Osinbajo’s pastor, Alhaji Alhaji’s daughter, el-Rufai’s ‘niece’… new cabinet nominees unveiled

President Muhammadu Buhari sent the second list of his ministerial nominees to the senate on Monday, but what do you really know about them beyond their resumes?

Most of the latest nominees are not as familiar as those on the first list, but they boast of impressive academic and professional qualifications and work experience — some have deep ties to the high and the mighty.

Shamsuna calls el-Rufai ‘my uncle’

Zainab Ahmed Shamsuna is the daughter of Yahaya Hamza, the foster father of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state who is one of the most powerful men in President Muhammadu Buhari’s inner circle. Hamza, who died in August 2015, was once permanent secretary in the federal ministry of education and former secretary to the government of Kaduna state.

Shamsuna, who fondly calls el-Rufai “my uncle” apparently because of the family ties, was until now the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the extractive sector watchdog. She is described as a “smart” woman. She holds a degree in accounting from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a master’s in business administration. She once worked with Mtel when Pentascope ran the mobile home arm of NITEL.

The apolitical daughter of Alhaji Alhaji

Aisha Abubakar has never shown interest in politics, but with a father like Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji, there is no hiding place for the development specialist. Her father once served as minister of finance and also high commissioner to the UK, and was at some point one of the most influential Nigerians from the Sokoto caliphate, especially in the military era.

Aisha’s brother, Aminu Abubakar Alhaji, unsuccessfully sought to replace Aminu Tambuwal in the house of representatives (Tambuwal/Kebbe federal constituency) in the March 28, 2015 national assembly elections. Although he got the PDP ticket, he was defeated by APC’s Abdulsamad Dasuki.

Aisha, currently a director of Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, holds a bachelor’s in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, and a master’s in development studies, University of Leeds, both in England.

Adewole was once sacked by Buhari

Emmanuel Fashakin, an attorney-at-law and medical director, drew out an interesting fact recently about Isaac Adewole, a professor and the outgoing vice-chancellor of UI. He said: “In 1985: I was Secretary of Nigerian Medical Association, Ife-Ijesha zone (now Osun State). Isaac Adewole was Secretary of Nigerian Medical Association, Oyo State.

“Isaac Adewole was sacked from his post by Buhari as Resident Doctor at the University College Hospital, Ibadan for his role in the anti-Buhari/Idiagbon nationwide Doctors” strike action. He was re-instated during Babangida regime and later became Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. In 2015, Isaac Adewole was nominated as Minister by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Adewole has over three decades of experience as a physician with 23 active years as a clinical teacher at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. He is a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.

Enelamah is Osinbajo’s pastor, sort of…

Okechukwu Enelamah, the CEO of African Capital Alliance (ACA), is a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, and was the one who succeeded Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as the pastor of the Olive parish at Banana Island, Lagos state. Osinbajo moved on to become the provincial pastor. Enelamah preached a special message to celebrate APC’s victory in the general election. He comes from a family of pastors.

A financial expert with an impressive pedigree, Enelamah initially trained as a medical doctor, but went on to qualify as a chartered accountant. He has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and is a chartered financial analyst. ACA, which principally invests in Nigeria and countries in the Gulf of Guinea, is reputed as the leading independent private equity firm investing in West Africa. He previously worked at Zephyr Management L.P., New York, and South Africa Capital Growth Fund, Johannesburg. He also worked with Arthur Andersen and Goldman Sachs.

Onyeama has double-double degrees

First degree and second degree would normally refer to a bachelor’s and a master’s, but welcome to the world of Geoffrey Onyeama, who has a first and second bachelor’s degrees and a first and second master’s as well. He earned a BA in political science from  the Columbia University, New York, in 1977, and another BA in law from Cambridge University, UK, in 1980. He went on to earn a master of laws at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1982, and MA, Law, from Cambridge in 1984.

It may interest you to know that he has been working at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) since 1985 — that is 30 years! Loyalty and stability would be the two words to describe that. Since 2009, he has been the deputy director of the development sector, responsible for the regional bureaus for Africa, Arab Countries, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean;  the Least-Developed Countries Division (LDCs);  the Development Agenda Coordination Division (DACD);  the WIPO Academy and the Special Projects Division.

Anything else? Well, he speaks English, French and German. Of course, he is from Enugu state, so he speaks Igbo too.

Anwuka, by the way, is Okorocha’s in-law…

Rochas Okorocha, governor of Imo state, literally kept it in the family by nominating his in-law and former secretary to the state government, Anthony Anwuka, as minister.  Anwuka’s son, Uzo, is married to Okorocha’s daughter, Uju. The wedding was well attended by APC big wigs, including…wait for this… Buhari, who went on to pick the APC presidential ticket and then won the presidential election. Anwuka was in Buhari’s transition committee.

Anwuka is an accomplished man, by any definition. He was the vice chancellor of the Imo State University, Owerri, for five years before he was appointed secretary to the Imo state government. He studied English Language and Literature at Fourah Bay, University of Sierra Leone, and a master’s in educational administration and planning at the University of Portland, Oregon USA in 1975. He did his doctorate degree programme in general curriculum, system analysis and social studies at the University of Washington Seattle, USA in 1977.