The ministerial ticket given to former national security adviser (NSA), Gen Aliyu Gusau, is primarily President Jonathan’s strategy to appease the retired military generals of northern extraction as he prepares to announce his second term ambition.
The appearance of the former spy master’s name on the ministerial list sent to the Senate by President Jonathan came as a surprise to some political pundits.
Gusau parted ways with Jonathan in September 2010 to contest against the president in the presidential primaries which he lost to former vice president Atiku Abubakar under the consensus arrangement of the northern political elite.
Speaking with our correspondent, a presidency source explained that the second coming of Gen. Gusau is to kill two birds with one stone: “The wind of hostility coming from the north against President Jonathan over 2015 election must be curtailed if he truly wanted to contest next year’s poll. So, the answer is bringing back Gen. Gusau to government. Doing this will appease the northern political elite and the military generals (retired) who feel marginalised under the current dispensation.”
The source further said: “With Gen. Gusau in, the constituency he represents would see the need to support the government as we approach the general elections. You should know that Gusau hails from the northwest that has the largest concentration of voters and this would break the backbone of the opposition in the zone.”
The source also disclosed that “Gen. Gusau is coming in as the defence minister which the northern elite regards as their own. As the defence minister and with Col. Sambo Dasuki as the NSA, the war against the Boko Haram insurgency would soon become a thing of the past. He knows how the Maitasine riot was won in Kano and he would make use of his experience in this regard.”
Source: Leadership
