Of indirect rule and Nigeria’s democracy

Much as the British colonialists maintained the Nigerian territory under their stronghold through the system of Indirect Rule, Nigeria has again become captive by an unelected cabal, which indirectly wants total dominance over governance of the country and her resources. This cabal is represented by a coalition of forces.

As a colonial governance strategy, Indirect Rule was designed to use existing tribal structures and traditions as conduits for establishing rules and regulations, while English officials worked behind the scenes and could exercise a veto power over decisions. In some cases, the British designated a person to act as ‘chief’ in settings where there was no clearly hierarchical structure in place. The ‘chief’ was essentially a puppet, while the British overlords held sway behind the scenes.

All these changed, or so we naively assumed, upon independence in 1960 when elected Nigerian officials functioned, not as puppets, but as de facto leaders. At the dawn of the current democratic experiment in 1999, we all had high hopes that democratic governance would usher in prosperity and progress for a critical mass of Nigerians.

In terms of optics and structure, President Olusegun Obasanjo borrowed a leaf from the United States of America (USA) and created the office of the Chief of Staff (CoS) which was meant to be the engine room of the president’s office at the Villa. His choice – who worked with him for eight years – was a distinguished Sandhurst-educated Army General, Abdullahi Mohammed. General Mohammed was, at various times, Director of Military Intelligence, Director General of the Nigerian Security Organisation (precursor of the DSS, NIA and DIA) and was National Security Adviser to General Obasanjo’s predecessor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

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General Mohammed brought gravitas, panache and strategic policy direction to the Obasanjo presidency and was respected by cabinet members and heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). He had an excellent working relationship with his principal, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the late Chief Ufot Ekaette.

But things have since changed drastically since 2015. A fresh political alignment saw the emergence of a former banker and known critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari. Just as it has been witnessed recently on the appointment of certain aides by the President of the Senate by pro-government force, the choice of Kyari did not go down well with some Nigerians. Their argument was that he was not a Buhari supporter, so he could not share the Change Agenda of the president. But the president shoved of all opposition even in the face of controversies trailing his person.

Upon his re-appointment, Kyari has swiftly upped his game to consolidate his grip on power. Many observers claim his constant appearance in pictures with the president when he receives dignitaries is to send a message to the world that he is in charge. In fact, his traducers claim he ensured some ministers n the previous cabinet did not return. One of the ministers was said to be Chief Audu Ogbeh, who was favourably disposed to the RUGA Scheme. Another controversial issue is that of the former Head of Service who many assume lost her job for daring to reveal the truth about reinstating Abdulrasheed Maina, former Director of Pension.

There is also an issue over a portion in President Buhari’s speech to ministers at the end of the recent retreat to the effect that all issues and requests for appointments by ministers should be passed through him. This function has traditionally been performed by the SGF. The power game has since been extended to the Office of the Vice President where the Economic Management Team (EMT) was hitherto domiciled. The forces got the team dissolved and set up an Economic Advisory Team (EAT) that, on paper, should report to Mr President.

It is obvious the ministers have been cut off from the president, the SGF sidelined and the vice president shut out from the economic strategy of the government. As things stand today, the EAT, just like the ministers, will have to pass their request to see the president through the office of the Chief of Staff.

Mallam Umar-Bashir, PhD, national convener, Thought Leadership Political Action Committee (TLPAC), writes from Abuja.