Punch’s Eniola Akinkuotu has said an Igbo man occupies the best position
president Buhari has given out so far, and he sees no reason why any tribe
should complain about his appointments so far.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments which are largely in favour of the
North?
for Buhari. I just wanted the best for Nigeria. I agree that some of the best
brains are from the South while some of the best are from the North. We have
brains everywhere. However, why people are clamouring for these positions that
have just been filled is that people see them as juicy positions and this is my
problem. About 95 per cent of the positions are yet to be filled. Buhari has
filled just about five per cent of positions. For me, no government position is
different from the other and that is the ideal situation. We should not
classify some positions as more beneficial than others because that is a euphemism
for corruption. It is a euphemism to say that some positions are better than
others.
People were clamouring for the position of Secretary to the Government
of Federation and Chief of Staff because in the past, the Peoples Democratic
Party turned those positions into money-making machines. Nigerians have seen
the ostentatious lifestyles that others who have occupied these positions have
lived. And the nation allowed them to get away with those crimes. And yet we
say we want a change. We must begin to change our orientation. So, we are
saying that we cannot make a holistic assessment until the President fills all
these positions. For those positions he has filled, they are supposed to be
occupied by those who are personally loyal to the President. I do not expect
him to leave those positions to be filled by his political party. For example,
you cannot say the chief of staff should be someone that is loyal to a power
bloc in his party. That kind of person would close everyday from work, pick his
telephone, and report all the activities of the President to his political
camp. That would not be fair because that kind of person would not be loyal to
the President but by the person who nominated him for that office. There are
many positions that the political party can fill that will not have direct
access to the itinerary and activities of the President. That is why I said
people should be calm. There are ministerial positions to be filled, heads of
agencies and many others.
given to anybody from any part of the country must be accepted with dignity and
pride and patriotism. The argument is that certain ethnic groups have seen some
positions as being exclusive to them. They argue that since the presidency has
gone to the North and some positions have gone to some other geopolitical
zones, the next one must come to them. The clamour is because they see these as
hierarchies of juicy positions and I say no.
number of votes, has not received any political appointment?
But as I said, the appointments are not yet complete. You say he has not
appointed any Igbo but the biggest position so far has gone to an Igbo man:
Emmanuel Kachikwu who is the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation. It is just by modern political divide that the man falls
within Delta State but he is a Delta Igbo. They speak Igbo. It is only by
political delineation that he falls within Delta State but there are Igbo
speaking Deltans. He is an Igbo man but only on the other side of the Niger. He
is not an Urhobo man. What language does he speak? Is it not Igbo? So what are
we talking about? That is the biggest position and they have it already. So,
you can see that all this noise is being made by frustrated and jobless
politicians who just want to use ethnicity to get juicy positions. It is
orchestrated. We the elite should not be moved by this noise and selfish
agenda. Imagine a whole ethnic group campaigning for a position! Initially,
they said chief of staff, then SGF. Now, with all the noise they have been
making since May 29, imagine if one person from that region is appointed to
that position. That person will then see himself as a champion of his ethnic
group and his kinsmen will descend on that office in the area of contracts and
gifts. He will destroy the sanctity of that office and turn it into a political
chessboard because that person will see himself as representing a region in
that position. It removes professionalism from that position. So, we should not
campaign for offices on the basis of representing an ethnic bloc. Yes, every
region will get appointments but once he is appointed, he should not see
himself as representing that ethnic group but the whole country.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
