Crisis in Presidency deepens

...power struggle among Buhari’s aides paralyses functions

By OBINNA EZUGWU

Last week, Nigerians woke up to the rude escalation of the deep divisions among the most powerful and trusted aides of President Muhammadu Buhari, an event that, for many, has portrayed the president as an aloof, detached leader unable to take charge of his office as president.
“There are a couple of things that those appointees of Buhari have done that suggest that indeed, they are like masters and kings unto themselves with little or no control,” said Okey Okoroji, Lagos based lawyer and chieftain of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
“But it underscores the level of incompetency on the part of the man who ought to be commander in chief, the ultimate decision maker in this country. It is very embarrassing that these men would take certain decisions without recourse to due process; without recourse to chain of command in the administrative command of the country. The particular incident is the back and forth accusation.
“It boils down to the level of lawlessness and the level of corruption on the part of those who are supposed to be in charge of the country.”
It had emerged few days ago, following the leakage of a memo by the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno to security chiefs on Monday, accusing the powerful Chief of Staff to the president, Abba Kyari of dangerous interference on matters of national security, especially as it concerns the ongoing war against Boko Haram terrorists in the country’s northeast region.
In the memo titled “Disruption of The National Security Framework By Unwarranted Meddlesomeness,” and dated December 9, 2019, in reference to earlier memos dated 13 September 2019 and 26 November 2019, Monguno also fired a warning at service chiefs, telling them to desist from taking further directives from Kyari.
Monguno had pointed out that although the COS is not a presiding head of security, neither did he swear oath of defending the country, he was giving directives to service chiefs sometimes without the knowledge much less approval of the president. This, he had added, was partly responsible for the government’s inability to contain insecurity.
“It should be noted that the Chief of Staff to the President does not direct security apparatus of the Federal Republic of Nigeria — his job as it relates to security stops at conveying Mr. President’s written directives.
“Similarly, you are reminded that the Chief of Staff to the President is not a presiding head of security, neither is he sworn to an oath of defending the country,” the memo read in part. “As such, unprofessional practices such as presiding over meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations as well as ambassadors and high commissioners to the exclusion of the NSA and/or supervising ministers are a violation of the Constitution and directly undermine the authority of Mr. President.
“Such acts and continuous meddlesomeness by the Chief of Staff have not only ruptured our security and defence efforts but have slowed down any meaningful gain that Mr. President has sought to achieve. As professionals, you are aware that the security of the Federal Republic of Nigeria requires concerted and centralized effort taking into account internal, external and diplomatic factors.
“It is therefore detrimental to our collective security that the Chief of Staff who is a non-supervising minister holds meetings with diplomats, security chiefs and heads of agencies. Pursuant to the foregoing, you are by this letter directed to desist from these illegal acts that serve nothing but the continuous undermining of our national security framework. Any breach of this directive will attract displeasure of Mr. President.”
But it would appear, from available feedback, that the NSA was addressing the wrong audience. Kyari, the powerful Chief of Staff, who, according to several sources, acts practically as the country’s president; is said to be the one backing the service chiefs even though their tenures had long elapsed and their retirement from service was due in 2017.
Kyari, by several accounts, is the country’s defector president who takes actions without recourse to Buhari. A few days after the first memo leaked, another letter dated December 9, 2019 and addressed to the police affairs minister and police inspector-general, in which, Monguno attacked Kyari over a lucrative contract for the procurement of defence equipment for the Nigeria Police Force emerged.
In the letter, Monguno tackled Kyari for allegedly overriding a previous directive of President Buhari in a contract to procure equipment for the police from the United Arab Emirates. He described the COS’s action as “reckless and irresponsible”, warning that it was capable of ridiculing Nigeria as an unserious nation before a reliable international partner.
Since the first memo leaked, sources say there is unease in Aso Rock. And instructively, the presidency has maintained deafening silence amid the controversy. Neither Mallam Garba Shehu nor Femi Adesina, official spokespersons of President Buhari, has come out with a statement to address the very telling allegations raised by Monguno, a retired Major General.
Attempts by Business Hallmark to reach Mr. Adesina for comments fell through as he did not take calls to his phone line and did not respond to SMS sent to him in this regard. The silence, some say, is an indication that Mr. Kyari, who stepped into the shoes of Buhari’s uncle, Mamman Daura, may have the backing of the president.
Indeed subsequent revelations have suggested that key figures of the administration are already plotting against Mr. Monguno and in defence of Kyari. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, for instance, according to findings by online medium, Premium Times, had in an apparent move to undermine the NSA, ordered the withdrawal of top army officers attached to the NSA office earlier in February.
This had come after seven colonels and three army generals serving with the NSA were ordered to leave without being replaced on February 4, while the remaining team of 13 officers was notified to report elsewhere on February 10, leaving the fortified ONSA facility without any army protection. As documents obtained by the medium showed, 23 army officers serving at the NSA office were posted out without being replaced in two batches on February 4 and 10.
The NSA who was overseas at the time of the postings had rejected the posting, it was said, and upon his return and ordered the personnel to disregard Mr. Buratai’s directive and remain in place. But Buratai never rescinded his decision.
In all, Buratai approved postings of about 137 army officers serving in over a dozen military departments and formations between February 4 and 10. Twenty-three army officers serving at the ONSA were transferred out without being replaced, the largest redeployment from a single outpost.
The rifts are already a pattern which many observers, said speak to Buhari’s apparent inability to control his appointees.
“We have said time without number that Buhari is a clueless president. He doesn’t have the capacity to govern this nation,” said rights activist and Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman
“If he had capacity, he should have been able to find solutions to crisis we are witnessing. But under him, everything is getting worse, the insecurity has become terrible. So, it’s obvious he lacks the capacity to govern the country.
“We have these series of misunderstandings among people in his government. The rift between Monguno and Abba Kyari, including Buratai is an embarrassment. It is an embarrassment to Buhari that this is happening. He ought to stand and call them to order; to take charge, sanction those who should be sanctioned. But he is not doing anything,” he said.
“It is also unfortunate that while Borno is facing serious security problems, Monguno and Kyari who are from the state are fighting each other instead of working to find solutions. And for them to be fighting under Buhari’s nose is a corrosive insult. It’s unacceptable that they are collecting salaries from tax payers’ money only to fight amongst themselves instead of focusing on delivering results in view of the rising insecurity in the land.
“They are very unserious elderly people, all of them. They are incapable of governing the nation and they should resign. They can’t continue to treat the lives of Nigerians with levity. If you are not competent, don’t wait for people to ask you to resign, do so respectfully. But if he (Buhari) fails to resign, the senate should do the right thing by impeaching him. He is clueless”
In 2015, the then Lawal Daura led Department of State Services (DSS) wrote an indicting report against Acting Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Ibrahim Magu to the senate to prevent his confirmation as substantive chairman of the anti corruption agency. This was even after Buhari had written to the senate requesting the confirmation.
Again, in 2016, Monguno was locked in a fierce supremacy battle with Lawal Daura, a battle that lasted until Daura was removed from office as DG of DSS in August 2018 by Vice president Yemi Osinbajo. Structurally, Daura was a subordinate to Monguno in his capacity as the overall coordinator of national security, yet for several years the duo rarely interacted with one another.
Still, Buhari’s wife, Aisha, has been at loggerheads with Kyari, Mamman Daura and other close associates of the president. A few months ago, a video of Mrs. Buhari ordering Daura’s children out of their residence in the Villa emerged. Subsequently, Mrs. Buhari publicly lampooned some of the president’s aides and family members, including Garba Shehu and Mamman Daura, accusing them of relegating her in her husband’s government.
The events are worrisome. But is, some say, inevitable outcome of the president’s decision to populate key aspects of government with his blood relatives and cronies.
“When appointments are made not with regard to competence, qualifications or experience, but based on nepotism, then you should expect nothing less than what we are seeing with the Nigerian presidency under Buhari,” Okoroji said.
“Many of those people were appointed to head positions they are not qualified to head; to be in positions they can’t handle.”