As one who presides over the most
populous country in Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari is no doubt an
influential man. It is not out of place that millions of people within
and outside the country might want to get his attention for one favour
or the other. Expectedly, not many people will get that needed access to
him.
There are, however, a few individuals
who are very close to the President and, hence, wield huge influence in
their own rights. These are apart from members of his immediate family
that consists of the First Lady (sorry, the President’s wife), Hajia
Aisha Buhari, and the children.
As far as the Buhari Presidency is
concerned, one of the men that can be said to be very close to the
President so far is Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who currently
supervises the nation’s economy. Osinbajo is always at the service of
the President. He represents him very often both within and outside the
country. The relationship between the two top government officials so
far is very cordial. In fact, I don’t think Osinbajo’s loyalty to the
President is to be questioned.
Another man that is very close to the
President is his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari. The closeness may be due to
the position he currently occupies, but the lesson must not be lost
that something must have qualified him for that appointment.
While making his way to the President’s
office or back to his office, he will pass through the corridor of the
Briefing Room, where journalists always hang out to search for scoops.
No matter how busy he is, he will pause a bit to crack jokes with the
reporters and quickly leave as fast as possible. Kyari is no doubt one
of the President’s men. There is no way those who wield influence in the
Villa for now will be identified without mentioning Governor Nasir
El-Rufai of Kaduna State. I can even state without fear of contradiction
that he is so far the most frequent state governor in the Villa. If he
is not visiting the President, El-Rufai will be consulting with Vice
President Osinbajo. I am aware that he was instrumental to some of the
appointments so far made by the President. He wields big influence that
is not commensurate to his small stature.
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State
also wields enormous influence in the Villa. He is also a regular
visitor, coming closely behind El-Rufai. Most times, after consulting
with Buhari, Oshiomhole will brief State House correspondents. His
interviews had always been focusing on how officials of the last
administration allegedly stole the nation blind.
I will be identifying more President’s men in subsequent editions.
Like Mobola Johnson, like Kemi Adeosun
Since the wind of change that blew
through the Villa during the last presidential election, many other
things have changed. The change permeated through the seat of power from
who occupies the President’s seat to ministers and even Villa guests.
The hitherto known faces have given way for the new ones.
By the time Buhari inaugurated his
cabinet, most of his 36 ministers are those who are entering the Villa
for the first time. A few of them who had been here before had either
done so because of the public offices they occupied before or because
they belonged to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party before they
parted ways with others under that green-white-red umbrella.
There is, however, someone in the
present cabinet that keeps reminding us of one of the ministers that
served under former President Goodluck Jonathan. That person is the
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun. She keeps reminding us of
Jonathan’s Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson.
Both ladies look alike in stature, and
also in the way they walk and talk (with foreign accent). Incidentally,
both of them are Yoruba ladies, though from different states. While
Johnson is from Ondo State, Adeosun is from Ogun State.
Unlike her predecessor in office, Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose trademark is her headgear that she places
delicately on her head as if it will fall down with a slight push,
Adeosun rarely tie headgears. In fact, I heard her telling one of her
female colleagues recently that she resorted to holding her headgear
after many failed attempts to tie it correctly. The female minister
collected the headgear from her, carefully folded it and placed it on
her (Adeosun’s ) shoulder. Those who specialise in tying headgears for
fees may find a good business in her.
Adeosun has, however, created her own
trademark. She has been appearing, most times, in ‘adire,’ a tye-and-die
traditional clothe that is popular in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
With different colours and designs, her tailor has been cutting the
material neatly into skirts and blouses or gowns for her. Those who have
business sense can also explore the idea of supplying her with the
materials.
Since their inauguration, Adeosun had
the first opportunity to address State House correspondents on Tuesday,
albeit, briefly. It was at the press conference addressed by the
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde,
shortly after a closed-door meeting she had with Buhari. The lot fell
on Adeosun to introduce Lagarde to journalists at the Briefing Room of
the Council Chamber.
The following day, however, she had more
time to spend with reporters. She had the opportunity of briefing
journalists of the outcome of the Federal Executive Council meeting
presided over by Buhari. The venue was the same. She was introduced by
the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Unlike his predecessors who will first
speak at length on what transpired at such meetings before yielding the
stage for relevant ministers to brief, Mohammed does not waste time. He
will just introduce the ministers concerned and step aside for them to
carry their cross. That style, to me, is good. It simply avoids
repetition.
Since the main item on the agenda of the
FEC meeting was how to plug leakages in government revenue, all the
questions raised by journalists during the post-FEC briefing, except
one, were directed at Adeosun. The minister gave a good account of
herself to the extent that her performance became a subject of
discussion among journalists long after the session ended. Some also
mimicked her foreign accent.
As she was making her way out of the
Briefing Room with Mohammed, I approached her to tell her how impressed I
was with her performance, especially bearing in mind that she is my
state’s representative in the cabinet. After appreciating the
compliment, she sought to know the part of the state that I hail from.
She informed me amidst smile that she is from Ogun Water Side. Enjoy
your weekend.
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