All members of the kitchen cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari (his inner caucus, the power behind the throne) are from the North.
Besides, 75 per cent of his appointees so far are from the North, 25 per cent from the South West and South South. None from the South East.
His inner caucus comprises Chief of Staff, Babachir Lawal (Adamawa); Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Abba Kyari (Borno); National Security Adviser, Babagana Munguno (Borno); and State Chief of Protocol and Presidential Matters Special Assistant, Lawal Kazaure (Jigawa).
Most Nigerians had expressed optimism at Buhari’s inauguration on May 29 that he would usher in new vista of hope and citizens showed commitment to democracy and determination to entrench its ethos.
The confidence in him was hinged on his record of integrity and courage as well as his promise to wage war against sleaze and prosecute public officials who have robbed the treasury through shady deals.
What becomes of inaugural speech?
Buhari, a former military General, inherited a country facing crises on several fronts, from severe economic turmoil to serious security challenge, particularly Boko Haram’s insurgency in the North East.
Also instructive is his promise in his inaugural address to be a president for all without being vindictive.
“I intend to keep my oath and serve as president to all Nigerians. I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.
“A few people have privately voiced fears that on coming back to office I shall go after them. These fears are groundless. There will be no paying off old scores. The past is prologue,” he said.
However, 100 days on, investigation showed that the initial excitement that heralded him to power seems to be dying down.
The reason is simple: lopsidedness in appointments.
His appointments so far have set off a firestorm of condemnation, with critics saying his picks are overwhelmingly lopsided, without gender balance and regional equity.
Critics want Buhari to remember that Nigeria exists on a tripod (of North, East, and West), and its leader must recognise this reality to ensure peace, equity and fairness.
PDP knocks Buhari
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) he dislodged from power shot a salvo that he needed prayers from Nigerians because he lacked focus.
In June, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, urged Nigerians to join hands in prayers and offer useful suggestions to Buhari and the APC because “we are deeply worried that the president who promised to unveil his cabinet two weeks after his inauguration, has not been able to decide on key appointments.”
Former Ebonyi State Information Commissioner and General Manager of Ebonyi Printing Corporation, Abia Onyike, described all of Buhari’s appointments as lopsided and empty of social content.
“Buhari has ignored the fact that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic state. He is deliberately pursuing a Northernisation policy of alienating Nigeria’s other powerful regions, the East and the West.
“By making such appointments he made since assuming the Presidency, he has shown that he lacks the qualities of a nationalist and patriot.”
Under the Third Schedule of the Constitution, the government must ensure “the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government.”
Law suit
A lawyer based in Abuja, Udebuani Marcel, has sued Buhari, accusing him of favouring a section of the country against others.
The suit filed on Monday, August 31 alleged that he marginalised the South East which has not received any appointment from his administration yet.
Buhari and the Federal Character Commission are joined as defendants.
Marcel’s counsel, Jude Ifesemen, said the plaintiff wants the court to determine whether the 25 important appointments made so far by Buhari were done against the spirit of constitutionally guaranteed federal character.
He wants the court to declare that the exclusion of South East from the 25 appointments made so far by Buhari are unconstitutional and divisive.
Skewed allocations
Buhari’s North West has the largest share of 13 appointments (43 per cent), North East 6 (20 per cent), North Central 3 (10 per cent), South West 3 (10 per cent), South South 5 (17 per cent), South East none.
Political commentators say it is condemnable that no individual in the South East was deemed fit to be in the grade A positions made by Buhari so far.
They also consider the latest appointments disproportionate for a nation that has six zones, 36 states, Federal Capital Territory, 774 council, and over 250 different ethnic nationalities.
Yet, Buhari’s response is anything but heart warming, critics say.
During his visit to the United States in July, that indifference approached something of defiance when he openly told Americans and Nigerians in the diaspora that he should not be expected to offer equitable treatment to Nigerians who barely gave him votes.
Provincial leader
Most commentators describe him as a provincial leader schooled in the politics of exclusion, who, like a leopard, can never change his spots.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, a member of the PDP, said Buhari’s appointments cast him in the toga of the President of “Northern Nigeria”.
Former Kaduna State Governor, Balarabe Musa, urged Buhari to respect the federal character law because “those who are complaining that [he] is favouring the North in appointments have a strong case.”
Afenifere, South East Progressive Assembly (SEPA), South East Town Unions, and Ebonyi State PDP have called for an urgent review of the appointments in line with the federal character principle in the Constitution.
APC defends appointments
But some individuals see nothing wrong with the appointments.
APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, who reportedly lobbied to become secretary to the government of the federation, and other members of the party dismissed the uproar as unwarranted.
They said it is a deliberate misinformation by people who want to draw the government back, since the appointments are based on competence.
Warning against division
But a member of the Labour Party, Jacobs Adeleke, asked: “If truly those appointed were based on competence and credibility, does it mean that in his almost 100 days in office, he didn’t find or is yet to find anyone, including ‘technocrats’ from the South East, credible and qualified for appointments?”
Commentators warned that the trend poses great danger and if Buhari continues this way, sooner or later the story for the ethnic groups in Nigeria may be “To your tents Oh Israel’’.
