Comr. Solomon Adodo is the
National Convener, Guardians of Democracy and Development. He wrote from Abuja,
Nigeria.
On the 24th June 2019, an
unusual political activity took place in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
A public demonstration staged by an obscure political group that gave its name
as APC Concerned Nation Stakeholders led by an even more obscure figure called Dr.
Symeon Chilagorom proclaimed that they were protesting against internal forces
pulling down the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
In his public speech, the
Convener of the group, Symeon Chilagorom specifically identified some people as
members of the group that is pulling down the administration. In his words,
"the people of this country elected Muhammadu Buhari as their President.
Of the three people
mentioned in that speech, only Abba Kyari holds an office in the Buhari
government. He is Chief of Staff in the Presidency. The other two accused
persons hold no office in the government whatsoever. The agitators protesting
their role in government have a responsibility to prove to Nigerians how the
President has abdicated his executive responsibilities to them or how they have
hijacked those duties and responsibilities.
The office of Chief of
Staff is not of Cabinet rank, the holder of the office wields no executive
powers, controls no ministry and or department of government. He is an
extension of the office of the president, playing managerial and advisory roles
such as selection and coordination of key staff, control of people who come to
see the President and protecting the interest of the President or any other
responsibilities that are entrusted to him by his principal. To demonstrate
that he is subordinate to the president, the Constitution does not require that
he is screened and confirmed by the Senate.
To accuse him of usurping
the powers of the President is to accuse the President of gross incompetence
and dereliction of duty. Even as Symeon Chaligorom and his group make great
pretense of "love for the President" and vouching for his
"personal integrity and capabilities", the implication of their
public pronouncement and outburst on Monday is that the President is
incompetent and has lost control of his office.
It is indeed sad that
people who profess love for their President and trust in his competence will in
the same breath accuse him of abdicating his office to a subordinate he
employed and has the powers to fire. This accusation is even more grave and an
open insult on the President when a few individuals who have no office in
government are accused of rendering the president impotent in exercising the
powers invested in him by the constitution he swore to uphold and defend. The
target for destruction by Symeon and his confederates in the APC Concerned
Nation Stakeholders the target is the President himself.
With 'friends' like Symeon
Chulagorom and his group, President Buhari does not need to worry about who is
his enemies.
Since his appointment as
Chief of Staff to President Buhari in 2015, Abba Kyari has been faced with a
cocktail of spurious allegations against his person. None of these allegations
have been proven and remain in the realm of speculation and fiction by those
who are envious of his enhanced status. The public is yet to be presented with
any evidence that the man is corrupt and or incompetent for the job. The
demonstration on Monday carried the unsubstantiated allegations a notch higher.
If anything, a glance at the resume of Abba Kyari gives one conclusive prove
that President Buhari couldn't have made a better choice for the office of
Chief of Staff.
Trained at University of
Warwick in England where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology, he
also possesses a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law from the University of
Cambridge. He was called to the Nigerian Bar after attending the Nigerian Law
School in 1983. In 1984, he obtained a master's degree in law from the
University of Cambridge. He later attended the International Institute for
Management at Lausanne, Switzerland and participated in the Program for
Management Development at the Harvard Business School, in 1992 and 1994. These
are the best universities one could attend anywhere in the world.
After such a brilliant
academic career, Abba Kyari worked in a couple of blue chip firms where he
acquired management skills and gained a lot of corporate experience. He worked
for the law firm, Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to
Nigeria. From 1988 to 1990, he was Editor with the New Africa Holdings Limited
Kaduna. In 1990 he served as Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in
Borno State. From 1990 to 1995, Kyari was Secretary to the Board of African
International Bank Limited.
At the United Bank for
Africa, he was Executive Director, Management Services and was later appointed
Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Bank. He was appointed a Director
of Unilever Nigeria Plc. in 2002 and is a Director of Exxon Mobil Nigeria. He
is a recipient of the Nigerian Honor Award of Officer of the Order of the Niger
(O.O.N).
There is no doubt that
Kyari must have made enemies among some prominent people in the country who see
him as an obstacle to their inordinate political ambition and rapacious desire
for material resources. All the noise against Kyari must be coming from this
group of people who see the country as a cow to be milked.
The other two gentlemen who
are being maligned with spurious and unsubstantiated allegations are private
citizens who have made their marks in their chosen careers but have no office
in government. Why Symeon Chulagorom and group should embark on a campaign of
gratuitous calumny against these two patriots is difficult for all sane
Nigerians to understand.
The constitution under
which President Buhari was elected into office does not bar him from having
blood relations nor does it require of him to cut communication with his blood
relations or friends. There is nothing in the laws of the land or morality that
bars him from having blood and or personal relations with other Nigerians.
Since President Buhari's
election in 2015, the two gentlemen have been subjected to spurious allegations
from some aggrieved politicians and their collaborators in the media. The
public demonstrations last Monday is perhaps the most bizarre demonstration of
hatred and political illiteracy since the 4thRepublic began. This one too shall
come to pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment