By Isaac Asabor
There is no denying the fact that when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s name is added to the word “Nepotism”, and searched on Google that the result that would be gotten would be in the form of some self-explanatory newspaper headlines among many other headlines which will unarguably indicate that he is somewhat nepotistic. In fact, some of the results gotten when this writer conducted his own search of the words, “Tinubu + Nepotism” with the aid of Google Search Engine were as follow: “100 days of Tinubu: North cannot accuse Tinubu of nepotism”, “Arewa Economic Forum cautions Tinubu of nepotism …”, “Tinubu Under Fire Over ‘Lopsided’ Appointments”, “Bwala: Tinubu concentrates appointments in Lagos, beats …”, “Arewa Economic Forum Accuses Tinubu of Nepotism”, “Tinubu’s appointments split Nigeria” and “Bwala Slams Tinubu’s ‘Nepotism Pro Max’ Appointments …”. “Others are Tinubu Accused of Nepotism, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed …”, “North cannot accuse Tinubu of nepotism”, “Reasons Northerners can’t accuse Tinubu of nepotism” and “Tinubu’s appointments divide Southern, Northern groups and several others.
Without resorting to campaign of calumny in this context, it will be objective to make reference to the position of the leadership of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) on the issue. The group which made its position known on the President’s nepotistic tendency Tinubu in the month of September accused him of nepotism, alleging that most of the key appointments in his government were allotted to Nigerians from his ethnic group.
HURIWA made this known in a statement issued by its coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, stressing that the recent appointments of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) given to Yoruba people are an attestation.
The group’s Statement reads, “With President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent approval of the nomination of Olayemi Cardoso to serve as the substantive new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), some 48 hours after appointing Zachaeus Adedeji as the acting chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, the strong perception that the President is pushing an unseemly pro-ethnic agenda became worryingly stronger.”
“Adedeji is to “serve in an acting capacity for 90 days before his subsequent confirmation as the substantive chairman of FIRS for a term of four years in the first instance.
”With a little over 100 days on the saddle, the President’s appointments have shown he appears to have special consideration for people from his South-West region, especially those with links to Lagos State.”
The group cautioned Tinubu, who it accused of assembling his Yoruba and Lagos connections into his government, not to follow the path of his predecessor, former President Muhamamdu Buhari, who reportedly did the same during his eight years in power, stressing that the
It said, “If President Tinubu’s appointment of new service (chiefs) sparked new hope and drew deserved plaudits in that it recognized the nation’s diversity, his subsequent appointments curiously depart from that template.
In fact, since the allegation that the president has resorted to lopsided appointments became an issue, not a few individuals and groups have condemned the disuniting political trend even as some have continued to urge him to spread political appointments across the states of the country. Even as he is been accused of sideling some ethnic groups across the six regions in the country, particularly the South East, there are also some groups and individuals that have appealed, and still appealing that he should look beyond his political associates in Lagos while making appointments that should reflect the entire South-West. In the case of the foregoing group that is pro South West, the appeal was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja by the National Coordinator of South-West APC Support Group, Otunba Dele Fulani, titled “Dangers of Lagosising the South-West.”
Fulani noted that his group has observed a growing trend of how party faithful from other states and the South-West have been sidelined from the majority of the presidential appointments announced so far.
At this juncture, it is expedient to say that the inspiration behind the piece is that there is a news report that has gone viral on various media platforms that barring any last-minute change of plan, President Bola Tinubu is set to appoint Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a move that is bound to set off controversy over the candidate’s qualification for the job, according the Premium Times.
As gathered, Mr. Olukoyede, a lawyer, had served as secretary of the anti-graft agency for two years during the reign of Ibrahim Magu as the acting chairman of the commission. He, together with Mr. Magu, were suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 and were never recalled. Before his secretary role, Mr. Olukoyede had served as Mr. Magu’s chief of staff.
Premium Times in its report stated that “President Tinubu has chosen Olanipekun Olukoyede for appointment as substantive chairman of the EFCC,” a top presidency source familiar with the development but not permitted to discuss it ahead of the official announcement.
According to the online media platform, “Another source hinted that Mr. Olukoyede’s appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, would be made public “very soon”.
In fact, given the lopsidedness in the appointments already made by the president since May 29, and other appointments he would make by virtue of his position, it is expedient to urge him to always have it at the back of his mind that Nigeria is made up of six geopolitical zones, namely, North-East, North-West, North-Central, South-East, South-West and South-South, and therefore he should ensure that the appointments are spread across the six geopolitical zones. Even regarding appointments already made in favor of the South-West, he should be reminded that such appointments are equally lopsided as Lagos alone does not represents the South West.
