Aisha Abubakar: The Hypocrisy Of The “More Competent” Petition

Editor’s note: The long-awaited release of the ministerial list and the following screening of the nominees come with the constant arising of the issues of this or that candidate’s proper qualification. From time to time, we all hear that one ministerial candidate should be replaced with another according to some reason. Last Thursday, October 15, 2015, Senator Ibrahim Gobir representing Sokoto East presented a petition against Aisha Abubakar, the ministerial nominee from Sokoto state, requesting to replace her with a more competent candidate. Danladi Danjuma, Naij.com guest author, explains what danger may hide behind the “more competent” expression, when it is addressed to a ministerial nominee.

President Muhammadu Buhari is certainly a man of the people. He is respected in many quarters for his firm stance on corruption. In March, when Buhari swept the votes across Nigeria from the then incumbent, he canvassed on the simple mantra of change – a different way of doing things. The patience Nigerians exercised when the president made excuses concerning the delay in appointing ministers displayed the amount of goodwill he enjoyed. Now the ministerial list is finally out, and it has generated a lot of opposing opinions on how close or far the nominees are to change. However, my position is the subject of another discussion.

My immediate worry is in the danger of the fallout that may follow the announcement of the nominees. For the avoidance of doubt, just like many, I believe that the nomination of the members of the president’s cabinet is his absolute prerogative, all other opinions including those of the party members both at the state and local levels are only to be taken under advisement. While democracy entrenches the right of people to freely express agreement and disagreement, it in no way supersedes the prerogatives of the president.

Incompetent nominees = incompetent president?

The recent case in point is the nomination of Aisha Abubakar from Sokoto state, and the bunch of the sponsored petitions against her nomination. Sadly, there are many flaws in this narrative bordering on rebellion, chauvinism and anti-party activities.

To put it simply, to accuse the president of nominating an incompetent candidate equals to pointing out the mediocrity in the entire nomination process. In other words, it is tantamount to calling the president incompetent. Otherwise, how else can one call  President Buhari incompetent other than to say that after six months of searching he has nominated the “less competent” candidate, leaving the “more competent” ones out. The re-enacted plot of the blockbuster TV show House of Cards unfolding in the National Assembly during the past few weeks will easily come to mind if one thinks further about the true intention of the petitions.

READ ALSO: Sokoto: Groups Hail Buhari’s Selection Of Aisha Abubakar As Wamakko Leads Opposition

Definition of competence

But that is only one of the flaws. Six out of  36 ministerial nominees are women. While it is not clear if Buhari’s administration will surpass the previous one in terms of appointing women into public positions, the petition raised against Aisha Abubakar is a more worrisome sign. The truth is that the unwritten innuendos and nuances implied by such self-aggrandising appellation as “more competent” raises moral and ethical questions. What indicates competence in a person? Is it gender, considering the historical poor representation of women in public offices and our current reality as a nation? Or is it having a political godfather? By the way, it was one of the campaign headlines against the previous administration, accusing it of being clannish, sectional and pandering to too many vested interests? Shouldn’t competence be defined as the ability to execute successfully and efficiently? If therefore that is the true definition of competence, shouldn’t its proven track record in private and public service be the bone of contention?

Political hypocrisy of the “most compitent” petition

Finally, for a party riding the tides of change to power, the petition expose those resistant to the new order, believing that the cabinet of ministers should remain an exclusive club of kingmakers. Frankly speaking, I believe this is the anti-party activity when the essence of the party (in this case change) is challenged by the party members insisting that the way things have always been done must be preserved. Furthermore, accusing Ms Abubakar of political naivete simply highlights the constraints of the culture that encourages women to remain in political shadows, and prevents them from coming to the limelight when few and far opportunities like this arise.

Like President Muhammadu Buhari, I am not only open to technocrats with pedigree and legacy, but also to those who “belong to none and be for all”. God help us if we let these people continue enjoying the perks of being the members of a power-breaking cabal, because we will dash the hopes of many who believes and struggles for change, jump-start a chain of events that will lead to speedy erosion of President Buhari’s goodwill, and ultimately mortgage the possibility of the long-term achievements for the gains of the short-term political expediency.

Danladi Danjuma writes from Abuja.

This article expresses the author’s opinion only. The views and opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of Naij.com or its editors.

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