Thus, the question posed above is one of the numerous questions many Nigerians have been asking since President Goodluck Jonathanmade an unexpected and sudden change in hisadministration's national security order on Friday, June 22, 2012. This he did upon his return from his severely criticised trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he attended the 20th annual conference of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development dubbed 'Rio+20 Conference'.
Many Nigerians regarded the trip as ill-advised and insensitive to the worsening national security situation, coming at a time when sectarian killings were taking place in the cities of Zaria and Kaduna, respectively, where dozens of innocent Nigerians were mercilessly killed and their churches attacked. Immediate reprisal killings followed as well in the two cities. Yet, the response by President Jonathan's media and public affairs handlers tothose who criticised the trip was combative, very shallow, hollow and uninspiring.
For instance, Nigerians were lectured by the minister of Information, Labaran Maku, that with the 21st century revolutionary developments in information and communication technology, President Jonathancould practically rule Nigeria from anywhere in the world! Furthermore, he asserted that the president was in touch with his Nigerian terrestrial base on an hourly time regime throughout his stay in the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro – made possible via dedicated cyberspace information superhighway – courtesy of our own Galaxy Broadband Backbone, NITDA and NIGCOMSAT Ltd.
This rather comical defence of Jonathan's trip by Maku reminded me of a similar situation during the Second Republic when the then president, Shehu Shagari, flew out of Nigeria toattend the Commonwealth conference in New Delhi, India, at the time when a mysterious fireoutbreak engulfed the Nigerian External Telecommunication Tower building located in Marina, Lagos. I would recommend that Maku and his co-presidential handlers obtain copies of Nigerian newspapers of that period and readthe torrents of the very harsh and negative criticisms made by concerned Nigerians, especially those from opposition political parties – Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in particular – and the mass media (particularly from the Lagos-Ibadan geopolitical axis) against President Shagari's New Delhi trip. It's food for thought, please. Now back to the mainissue of this piece.
The appointment of Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel, the second male son of Ibramim Dasuki, the 18th Sultan of Sokoto (of the legendary Sokoto Caliphate), came as another huge tsunami-styled surprise from President Jonathan to many watchers of Nigerian geopolitical dynamics, especially the ethno-religious intricacies. Why this particular appointment should surprise many Nigerian political analysts is not farfetched.
Firstly, replacing a retired four-star army general from the South-South geopolitical zone, an ethnic Ijaw and Christian faithful, just as President Jonathan himself, with a retired colonel from the Northern zone, a Muslim and Hausa-Fulani blue-blooded aristocrat is regarded by many Nigerian analysts as very unthinkable, given the present geopolitical and ethno-religious configurations.
Secondly, some Nigerian political pundits regard this particular appointment as capitulation by President Jonathan to the so-called Northern Nigerian political hawks ('mafia') and cabal who are hell-bent on making Nigeria ungovernable as long as the South-South political juggernauts continue to dominate the political, economic and other national spheres considered to be strategic andlucrative by the Nigerian political elites.
Thirdly, the appointment could otherwise be seen as a Greek gift (i.e., a set-up or trap) to the Northern political hawks. President Jonathan and the South-South political elites surrounding his presidency can now blame Northern political elites for any failure in tackling the multitude of security challenges facing the nation since 2011 (particularly the lingering sectarian 'Boko Haram' insurgency and other ethno-religious crises in some Northern parts of Nigeria).
For instance, it is very easy to point to the fact that a significant aspect of the nation's securityapparatus is now in the hands of Northerners. Northerners are holding the following key positions in the national security order: National Security Adviser (NSA) – (this position was held, not long ago, by a Northerner, a retired army general who served in that capacity longer than any Nigerian, dead or living; and, incidentally, he is a brother-in-law to the newly appointed NSA); Inspector-Generalof Police (IGP); Counter-terrorism coordinator/czar; minister of Interior; Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI); Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS); Deputy Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS); chairman, Economicand Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice; Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN); and, to cap it all, national chairman of the ruling party, PDP.
These key positions, concentrated in the handsof Northern Nigerian elites, are very vital in confronting and solving the current national security challenges facing President Jonathan's presidency and the nation. Hence, my take on this issue is that Dasuki's success in his duty asNSA will be a triumph for all Nigerians, but his failure will be personal to him in particular and collective failure and indictment of the Northern political elites in general – and a hugedelight to the Southern political elites!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
No comments:
Post a Comment