Kachikwu’s lamentation to a non comforter

The seed of nepotic appointments of President Mohammadu Buhari is yielding fruits bountifully. In fact in a true quota basis, it is like a moving train, going from one sector to the other.

It started with the Vice/Acting President who we heard was being undermined by Buhari’s Chief of Staff. It then moved to the health sector, where not too long ago, we heard that, Buhari’s appointee Head of NHIS had told his supervising minister that, only Buhari can discipline him.

It took the intervention of the then Acting President for the “Imperial” NHIS boss to proceed on the suspension placed on him by the minister.

The train soon moved to the Justice sector, where the Attorney General / Minister of Justice was openly complaining that the chairman of EFCC had refused to forward the files of the former public office holders investigated to his office for proper prosecution.

To the EFCC Chairman, no lesser mortal other than the President can he obey.

Now the train has arrived at the petroleum sector. The cerebral and articulate Minister of State for petroleum and a Publisher of note, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu is being humiliated, disrespected and messed up by the GMD NNPC Dr. Maikanti Buru who supposed to report him.

Dr. Kachikwu was appointed GMD of NNPC on August 4, 2015 to reposition the outfit for greater service delivery or so they said.

By November 11, 2015, Kachikwu was given an added responsibility as he was sworn in as the Minister of State for Petroleum while the main portfolio of a Minister resides with the President. For one year, Kachikwu was combining the job of a minister and that of the GMD NNPC.

He has helped to re-stabilize the sector by working with the Niger Delta Elders to bring down militancy in the region. Crude oil is now selling at over 2 million barrels per day, so Buhari is done with him. That is the gospel truth.

Kachikwu does not fit into the trust circumference of Buhari, his professional competence notwithstanding. He was only brought in to do a job he has done. Whether he resigns or stay, it would not make any meaning to Buhari.

Baru on the other hand, was brought in to do what he is doing and he is a man in whom Buhari is well pleased. He could not have been signing those multibillion dollar contracts without the approval of the President.

In fact, Kachikwu will be more amazed when he later learns that the board members may have been “settled” to acquiesce to the effort at sidelining, disrespecting and humiliating him.

I have always believed that Buhari is not fighting corruption but his political enemies. If anything, he is only busy recovering loots of the past while that of the present is left unchecked. Regrettably, corruption is walking with four legs in this government.

Recently, the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in collaboration and corroboration with/of Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) came up with a damning report of how over N400b changed hands among this government’s officials between June 2016 and this year. EFCC has not lifted a finger.

Also a serving Senator Misau came up with a weighty allegation of how the current IGP has been pocketing billions of naira in the past one year from multinationals, banks and highly placed persons who have sought police protection. EFCC has looked the other way.

Do we need to talk about Osinbajo Panel reluctantly set up by the President to x-ray the already detailed report of Senate sub-committee on North East which indicted the suspended SGF Babachir Lawal on award of contract?

Over a month has passed since the report was submitted to the President without any sign of it being acted upon or made public. A true manifestation of Shehu Sani’s theory of “insecticide and deodorant”

So, Dr. Kachikwu should by now come to the grin reality that, his “lamentation” will never receive any “favourable” response by the President.

If after 3 months of Baru’s controversial appointments into various NNPC management posts, 1 month after he wrote the much publicised letter to Mr. President, nothing has changed, he should realise that this President is done with him. His lamentation is lamentably directed to a non comforter.

He should not hope to have relief for his prayers. It behooves on him to either decide to go or stay. This kind of treatment still awaits others who have naively believed that a leopard can change its spot. It has been proved several times over.