It was a former Secretary of the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir David Lawal, who first posed and demanded an answer to the question: “Who’s the presidency?” He had responded rhetorically to reporters who had attributed news of his suspension from office to a release from “the presidency” with the dismissive remark.
In April 2017, Mr. Lawal had been found complicit by a committee of the Senate in the misappropriation of funds meant for the settlement of internally displaced persons, IDPs, in the North-East. He had, allegedly, awarded contracts to a company in which he had interest in the tune of over N200 million for the clearing of grass in one of the centres for IDPs.
A panel headed by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, would later find Lawal culpable and he was thereafter sent home. He has since claimed he was innocent of the charges for which he was relieved of his position. It was only recently that charges were preferred against Lawal who many Nigerians believed enjoyed the protection of the president.
President Muhammadu Buhari had pussyfooted for all of six months after Babachir Lawal had been pronounced guilty by the Senate committee that investigated him before ordering his sack or, more precisely, quietly easing him out by allowing him to go home. This happened after much public criticism that reflected badly on the anti-corruption claims of the Buhari administration.
Mr Lawal’s mode of questioning seemed both quaint and arrogant to many Nigerians who wondered what he meant by “Who’s the presidency?”. But in elaboration that he would provide many months later on Channels television’s “Hard Copy”, he had said he found the reporters’ line of questioning disrespectful.
As he went on to explain that President Buhari would never announce a subordinate’s dismissal without first intimating them of that fact. This was the basic minimum and the president insisted on it, according to Lawal. Nobody working with President Buhari ever received news of their dismissal over the air before they had been told.
Apparently, Babachir Lawal who was in a meeting with the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, while news of his dismissal had been released to reporters had no inkling of what was going on until he was confronted with the news by reporters in Aso Rock Villa.
Perhaps, then, this latter explanation was a subtle dig at the style of Yemi Osinbajo and a way to exonerate President Buhari from the fate of his lieutenants who had the unfortunate experience of being sacked from office.
Such occurrences have been very rare and far between in an administration in which appointees, as Nigerians are learning to their cost with the case of the service chiefs, are, once appointed, more or less kept in office for life- even beyond their statutory terms in service.
But Babachir Lawal would have none of the reporters breaking news of his firing to him. In his explanation on “Hardcopy”, he would appear to have made much of what would seem to him the president’s personal style; his specific way of doing things as opposed to what others might do in his name(?).
This was probably why he wanted to know “Who’s the presidency?” as that was not the name of a known quantity much less the name of President Buhari. He, therefore, demanded to know who the “bagga” was that would dare announce his sacking without first telling him.
As an aside, does this question about “who’s the presidency?” reveal or hint at something that is now being freely bruited around by persons as close enough to the president as his wife, Aisha: that some people have taken over control of government from President Buhari and are speaking in his name, making it necessary to identify at any point in time exactly who is talking on those occasions statements are attributed to “the presidency”?
Who really is the presidency? Was Lawal’s question his own way of saying that he knew a decision that was freely taken by Buhari as opposed to one taken on his behalf or in his name?
Considering that he believes his ouster was orchestrated by people who wanted him out of government by smearing him, could Lawal have been saying that people other than Buhari wanted him out of the administration?
After all, it took six full months between the time he was accused of corruption and put on suspension, and the time he was finally sacked. What did his dismissive insistence on “Who’s the presidency?” mean?
Whatever were the hidden meanings of Mr. Lawal’s question, it has become relevant to again ask: “Who’s the presidency?”. There has been so much happening of late from Abuja that is blithely attributed to “the presidency”, which now appears to be a shorthand way of attributing important policy statements, decisions or positions to no one in particular.
Or at best the likes of Abba Kyari, Buhari’s powerful Chief of Staff; Boss Mustapha, the SGF or Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. Such decisions or statements, too numerous and random to mention, that are made by some of these individuals and are attributed to “the presidency” ought ordinarily to be attributed to the president.
They are the kind of decisions or policy direction a president would in a system such as ours make or initiate. But somehow, these decisions don’t appear to have the imprimatur of the president. They, at best, appear to be statements based on a summarisation or interpretation of his statements or what “the presidency” makes of his famous “body language”.
While it is true that the likes of Abba Kyari, Boss Mustapha and Abubakar Malami work in the presidency and could be seen as speaking for this arm of the executive. But as a way of attributing important government positions or decisions to the president, “the presidency” has become a very vague and imprecise cover-all term.
It is a loose cannon that Nigerians, especially the press, should be very wary of using. Increasingly, the expression refers to no one other than the two presidential spokespersons, Garba Shehu and Femi Adesina, who very often take their cues from different administration officials and sometimes speak at cross purpose.
All of this is happening because Nigeria is saddled with a president that reveals too little of his mind to those who elected him into office. This is not just about the man being taciturn. Many times, President Buhari doesn’t appear to have a position on any issue except the one drawn up for him by his subordinates.
Rare is that statement of grave importance that is personally signed by the president. Nor does he address a press conference or speak directly to Nigerians outside a script. Not even as laid down through the monthly presidential chat of his predecessors.
Freelanews is the editorial byline of Freelanews.com, used for staff reports, news updates, press releases, and collaborative stories produced by the Freelanews Editorial Team.
