The current administrative diatribe between the chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, and the national security adviser (NSA), Babagana Mongonu, may be just a scratch on the surface of the deep-rooted acrimonies going on under the current administration.
The unfolding drama, experts say, reflects the absence of synergy which has been the bane of effective implementation of public sector policies and service delivery.
Monguno had, in a letter dated December 9, 2019, warned Abba Kyari against stepping outside his constitutional role and disrupting the national security framework by meddling in meetings with service chiefs and heads of security organisations. The war between the presidency’s top men, according to the experts, “further reveals that Nigeria’s synergy challenge affects every facet, including security”.
Many of the current security challenges have been linked to agencies working at cross purposes, refusing data sharing, confusion over who gives orders and whose orders should be obeyed, even in situations of joint security operations.
They said this is especially dangerous coming on the heels of recent revelations that the Islamic State of West Africa Province ISWAP/Boko Haram-led insurgents plan to overrun some countries in the Lake Chad and Sahel region, unless urgent steps are taken to deal with insecurity.
The experts said the presidency’s silence on the Monguno/Kyari issue is not healthy for the image of the current administration.
None of the presidential aides had reacted to the ongoing ‘war’ as at the time of filing this report, creating further rooms for speculations.
Ben Okezie, a lawyer and former director, Department of State Security (DSS), described the development as “dangerous for the country” and called on President Buhari to take urgent steps to address the issue.
At its recent meeting with President Buhari, the Presidential Economic Advisory Council headed by Doyin Salami, a renowned economist, had raised concerns over the lack of synergy among agencies.
But a top presidency source told BusinessDay that prior to the EAC report, the presidency was awash with internal grumblings by some junior ministers regarding the overbearing disposition of “senior” ministers who “cornered juicy” agencies , leaving them with less lucrative ones.
The source who spoke on conditions of anonymity revealed that complaints of “marginalisation or sidelining” were regular amongst junior and senior ministers even before the EAC raised the issue.
“Even acrimonious relationship between permanent secretaries and ministers and top presidency staff is daily frustrating implementation of Federal Government programmes, especially the decisions on what to be on the budgets and even how approved projects should be executed, including security issues,” said the source.
Okezie said it was curious that the presidency has not deemed it fit to clear the air on the issue.
“This may be reason why we are not succeeding in our efforts to tackle insecurity. If such a thing exists, it is dangerous for the country, the security and governance,” he said.
Majeed Dahiru, a security expert, described the chief of staff’s interference in security issues as “unprofessional”.
“This clearly shows that we have an absentee president who has abdicated his responsibilities to a chief of staff without security training, a government disconnected from reality and it can only be imagined the level of stranglehold Abba Kyari has on this presidency,” Dahiru said.
He noted that the “NSA’s claims are weighty” and that “it shows that our president is not in charge”.
“The president has handed over his roles as the commander-in -chie to the chief of staff, little wonder that Nigeria is now the third most terrorised country in the world,” he said.
He appealed to the All Progressives Congress to quickly intervene to “salvage whatever is left of Nigeria”.
Reno Omokri, an aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, called on President Buhari “to prove he’s in charge of his government”.
Omokri, while berating Buhari’s approach to leadership, said the president “must prove his leadership ability by either relieving his chief of staff, Abba Kyari, of his duties or “sack the national security adviser if he is considered incompetent”.
Keen observers say the foundation for the current crisis was laid by President Buhari himself in August last year when he barred ministers from direct contact with him. Rather, Buhari had opened two channels of communications, one through the secretary to the government of the federation and the other through the chief of staff to the president.
“For the new ministers, make sure you engage and benefit from the experience of the older ministers and former governors in the cabinet,” Buhari said at the end of a two-day retreat for the then newly appointed ministers in Abuja.
“In terms of coordination, kindly ensure that all submissions for my attention or meeting requests be channelled through the chief of staff, while all Federal Executive Council matters be coordinated through the secretary to the government of the federation,” he had said.
Similar directives during his first tenure had frustrated many ministers who had wanted to make one-on-one contact with the president to share ideas on issues of national importance.
Some of the memos never got to the president, forcing some ministers to leak such memos to get his attention.
TONY AILEMEN, Abuja
