By Uche Mbah
The apparent war of supremacy between the National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Monguno,and the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, ;may have unwittingly exposed the presidency to unnecessary attack and conspiracy theories about how the country is run and who is really in charge of the country.
Recall that recently, a memo was leaked in which the National Security Adviser was reported as chiding the Chief of staff for overstepping his bounds and presiding over meetings with security chiefs without the knowledge of the President. Premium Times, an Online medium, had obtained memos showing the face off between the two principal officers of the President, with the crisis already building up to a possibly fearful crescendo.
Knowledgeable opinions are saying that the crisis is as a result of a leadership vacuum on the side of President Buhari who openly declared Abba Kyari an unofficial deputy president. In all these, Vice President Osinbajo is being allegedly regarded as an appendage to be barely tolerated.
Fresh facts have emerged on the keg of gunpowder that the country has found itself, as it appears that most heads of agencies make decisions without recourse to the President, sometimes using his name. For example, Memos has been leaked on how the Chief of Army staff, Tukur Buratai, withdrew all Army personnel that work with the NSA, Monguno. Monguno was then out of the country, and came back to see that military personnel that has been attached to the Office of the National Security adviser has been withdrawn by Buratai. He immediately ordered the transferred officers not to obey Buratai’s orders. This has created command confusion among the officers. All security agencies are expected to have representatives at the ONSA, but once seconded, takes orders from the NSA.
Meanwhile, it is being explained in certain quarters that the enormous power wielded by the former member, Editorial Board of Thisday Newspapers are, in fairness to him, deserved. It is said to be a product of strategic thinking and self preservation.For example, Farouk Kperogi, a US based information expert, has cited the fact that most of the important appointments done by the Buhari government were picked by Kyari, and therefore they are loyal to him.
“Kyari also made—and continues to make— some of the most consequential appointments of the last five years”, Kperogi wrote. “For instance, he singlehandedly appointed INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, DG of DSS Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and CJN Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, among others too numerous to mention.
“That was why Kyari could summon INEC chairman Yakubu to the Presidential Villa on October 26, 2018 to instruct him on how to conduct the forthcoming elections. As I wrote in my January 5, 2019 column titled, ‘INEC’s Troubling Missteps Amid Aso Rock’s Desperation,’ what happened on October 26, 2018 had no precedent.
“’The Chief of Staff to the President is not a constitutionally recognized position,’ I wrote. ‘He has no legal powers to summon the INEC boss for a meeting.’ Of course, I knew that Yakubu was beholden to Kyari because he owes his position to him.
“Kyari rode to his current cushy surrogate presidency through Mamman Daura, Buhari’s nephew, who has been Buhari’s link to the northern political mafia and to transnational financial transactions since 1983.”
With this, it appears that Kyari has created a Cosa Nostra for himself, with a chain of control that appears ever so subtle. In all these, the silence of President Buhari is worrisome, as he appears not to take full charge of leadership, leading to speculations as to why.
It also gave way to unfavorable conspiracy theories about the real occupant of Aso Rock, with outlawed commentators like Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, resurrecting his age long allegation that Buhari cannot do anything because, according to him, He is one Jubril from Sudan. According to reports, he asked why the service chiefs are confused on whom to report to if Buhari is the real Buhari.
But Sources within the presidency says it is only because the President appeared to have ceded his powers to Abba Kyari that such questions are arising.First Lady, Aisha Buhari, had warned that Buhari is no longer in charge of the country, but that some people who were not voted for have hijacked the government.
