Ade Fayosokanmi: Buhari And The Enthronement Of Meritocracy

By Ade Fayosokanmi

If there was any doubt that the inauguration as Nigeria’s 5th democratically elected President of Muhammadu Buhari, a retired Army General and former Nigerian military head of state famed for his integrity, time-tested anti-corruption stance and obstinate devotion to forthrightness, would not lead to a substantial departure from the way Nigeria has been misruled in the last 30 years, such doubts have started melting under the scorching heat of his early salvos.

Without any prior knowledge or relationship, Buhari appointed a new Chief of Defence Staff and service chiefs for the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Airforce. If it were to be under a different dispensation, Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, a Major General and the new Chief of Defence Staff would by now have been pulled out of the military into retirement and perhaps left to ponder on whether Nigeria appreciates people like him who have decisively made a pact with their conscience and creator that for as long as God gives them the grace, they would never soil their hands with any filthy lucre but would rather survive only on their legitimate income. Olonishakin has had countless opportunities in life to enrich himself as commandant of numerous Army formations but he chose to stay the course on the path of moral rectitude.

A story was told of when Olonishakin was the Commandant Nigerian Army School of Signals, Apapa in Lagos and suddenly, the students realized that their food rations had tripled and they were befuddled. Olonishakin reportedly told them that he didn’t do anything spectacular other than to ensure that the money budgeted for the students’ welfare was judiciously utilized for the purpose it was meant. When many of his colleagues have mansions and other choice properties in different parts of the country, Olonishakin has only one bungalow at the Redemption Camp on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. From enquiries, Olonishakin is a man who would rather share the little he has with friends, the needy and family members than over-indulge in the splendours of life. As a clincher, Olonishakin combines these virtues with his exceptional brilliance and passionate dedication to duty. He is always the best graduating student in the schools he attended.

Those were the sterling qualities Buhari saw in Olonishakin, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General T.Y. Buratai, the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar and the new National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.). Monguno, the son of Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno, a former Minister for Internal Affairs, Mines and Power, hails from Borno State. He attended King’s College, Lagos and holds a PhD in Architecture. Before his voluntary retirement from the Nigerian Army in 2013 after attaining the age limit for a Major General, he had served as the Chief of Logistics at the Nigerian Defense headquarters and later as Commandant of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

He was also Commander, Guards Brigade, Deputy Commandant, National Defence College, and Chief of Defence Intelligence. He was considered for appointment as the Chief of Army Staff before his retirement but he was not chosen. Those who know him intimately attest to his eloquence, brilliance, excellence, honesty and passion for the nation. A retired Army officer said about Monguno on Channels TV upon his new appointment that he (Monguno) was the military officer every other officer aspired to become.

Just last week, President Buhari appointed another brilliant Nigerian, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Virtually every public commentator hailed the appointment because of Kachikwu’s honesty, integrity and excellence. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Kachikwu was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon Mobil (Africa). He is a First Class Graduate of Law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Nigerian Law School. He also holds Masters and Doctorate Degrees in Law from the Harvard Law School. He is a dye-in-the-wool philanthropist who has touched the lives of many indigent students.

Dr. Kachikwu was already contemplating life in retirement when he got the appointment from the blues. Like the Generals, he did not know Buhari, neither did he have any strong political tie that could have swung the appointment in his favour. He is another beneficiary of the era of meritocracy Buhari has enthroned. As the aphorism goes, morning shows the day.

There is every reason to believe that most of the almost 5,000 key federal appointments Buhari will still make will be based on merit. Buhari has clearly shown that he is a stickler for integrity, honesty, performance and merit. Meritocracy, according to Wikkipedia, is a political philosophy which holds that power should be vested in individuals almost exclusively according to merit. The concept of Meritocracy spread from China to British India during the seventeenth century, and then into continental Europe and the United States.

Intellectuals in the West quickly identified the power of Meritocracy as an alternative to the traditional ancient regime of Europe. With Meritocracy, government jobs and positions are awarded on the basis of merit through competitive exams, instead of ties to politicians or political affiliation. Unfortunately, many talented Nigerians have been excluded from making maximum contributions to the growth and development of our nation due to our failure as a nation to adopt this philosophy. By his deed, Buhari is putting an end to an era where you can only serve the nation if you have a political or administrative godfather.Buhari has given the dream a face that Nigeria would some day in the foreseeable future become an egalitarian society where the privileged few will no longer hold the country to ransom by the jugular with their primitive, obstinate and bestial usurpation of the nation’s commonwealth.

Many Nigerians are now nursing the dream that perhaps their beloved country will now turn to a society where anyone, irrespective of the circumstance of his or her birth as a pauper, peasant, prince or princess can hope to aspire to the highest echelon in his chosen career based on the content of his/her character and depth of his/her intelligence.

Millions of other Olonishakins, Buratais and Kachikwus in any field of human endeavour across the country can now believe that without knowing Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Kwakwanso, Bukola Saraki, Ogbonaya Onu or Rotimi Amaechi they can be appointed into important national positions on account of the impact they have made in their chosen careers.

This singular step will inspire millions of Nigerians, young and old, to work hard. Buhari is leading the revival of the age-long philosophy that hard work and integrity are hugely rewarding. This will have enormous multiplier effect on every aspect of life in the nation. Coupled with the onslaught against graft, indiscipline and extreme corruption spearheaded by Buhari, there is a wave of optimism sweeping across the nation that the era of impunity we witnessed, particularly in the recent past, could be dead and banished from our country if Buhari sustains the momentum.

It is now crystal clear that if Buhari succeeds in this endeavour, the whole nation wins and if he loses, God forbid, the nation will suffer the consequences while the oligarchs will continue to ride roughshod over all of us. It’s time to rally round this unusual leader who has clearly shown his intentions that all he wants to do is to restore the pride and glory of the Nigerian nation.

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The Verdict Written By Ade Fayosokanmi

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