The Arewa Professionals in the United Kingdom {AR-UK} has debunked the claim of some people that the north is being marginalized in the appointments made so far by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying such talks can only be described as the ranting of an ant.
AR – UK in a statement issued in Manchester , United Kingdom on Thursday at the end of an executive meeting through its President, Engr. Yunana Shibkau, applauded Tinubu for the key appointments given to the north so far.
Shibkau said the trouble with some self acclaimed leaders in the north is that of high level of ignorance, saying “We don’t need such political eunuchs to guide us on the track in the current dispensation.
“Section 13, Sub-section (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that “the composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also command national loyallty.The president has not violated any constitutional provisions in this regard, Shibkau said.
Shibkau who was the pioneer Alliance for Democracy, (AD ) Vice Chairman in the North West and who later served as a Special Adviser to former Governor Abdullahi Yerima in Zamfara State said Tinubu has been magnanimous to the north in the appointments so far made under his administration saying this include the Chief of Defence Staff, Director General State Security Service, Director General , Nigeria Intelligence Agency,National Security Adviser, Chief of Air Force, Minister of Defence, Secretary to the Government of the Federation , Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice President are all from the north and more importantly they constituted more than ninety percent of members of both Defence and Security Councils.
We must not forget, the constitution recognises Ministers of Federation and not minister of Arewa and the President has the right to choose whoever he wants to work withhe said.Calling Tinubu administration a Federal Republic of Oduduwa, is a very uncharitable statement. Why did.the same elements not labelled Buhari government, Federal Republic of Arewa.
“We are appealing to regional leaders in the north to be cautioned with what they preach and statements being issued.They should not allow the same politicians from the north who made the entire region backward in all facets to mislead us, just because they don’t get what they wanted in Tinubu government”, Shibkau said.He said Tinubu he knows in the days of AD when he was Governor of Lagos State , is a leader who is very objective, saying that is one of the qualities required of a leader.
He added that he heard some people made personal demands from Tinubu but that he stamped his feet on the ground and said that he would not allow such a mess. He said Tinubu is the kind of a leader that is going to be firm, adding such a leader is what Nigeria needs at this time. The crux of the agenda of this government is economic prosperity which is inclusive and sustainable.
Nigerians trust Mr. President based on his pedigree which was the main reason they voted for him. He did it in Lagos state and definitely he will repeat the same magic of performance at Federal level.We are appealing to the opposition political parties, that campaign is over, court had made pronouncement and reconfirmed that indeed Nigerians voted for Tinubu. It’s time to work together, governance is bigger than government, all hands must be on deck.
We want to appeal to the media not to mislead the people with terms such as “technocrat”, which implies that a person must hold advanced degrees before they can be a minister or commissioner or occupy certain positions in government.
n developed economies, the technocrats are in the civil service, the same thing in Nigeria during the Gowon and Shagari regimes. We did not borrow any money during the Civil War, and the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo served as Minister of Finance. He did not take any Master of Business Administration (MBA) or classes in macro – economics or finance before he performed creditably.
Chief Femi Okunnu, a trained lawyer, served as the Minister of Works, while Aminu Kano, who was neither a medical practitioner nor degree holder, held the position of Minister of Health. Xavier Becerra, a lawyer, is the current Secretary of Health of the United States.Where the technocrats are more needed is civil service.Once upon a time in this country, we had Oxford trained civil servants like late Chief Allison Ayida ,Chief Pilliph Asiodu, Alhaji Ahmed Joda and many others.We need to rejig the civil service system, he said.
