SOUTHERN GROUP QUESTIONS PMB PRO- NORTH SECURITY APPOINTMENT
President Muhammadu Buhari has come under fire by Southern groups over what they described as “lopsided” appointments of heads of the various security agencies in the country.
They
said the pattern of the appointments by the President did not reflect federal
character and the diversity nature of the country.
Saturday PUNCH findings showed that 14 of the nation’s 17 security agencies are
currently being headed by Northerners. The majority of them were appointed by
President Buhari.
Only
three security agencies are headed by Southerners, a situation the groups
tagged as “worrisome.”
The
Minister of Interior, Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.), under whose
purview are the Prisons Service, Immigration Service, Fire Service and the
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, hails from Kaduna State.
The
Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, is from Borno State. The
National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), is also from
Borno State. Also from Borno State is the Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
The
Minister of Defence, Brig.-Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (retd.), hails from Zamfara
State, while the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is from
Bauchi State. The acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, hails from
Niger State.
Also
from Niger State is the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil
Defence Corps, Abdullahi Muhammadu. The Director-General of the Department of
State Services, Lawal Musa Daura, is from Katsina State.
However,
the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, is from Ekiti
State in the South-West.
The
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, is
from Jigawa State, while the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs
Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), is from Bauchi State.
The
Controller-General of the Nigeria Prison Service, Alhaji Ja’afaru Ahmed, is
from Kebbi State, while the Federal Road Safety Commission boss, Corps Marshal
Boboye Oyeyemi, is from Kwara State.
Nevertheless,
the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, is from Cross River
State.
Also,
the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke, who was
appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, is from Oyo State.
But the
Comptroller-General of the Federal Fire Service, Joseph Anebi, also appointed
by Jonathan, is also from the North.
The
Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Sani Didi, from
Kaduna State, was also appointed by the former President in 2010.
Expressing
concern over this situation, the Secretary General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr.
Joe Nwosu, said the appointments so far had not reflected the federal character
as embellished in the country’s Constitution.
He
said, “We have been crying out loud since the first appointments — of the
ministers were made — when out of the 36 ministers, 24 were chosen from the
North. Now that other Nigerians are complaining, it means we are not alone. As
a tribe, we have had a long history of marginalisation from governance in
Nigeria.
“The
President said the appointments were made on merit, so are we now saying that
only the Northerners have merit? Where is the federal character which we talk
about in Nigeria?”
The
spokesperson for the Ijaw National Congress, Mr. Victor Borubo, said the
appointments suggested the President was “tribalistic” and not “interested” in
the country’s diversity.
He
said, “Personally, it is an issue that has troubled me greatly and the
President has not shown any sensitivity to it — the issue of the Constitution
that people from all the states of the federation should be appointed in such
positions.
“But
the President is not showing interest in diversity and this has led to the loss
of confidence in his administration. I think this is why different agitation
groups are springing up across the country.”
Whether
the President could perhaps change some of the appointments to reflect federal
character if he is petitioned by the different groups in the country, Borube
said, “I do not think so. He does not strike me as a listening President. If he
were, we would not have got to this level. He does not really respond to
issues. He carries on as if nothing is happening. We are going through a lot of
pain today because the President is a tribalist. What he needs to do right now
is to save the country.”
The
National Publicity Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation,
Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said the mostly Northern composition of the
leadership of the country’s security agencies was “very” dangerous and could
lead to the heating up of the polity.
He
said, “The pattern of the appointments today has not shown enough sensitivity
to the diversity of Nigeria. When you have the IG of the Police, the Chief of
Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and Minister of Defence, the Minister of
Interior and the NSA appointed from a section of the country, what that means
is that when the apparatchiks are meeting, it is a section of the country that
is being represented; it means that the views of other sections are not
accommodated, that is very dangerous.
“That
kind of arrangement is a situation from which genocide germinates because there
is no balance in the security architecture of the country. This is not healthy
for the polity. When you look at the table today, especially at the composition
of the heads of the security agencies, I don’t think everybody is comfortable.”
The
spokesperson for the Ijaw Youth Congress Worldwide, Mr. Eric Omare, said the
situation was worrisome and unhealthy for the country. He called on the
President to make changes to reflect federal character.
Omare
said, “The style of the President’s recruitment is worrisome. When you appoint
people from only one part of the country, it gives room for concern. For
instance, we have a security challenge in the Niger Delta and we expected he
would appoint someone from here who knows how to deal with it. However, he
didn’t do so.
“We are
not surprised because looking at the background of the President, he does not
really know the country he is governing. Look at the people around him; there
is no diversity. It is worrisome and we call on him to make changes with
immediate effect.”
The
spokesperson for the Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, said the
President’s action suggested that he was promoting a Northern agenda.
He
added the situation depicted that the President was only comfortable in working
with and for the Northerners.
Famoriyo
said, “It is very clear to everybody that the appointments of the heads of the
security agencies tend towards the North. It is clear to everybody the
appointments are Northern agenda than being pan-Nigeria agenda. This is clear
for everybody to see.
“Does
that mean there is no person from the South-West, South-East and the South-South
that is qualified and educated to hold any of those key positions? One is not
happy that what is supposed to have national character is not having it. That
is the issue that must be looked into.”
Famoriyo,
however, urged President Buhari to make his appointments reflect national
character so that he would not be labelled as a Northern President as against
being Nigeria’s President.
He
said, “That is what the President should do. He should make sure that all the
appointments he will make henceforth have national character. Even the issue of
the ambassadorial appointments too, some people have kicked that they tend to
be favouring a particular region.
“Whichever
way you look at it, there are many qualified and educated personnel in the
South that can hold these positions. The handwriting on the wall that the
President appoints those he is comfortable working with and those people happen
to be Northerners.”
Efforts
to get the reaction of presidential spokesmen did not yield positive result as
of the time of filing this report on Friday.
But
earlier in the life of this administration, the Presidency had, while reacting
to similar allegation of lopsidedness in Buhari’s appointments, assured
agitated persons that the President would balance his federal appointments.
The
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, had
while reacting to the criticism that came after Buhari made six appointments,
with five of them from the North, promised that the President would respect
federal character as stipulated by the constitution.
Adesina
had said, “Nobody can fault the fact that the persons appointed were appointed
on merits.
“In
terms of the spread, the President has prerogative to appoint and he knows
there is federal character.
“I am
sure that there will be balance in the future. These are still early days. At
the end of the day, we will have a balance. By the time more appointments are
made, it will balance out.”
The
presidential spokesman had asked Nigerians to disregard talks of key or no key
positions, as the President has the interest of Nigerians at heart.
“The
president is trying to get the very best of Nigerians. The issue of key
positions and no key positions should not be the issue,” he had said.
SOUTHERN GROUP QUESTIONS PMB PRO- NORTH SECURITY APPOINTMENT
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Saturday, July 02, 2016
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