Nigeria’s seat of power, Aso Villa, has known little peace since the official declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the March 28 presidential election, with retired Army, Navy and Police chiefs turning the Villa to a Mecca of sorts, seeking to succeed incumbent commandant-general of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof Ade Abolurin.
The lobbyists, who mostly hail from the northern and western parts of the country, seem to be oblivious of the fact the Civil Defence boss, Abolurin, who carefully nurtured this young organisation from inception and is due for retirement this July, had groomed capable hands to take over the mantle of leadership at the agency.
According to Leadership Newspaper, Prof Abolurin, who is billed to officially step aside on July 17 after serving the Corps for 10 years – two consecutive five-year tenures from July 17, 2005-July 17, 2015 – has refused to favour any officer, insisting that only merit and fairness will determine who the mantle should fall on.
The report stated that in the aftermath of President Muhammad Buhari’s takeover of power, syndicates have invaded Abuja, with the crème de la crème of the Nigerian polity and ex-service chiefs coming to congratulate the president. A large number of them, however, visit to lobby to succeed Abolurin and other positions in the new government. Some of the lobbyists are godfathers who seek the Civil Defence top job for their protégés. A host of them are exploiting all avenues to claw their way into PMB’s cabinet.
As the Presidency continues its compilation of list of would-be heads of paramilitary agencies, chairman and members of the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Board (CDFIPB), some of these jostlers who retired either from the Navy, Army and Police, are getting more frenzied as the days go by in their bid to land the job which they see as a plum one.
According to another source who pleaded not to be named, “even when the process of nomination is not yet completed as nominees must be confirmed by PMB, as with all things political in Nigeria, the nomination and confirmation process can be tricky, time-consuming and corruption-laden. Anything can happen at any time to dim or enhance one’s chances, and so, many lobbyists are not leaving anything to providence.”
He revealed that when he chided one of those jostling intensively for the Civil Defence top job, he responded thus: “You have to be a fool to think that your skills, strength of character, education and intelligence alone will get you anywhere in Nigeria. Perhaps, for smaller and inconsequential positions, but to succeed Abolurin or ambassadorial posts, you’ll need far more than the content of your resume.”
Further investigations revealed that other appointment syndicates and lobby groups who cannot access the Villa usually operate from corner shops, traditional rulers’ palaces and, sometimes, target nocturnal political meetings, especially of PMB’s close associates.
Findings also unravelled that most of the syndicates often claim to have some kind of relationship either with the president or his wife. In some cases, they drop the names of powerful APC leaders like those of national leader Asiwajo Tinubu, national chairman John Oyegun and the traditional ruler of Daura, Buhari’s hometown, among others.
The source said that one outstanding feature of the arrowheads of the syndicates is that they all have one title or the other.
He said, “They must be royal fathers, a professor, a Dr, an engineer, architect, surveyor, or accountant, etc. Whatever professional or academic title they claim to have, they usually preface it with a chieftaincy title, i.e. chief Dr, or chief professor, or something like that.”
