By Arinze Igboeli on May 21, 2020
I must confess, I was jolted a bit by the early and unofficial announcement of the appointment of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, a position initially occupied by the late Abba Kyari who succumbed to the cold hands of death early last month.
Gambari was never in the list of the names touted, one must surely
give it to the president for his ability to feint moves that naturally throw the public of the scent. That said, except something else pops up, it is a done deal that the intellectually effusive Gambari will serve out the remaining three years as President Buhari’s right hand man, what we are yet to know is how he will serve.
give it to the president for his ability to feint moves that naturally throw the public of the scent. That said, except something else pops up, it is a done deal that the intellectually effusive Gambari will serve out the remaining three years as President Buhari’s right hand man, what we are yet to know is how he will serve.
Now do not seek to blame us, for we are not clairvoyant and cannot serve as the auguries of the nation’s political firmament! We are also mindful of what readers would say; should we fall over ourselves in profuse optimism and chant that Gambari will be an excellent Chief of
Staff, Nigerians will figuratively speaking come for my scalp should he falter or act otherwise. On the other hand, there is no appeal in deploying abject cynicism, Gambari deserves all the support that he
can get now. The nation is at crossroads: fighting a battle for survival on four fronts and a number of other skirmishes, all of which threaten not only its stability but also its corporate existence. To dismiss Gambari will not only be uncharitable, Nigerians, Gambari inclusive and posterity too could also come for my scalp should he perform well, I might end up booed as well as tagged as that grumpy writer.
Staff, Nigerians will figuratively speaking come for my scalp should he falter or act otherwise. On the other hand, there is no appeal in deploying abject cynicism, Gambari deserves all the support that he
can get now. The nation is at crossroads: fighting a battle for survival on four fronts and a number of other skirmishes, all of which threaten not only its stability but also its corporate existence. To dismiss Gambari will not only be uncharitable, Nigerians, Gambari inclusive and posterity too could also come for my scalp should he perform well, I might end up booed as well as tagged as that grumpy writer.
So either way there is a chance that I may be damned, however, in this profession of column writing and sharing one’s thoughts for public consumption, one must assume the position of a watchdog but this watchdog carries within its jowls, certain expectations and should it not be met, then it will bark and probably bite!
One would expect Professor Gambari to give unalloyed loyalty to President Muhammadu Buhari, Gambari must in turn give such quality of loyalty to the Nigerian people. The logic behind such thinking is that many a times the president might not be totally abreast with the true situations, Gambari as his chief of advisers by virtue of his position
must seek to tell the President the true situation of things, he must serve as the conscience of the presidency knowing that its performance in the next three years will either build upon or destroy the achievements of this administration. Truth is he will be guarding the interests of the president jealously but then he must know that the nation is bigger than President Buhari.
must seek to tell the President the true situation of things, he must serve as the conscience of the presidency knowing that its performance in the next three years will either build upon or destroy the achievements of this administration. Truth is he will be guarding the interests of the president jealously but then he must know that the nation is bigger than President Buhari.
He must bring his intellectual bent and his consummate experience garnered as a diplomat and a scholar to bear on the administration. We need to see him poach men and women from the vast intellectual reserve of this nation to help implement the Next Level agenda of this
administration, Gambari must be a go between those who wish Nigeria well and earnestly seek to see her work and the President.
administration, Gambari must be a go between those who wish Nigeria well and earnestly seek to see her work and the President.
It will be foolish to expect him not to play the politics required of such an office, naive to say the least, Professor Gambari must note that politics will be his mainstay at the presidency; the carrots and sticks at his wherewithal, he must employ such politics with his mind
tailored to two things! The nation’s development as well as its unity.
This will be easy for Gambari if such politics is premised on the aforementioned.
tailored to two things! The nation’s development as well as its unity.
This will be easy for Gambari if such politics is premised on the aforementioned.
Of a truth, this is not the best of times for anyone to want to be Chief of Staff, given the COVID 19 pandemic and the forthcoming recession. The nation’s unity also seems headed for the rocks as
different groups clamour for either sovereignty, restructuring and other shibboleths deigned as solutions to the perennial problem of national cohesion. Gambari will surely have a lot on his plate but one trusts that this one time foreign minister and representative of the country to the United Nations will find such present situations as near similar to what he witnessed in his past roles.
different groups clamour for either sovereignty, restructuring and other shibboleths deigned as solutions to the perennial problem of national cohesion. Gambari will surely have a lot on his plate but one trusts that this one time foreign minister and representative of the country to the United Nations will find such present situations as near similar to what he witnessed in his past roles.
Piece of cake, perhaps?
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