BUHARI'S MINISTERIAL SEAT ARGUMENT, INORDINATE?

Icheoku says the argument being made by President Muhammadu Buhari as reason why he wants to, in addition to his presidency, also appropriate the petroleum ministry, is to say the least unfounded and very hollow. First as the president and commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, he is the numero uno of the government; and by extension, automatically the de-jure head of all the ministries.  His surrogates, the ministers, are only there to assist him and help him run the government and they also serve at his pleasure. The president has the power to appoint, assign, reassign and even dismiss his ministers as he may deem fit and from time to time so determine. Hence, the president has the supreme right to deploy to the oil ministry his most trusted minister, who will directly report back to him and through whom he can still run and direct affairs of the ministry as he pleases. 

Therefore begging the question, why does President Muhammadu Buhari still wants to be specifically directly in charge of the Petroleum ministry? If a president has a marching order for any minister, the minister will not flaunt it or risk being dismissed. So a more rational President Muhammadu Buhari could have, in the same manner he appointed his inner caucus officials, similarly choose another one such person and deploy him to the Petroleum Ministry with specific directives on how he wants him to run the ministry and instruction to keep him timely posted on developments therein. Also the president could appoint a  personal assistant as a liaison between him and such a minister and who would report back to him on hourly basis on developments therein the ministry if he so prefers. Icheoku is therefore at a loss when the president said that it was because he wants to directly supervise reforms in the petroleum sector,  that is the reason he wants to be directly in charge of the sector as the substantive minister thereto. 

The president is already in charge of every ministry and running the whole gamut of the governance in Nigeria as an elected chief executive, with the people's mandate to so do. His ministers are not elected executives nor do they have any direct express mandate such as the president's. These ministers are but mere underlings who are only helping the president execute the duties of his office. They owe their offices to the president and will remain therein as long as they continued to enjoy the president's goodwill. Therefore the president, unto whose desk the buck stops, literally is the one running the whole ministries by proxy of his appointed ministers, who are duty bound to carry out directives of the president as he may spell them out to them.  

The question then is, why does the president, despite this truism, still wants to run the oil ministry personally by himself? Why not in the same vein or rather buffoonery argument, run the whole country as a sole administrator since the reason he adduced for coveting the petroleum ministry are equally implicated in all other ministries. Afterall they all need reforms, so why just single out the Petroleum ministry as the only one the president wants to double as the minister in charge? Icheoku is not buying into the argument being made by the president and so should every Nigerian with some thinking in his or her head. By doing that, he will in addition, be depriving a State its slot in the Federal cabinet. 

Further the president has not shown thus far that he has the capacity to successfully run both the office of the president as well as the petroleum ministry; hence he should do a serious rethink on this his plans to so do. Query, what would a President Muhammadu Buhari who is also doubling as Minister for Petroleum differently do in the oil ministry which a President Muhammadu Buhari who is confined only to his presidency, not be able to do through his appointed  Minister of Petroleum? Icheoku says there is possibly nothing the president could not do by proxy of his appointed minister who is somewhat an extension of the president. It is just like an octopus with several tentacles, each contributing to the business of keeping the body alive and well. 

Icheoku maintains that the president, just like he argued as justification for his skewed earlier appointments, should be in a position to find just one more of his very trusted friend to put him in charge of the oil ministry.  But it is indeed very tasking of a reasoning intellect for the president to hijack the oil ministry based on a none existent need. Icheoku deplores this latest effort as another one of President Muhammadu Buhari's attempt at self elevation as the only saint in the hell called Nigeria. Icheoku says it is very condescending and rather arrogant of the president to so cockily see himself as the only chaste Nigerian that can successfully supervise the needed reform in the oil sector. Icheoku does not buy into the myth of his infallibility and urges Nigerians to demand that the president starts trusting the people he is governing; instead of his present attitude of being above everyone in the department of moral uprightness. 

President Muhammadu Buhari, Icheoku says relinquish the Petroleum minister's portfolio and let a State use it to fill their constitutionally mandated slot in the Federal Executive Cabinet. The president should just put one of his man-Friday in the ministry and dictate directives to him as he may deem wise. The president should remember too that he has the prerogative to summarily fire any minister and replace same whenever he desires. Icheoku is convinced that this should be the best route traveled, as the appropriation of the oil ministry in addition to his  presidency is but a greedy nonsensical, based on an empty none existent premise; only meant to foist his will above all Nigerians. Icheoku admonishes this is not the way to go Mister president. 

Finally, Icheoku laments that President Muhammadu Buhari disappointed majority of Nigerians, whose expectation that the president took his time in selecting ministerial candidate because he was simply getting the best there is, was dashed. To say the least, none of the listed candidate is a wow personality and they failed to trigger the explosion in the excitement that was built up preparatory to their names' release. A matter made worse with the inclusion of a very old man who was once a minister in 1981 and you wonder whether no Nigerian especially from Audu Ogbe's constituency ever matured enough this past 33 years to fill their allotted slot. Then factor in the inclusion of a former Lagos State Governor Fashola who spent 78 million Naira on a private website, yet the president is fighting war on corruption? Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State also made the ministerial list despite petitions about missing billions of Naira during his governorship which are pending against him and speaking about war on corruption? Anyway, only President Muhammad Buhari knows why he is playing games with the Nigerian people with these many promises breached and/or not kept. But hey, he was elected and so he can do whatever the heck he likes. SAI BUHARI.