The sins of a good gatekeeper

BY UMAR YAKUBU

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds – Albert Einstein

Starting with George Washington of the United States, each president employed a private secretary to assist with handling official matters. However, it was not until 1857 during the tenure of President Buchanan that the US Congress created an official office called the “Private Secretary at the White House”. This position is a highly respected office held by usually exceptionally talented and skilled men. The role combines personal and professional assignments that are highly delicate and required great skill and discretion.

More recently in 1946, the position of Assistant to the President of the United States was established and charged to oversee the affairs of the White House which President Eisenhower re-designated it in 1953 to be called the White House Chief of Staff.Since 1968 with Nixon as President to current President Trump, The Chief of Staff has become a permanent fixture of White House administrations.Prominent Chiefs of Staff include Donald Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, Leon Panetta and Jon Podesta.

Nigeria changed its political governance system from parliamentary and adopted the US styled Presidential system of government in 1979.Every Nigerian Chief of Staff typically oversees the actions of the State House and their staff, manages the president’s schedule, and decides who can meet with the president. Because of these duties, the chief of staff has at various times been labelled “The Gatekeeper.”

This background was necessary because some maybe unaware of the vital role the Chief of Staff plays in our system of governance and similar Presidential systems of government. Ironically, while Ministers, Ambassadors and Heads of agencies go through National Assembly for approval, the most important government position after the President, the Chief of Staff, does not! He only requires the trust of the President which strategically places him to be more powerful than the Vice-President. The only time a US Vice-President was more powerful than the Chief of Staff was when Dick Cheney, a former Chief of Staff himself to President Gerald Ford in 1975, was Vice President to Bush.

When one understands the degree of importance, it may be easier to comprehend why there was so much negative campaign against the late Mallam Abba Kyari. Its simply the most critical appointment of a president that defines the success or failure of his government.The Chief of Staff protects the interests of the president, with his heart and soul! He manages the flow of information; negotiates with the National Assembly, liaise with senior government officials; and deals with matters of economic and foreign policy, and of course, involved in national security matters.

So, when the Atlanta Professor says he was in charge, trying to spite the presidency, he does not understand that he is meant to be in charge! But that does not mean he was in control. He is meant to be the Presidents most powerful adviser and closest confidant in order to transform his agenda into reality.Being the gatekeeper, it is the most relentless, thankless job that one may imagine because one takes all the blame and almost none of the credit. He is the heat shield meant to take fire mostly from allies because the opposition are usually more focused on the President.

Previously, no such orchestrated campaign of calumny was done against any former Chief of Staff and the reason was simple. People had access to past Presidents and could sit to discuss ‘business’ with them.Fortunately,no one, and I mean no living human can dream of sitting with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss any ‘deal’ or issues of personal interest against national interest.It hasn’t happened and not likely to ever happen.

Also recall that we run a rent-seeking system where most of the rich people actually do nothing to make wealth. It’s mostly about access to public resources through those vested with power, and based on who you know. Most that are rich out of dint of hard work have little to do with government. Since the President is inaccessible to fuel the system of patronage, the natural person that will take the bullets is the Chief of Staff, since all correspondence to the Commander in Chief goes through his office.

Now, these vested interests have been spoon-fed from public coffers for decades. There are small pockets in the political and economic sectors that are all trying to continue milking the country at any cost. From the first family to traditional rulers, everyone has been used to pitch the President against his loyal Chief of Staff. Once they take him out, that should create opportunities for them to perpetuate legal and illegal business. If you carefully follow the trend of all the fabrications, there is not even one that has any evidence attached to it. No one has come out with facts to indicate where he did wrong in his official capacity.

The worst, if it’s a negative thing, as espoused by Elder Mahmud Jega and Dr Obadiah Mailafia, are that he was the most powerful man in this government. Some may mis-interpret that statement. What’s the purpose of seeking for power if it’s not going to be utilized? What matters is what he used the power for? Let investigative journos come up with facts to prove that he used power for personal interest or contrary to the Presidents interests.Am not in any way absolving him, I have met him only once for about an hour in the office of Mallam Surajudeen Yakubu so I can’t claim to know him. Although within that hour meeting, I can conclude is that he was a stoic, articulate and serious person with a passion for national development, having no time for nonsense. Invariably, we have no right to judge based on emotions or what is written on that shark-infested space called social media. Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time,so for some, they have a problem for every solution.

Unfortunately, most of us are obsessed with public image, what people think or say of us. Instead of thinking of how one conducted himself with public funds, which we would be held accountable if not here, but certainly on Judgement Day, we seem to be more interested in whether people will say he is a nice man or not; being nice with public resources.

Of course, it is important for people to have positive views of people but in the context of Nigerian public service, being nice is akin to abusing public trust while those vilified are mostly trying their best to follow the rules. If you see a public servant being maligned and insulted, it highly likely that he does the right thing. For those that are liked, the nice ones, they must either be involved in corrupt practices, looking the other way,or are selling ice cream.

This pattern of thinking makes some to be accountable to what people think and start taking selfish and unpatriotic decisions thinking he is ‘helping’ people while the nation suffers. That is how most people’s intellects are caged into doing unnecessary things towards pleasing people in fear of being vilified. I have seen how Oga Waziri Adio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a few others that have fallen for this trap trying so hard to launder what is not dirty.

What matters the most is that his boss, President Buhari was happy with his work and called him “The Best”. Those that know something that the President doesn’t know should come up with them. Those embittered by him have not come up with anything tangible to justify their anxieties. They should come up with issues about his lack of good judgement or ineffectiveness in matters of governance. Falsehood, rumours, innuendos, and ‘alternative facts’ don’t carry much weight in the long run.There are several whistle blowing channels available. Let the work begin.

Yakubu is of the Counter Fraud Centre.