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Accusations of tribalism trail Buhari’s one year in office
CHIKA NWABUEZE
It is almost one year since President Muhammadu Buhari took over the mantle of leadership with no significant progress made in the area of the economy.
However, one prominent feature of the government is the skewed appointments and distribution of political positions.
The appointment of ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari six months after he took over power also failed to address the lopsided appointments which he made earlier, after promising that no section of the country would be marginalized in his government.
A thorough analysis of the ministers and their portfolios showed that the North and South West shared the top ministries, while the South East got no strategic ministry.
For instance, among the strategic Ministries are Finance, Petroleum, Education, Health, Works, Justice, Agriculture, FCT, Interior, Defence and Niger Delta.
Out of the 11 top Ministries, the North got six, namely Defence, Dan Ali; Education, Adamu Adamu; Justice, Abubakar Malami; Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh; FCT, Muhammadu Bello and Interior, Abduraham Danbazau. The South West took Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Health, Isaac Adewole and Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola.
The South-South has the Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu and Niger Delta Affair, Usani Uguru.
The South East could not get any strategic ministry; the closest they got is Foreign Affairs and Trade, Investment and Industry.
Professor Anthony Onwuka, the Minister of State for Education who is best suited for the Education job was supplanted by Adamu, a journalist from Bauchi which raised a lot of dust in the industry and outside about Buhari’s sectional interest.
Earlier Buhari was accused of pursuing a deliberate policy to advance Northern interest following the lopsided nature of his appointments.
For the first time in the history of democratic governance in Nigeria, over seventy percent of key officials of the government are from a section of the country which raised a lot of arguments about its lack of regional balance, and a violation of the federal character principle.
However, a cursory glance at the composition of the strategic political offices under the administration of President Buhari reveals a lopsided appointment and inequality in the sharing of offices.
In fact, among the top 12 positions, the South-East and South-South are the least favoured. The South East has no appointment in Buhari’s government, except the statutory ministerial appointment after he has made over 30 political appointments. This is why critics now refer to Mr. President as Nigeria’s most provincial leader ever. Only last week the presidency announced the appointment of Mr. Ben Akabueze as Special Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning following the Budget scandal.
“Buhari is the most provincial leader Nigeria has ever had,” said Ikechukwu Amaechi, Editor-in-Chief of The Niche, in a post on his Facebook wall. “He is not fit to be President of Nigeria. How can he continue appointing top officials of government from the North? Customs, Immigration bosses, SGF, Chief of Staff all from the North.”
Indeed of the 10 top positions in the order of protocol, the South East only managed to escape with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. The positions are: President, Buhari, North West; Vice President, Yeni Osinbajo, Ogun, South West; Senate President, Bukola Saraki, North Central; CJN, North East; Speaker House of Representative, Yakubu Dogara, Bauchi, North East; SGF, Babachir Lawal, Adamawa; Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Borno, North East; Deputy Senate President, Ekweremadu, Enugu, South East; Deputy Speaker, Osun, South West; National Security Adviser, Babagana Mongunu, Borno, North East and Special Adviser Media, Femi Adesina, South West.
Also among the strategic parastatals and top security positions the South East did not get anything while the North and South West shared all. Of the strategic parastatals only the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, and NNPC is occupied by the South West and South-South. The rest are manned by the Northerners, including INEC, AMCON, NPA, DSS, NIMASA, Customs etc.
Closely trailing the North West in terms of holding strategic positions in Buhari’s administration is North East region which occupies the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives, the CJN, SGF, the Chief of Staff, Comptroller General of Customs, NSA, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Minister of Justice, Education, FCT and the Acting Director NIMASA.
Under the late president Umaru Yar’Adua, the North West produced the President, the NSA, CBN governor, Finance Minister, GMD NNPC, Minister of Petroleum, Minister of Defence and Comptroller General of Customs.
The next in line is the North Central which holds the office of the Senate President in the person of Bukola Saraki. Other top positions held by the zone are the Comptroller-General of Immigration Service, Kure Martin Abeshi; Chief of Defence Intelligence, Monday Riku Morgan and Director, Department Of Petroleum Resources, DPR, Modecai Baba Ladan. It also has Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh.
In the South, the South-South appears to be at advantage in terms of holding strategic positions even though many would think the South West has more. The region produced the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Emmanuel Ibe Kachukwu; CBN governor; the Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; Inspector General of Police; Solomon Arase; Special Adviser, Niger Delta Amnesty Office, Paul Boroh and Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang. The South-South also has the Petroleum and Niger Delta Ministry.
Under the administration of Dr. Jonathan, South-South had the President, CBN governor, Chief of Army Staff at a time, Minister of Petroleum, Chief of Staff until later, Minister of Education, Minister of Works, Minister of Niger Delta, DG NIMASA; FIRS boss Mfom Akpan and DSS DG, Ita Ekpeyong.
The South West which is in partnership with Buhari in the new dispensation got the Vice President; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Executive Chairman, FlRS, Babatunde Fowler; Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President, Adesina and Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonishakin. In addition it got the super ministries, Power, Works and Housing, Fashola; Finance and Health.
However, under Jonathan the South West produced the Chief of Air Staff, Adeola Amosu; Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina; Special Adviser on Media, Reuben Abati and Chief of Staff, Jones Arogbofa from Ondo state.
The South-East is the only zone that has no proper representation in the present government. Interestingly under Jonathan the South East got the COAS, Ihejirika, who was later removed during new postings. The SGF, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; Deputy Senate President; Deputy Speaker House of Representatives; Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who later resigned to join Ebonyi governorship race; Minister of Finance, Minister of Power; DG NSE and DG Security and Exchange Commission, Arumah Oteh.
During the presidential elections, the North West returned the highest number of votes to Buhari, followed by the North East, the North Central, the South West, South-South and South East. However, without the South West Buhari’s emergence could not have been made possible?
After he announced the appointment of the SGF, COS, Customs boss, etc, Buhari told a bewildered nation that he has to appoint people who have been with him right from the early days of his political journey which predates the APC. He also said they were people he can trust. But analysts insist that he couldn’t have done otherwise given his antecedents and strong ethnic and religious sentiments.
For instance this is the first time in any democratic dispensation that the North produced the President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Federation and President Court of Appeal. It is also on record that this is the first time in history that a section of the country is not represented in the President’s key appointments, including at the top security level of the government.
Watchers believe that the growing agitation for Biafra is a derivative of the neglect of the South East in the present administration.
Yinka Odumakin, the spokesperson of Afenifere, said Mr. Buhari’s action poses grave danger to Nigeria. “It is not healthy for a plural society,” Mr. Odumakin, who was once Buhari’s spokesperson, said. He also punctured Buhari’s excuse that he selected competent people, saying there are competent people across all the regions.
Okechukwu Okoroji, the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, governorship aspirant in Lagos said the Igbo have nothing to regret because they voted out of their conviction. “What matters now is that we move up from there. We should begin to think eastwards in terms of our investment. The Igbo have developed every part of Nigeria without participating in government, and at the same time our investment pattern has denied South East and South-South a fair share of private sector investment.
