AS a result of its highly elevated profile, the office of the chief of staff under the Muhammadu Buhari administration has been a focus of considerable attention. The immediate past holder of the office, the late Abba Kyari enjoyed noticeable prominence and wielded extensive powers. Even to a distant observer, he was a conspicuous primus inter pares. His death was a major national event that drew tributes and expressions of condolence from far and near. In the deluge of messages of sympathy, he was eulogised as a quintessential government official – an epitome of competence, commitment and patriotism. There were, however, some others who viewed him from a different perspective and appraised him differently. Like Mark Anthony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, their judgement was that ‘’the evil that men do lives after them, the good is often interred with their bones’’.
The preeminent status of Kyari in Buhari’s government gave rise to great expectations when Professor Ibrahim Gambari was announced as the new Chief of Staff. The appointment elicited a lot of excitement and even exhortations urging him (Gambari) to act on issues of national importance. The Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, said while featuring on a recent television programme that the administration of Nigeria should be the responsibility of the president and not that of his Chief of Staff. His contention was that discussions should not be centred on the chief of staff because he is not an elected official. He blamed the prevailing situation in which the chief of staff has come to be seen as the prime minister on ‘’the twisted way the government has patterned governance’’.
A cursory and retrospective glance at the practice of the presidential system of government in Nigeria clearly shows that the office of the chief of staff attracted very little, if any, attention until the advent of the Buhari administration and its Chief of Staff. Nigeria’s first executive president, the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari, did not have a Chief of Staff for the entire period of four years and three months his administration lasted. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo appointed a fellow retired army general as his chief of staff when he mounted the saddle in 1999. And during his eight years in office, there was no controversy whatsoever involving the office or the person of the chief of staff. The late president Umaru Yar ‘Adua did not appoint a chief of staff but worked briefly with the holder of the office under Obasanjo. In Goodluck Jonathan’s five years as president, he had two Chiefs of Staff who were barely visible.
The appointment of Kyari by Buhari signalled the beginning of a new order in which the chief of staff wielded enormous and extensive powers. He towered over other political appointees and his exercise of authority redefined the office of Chief of Staff. Was it Kyari’s extraordinary capability or irresistible personality that overawed and overwhelmed all around him – his principal inclusive? Or was his status in government attributable to his innate ability to deftly manoeuvre his way to get whatever he wanted? Not a few saw him as the surrogate or de facto president. The late Kyari left no one in doubt about the scope of the powers vested in him. The National Security Adviser had cause to complain that Kyari was dabbling in security matters. When the president’s wife cried aloud that a cabal was calling the shots in the Aso Villa, not a few came to the conclusion that Kyari was a principal character within the group.
When the surreptitious attempt to reinstate Abdulrasheed Maina, who had been standing trial in connection with a N2 billion pension fraud case, became an embarrassment to the presidency, there was an open confrontation between Kyari and the sitting head of service, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita. Kyari accused the woman of leaking her report on the saga to the press and threatened to issue her a query. Such was the display of omnipotence reinforced by the president’s directive that requests for meetings and memos requiring his attention be channelled through the Chief of Staff. The business of a chief of staff was known to be strictly with the president and his personal staff whose activities he coordinated. He is also seen as the gatekeeper for the president. His mode of appointment is unlike that of ministers in that he is not subjected to senate screening and approval. No ministry, department or agency is assigned to him to oversee. Kyari turned out to be an exception to the rule. So much is being expected from Professor Gambari because so many people look forward to seeing another Kyari in action.
Section 5 of the Nigerian constitution vests the executive powers of the federation in the president and allows him to exercise these powers directly or through the vice president or ministers of the federation or officers in the public service of the federation. Section 151 also empowers the president to appoint any person as a special adviser to assist him in the performance of his functions. There is no provision for a chief of staff among those the constitution authorises the president to appoint to assist him in the management of the country’s affairs. The Kyari experience was an aberration which should not redefine the location and exercise of political authority in Nigeria.
- Olatoye, a veteran journalist, lives in Ibadan
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