more important issues that must receive priority attention, nonetheless the image of Nigeria abroad is largely what the Ambassadors of the country abroad make it. So, as soon as time permits, attention must be turned to this area and those of them who were simply and purely Buhari's agents must be recalled. An independent committee should go through the list of those retired and those appointed in their places to justify the switches.
An equally important area is the appointments to Boards of parastatals That's where rewards were located and it was said that Idiagbon appointed 19 Chairmen to Federal Corporations all drawn from Ilorin alone.
So as much as possible the President should not be encumbered with Buhari's dirty plates to wash. There are many capable men around, opportunity ought to go round. Although care must be taken to distinguish the opportunities.
I wish the President every luck in steering the ship of State. He has made a good start. The release of the politicians and some businessmen jailed by the Buhari clique has men praised all over the world. The promise to review the cases of others is likewise praised. So long as these good continue, the chances are that the President will find most citizens of Nigeria at home and abroad willing to put all hands on deck. Goodwill of the people is what counts in the long run and this can be achieved only through persuasion. Buhari and Idiagbon made the mistake of thinking that the only tool needed was Rafindadi's gestapo.
I hope that the long queue of people waiting and hoping for jobs from the new President will turn into a queue of willing citizens joining hands and making the machinery work.
