President Buhari’s appointment of people of a particular section of the country has created an uproar resounding across the entire country. It is instrumental for any leader in Nigeria to be aware of the multi-ethnicity and pluralism of the country; this is one of the features that led to the creation of the federal character commission, whose duty is to ensure that all sections of the country get fair representation in the country.
There have been different reactions to the president appointment so far. Some people are of the opinion that the president can limit his choice of political appointees to some sections of the country so far the appointees are chosen based on merit, others feel strongly that considering the nature of the Nigerian state, political appointments should reflect the general composition of the geo-political zones or ethnic nationalities of the Nigerian state, I subscribe to the latter argument.
It is instructive at this juncture to delve into the political history of Nigeria. Nigeria is a country divided on ethnic lines and there have been several occasions when different ethnic tribes have fought to maintain political leadership of the country. This unhealthy rivalry can be traced to the late 1950s and the early independence era of the early 1960s, the coups and counter coups of 1966 which culminated into the Nigerian Civil War of 1967. Nnamdi Azikwe, one of the foremost nationalist that fought for the independence of Nigeria was believed to be sidelined in the political leadership of the country by the a section of the country that was not so keen in their fight for independence at that particular period. Ever since, there has been a tussle amongst the predominant ethnic tribes for the control and leadership of Nigeria has seen from 1960s and beyond.
This mutual distrust amongst the predominant ethnic tribes culminated in the Nigeria Civil War, when a few disgruntled middle-level officers in Nigeria staged a coup d’etat, an act that shook the nation to its foundation, threatened the existence of Nigeria and further deepened the mutual distrust amongst the ethnic tribes in Nigeria.
It is based on this background that any Nigerian leader must be aware of the sensitivities of different sections of the country. Any Nigeria president must put these issues into consideration in order to be accepted as the leader of the nation. I was shocked when I heard the president address some issues posed to him at a interview session on the 31st July, 2015 in Washington DC when he was asked about his plans for the Niger-Delta by a foreign journalist, his response was disheartening saying that he would do more for the section of the country that gave him 97 percent of their vote in the 2015 Elections that brought him to power. Ever since, it seems the President has been making his decisions of political appointees based on this mentality. This kind of vindictive mentality is immature to say the least. In a democratic setting, and a country that has been coloured by ethnic mistrust, such political leaning is reckless from a president who should know better. The President is not unfamiliar with these issues being a Captain in the Nigerian Army as at the time of the Civil War. His appointments so far has increased calls for secession or the creation of a Biafran State in some part of the East, the same issue Nigeria fought a Civil War against.
No section of the country must be seen as being punished because of their voting pattern in the last conducted Presidential elections and the President must not be seen making his appointments based on his ‘97 percent theory’ of the sections that voted for him in the elections. The presidency has told us time and again that its appointments so far have been merit-based; the questions begging for answers are “is there no one in the South and particularly in the South-East that passes the presidency’s merit test? “does the north have more meritorious persons than the south”?
The president has so much goodwill from Nigerians across board he should not squander it by his ‘perceived’ political appointments to his kinsmen!

ATOFARATI Olayemi writes from Osogbo
olayemiatofarati@gmail.com

I like the fact that u maturely outline ur Opinions without insulting the president, it shows u are well trained

Omoluabi
FTC

Silent please

Nice write up, I have a question? Did GEJ did anything wrong when he appointed SSG, COS, minister of finance, petroleum, works, power from just two regions SS/SE?
If he was, why didn't you write this kind of article then?
If he wasn't, why are you complaining now?

Nice write up..

Wish i had d tym 2 read thru..

Thank you very much Sir! God bless.

Lattop:
I like the fact that u maturely outline ur Opinions without insulting the president, it shows u are well trained

Omoluabi
FTC

Silent please

Baba you fit dey read am small small while you sip some coffee.

Ewizard:
Nice write up..

Wish i had d tym 2 read thru..

This isnt an article to draw comparison btw GEJ and Buhari. You talked about ministers, ministers are choosen from the 36 states of the federation which means each region had equal number of ministers.

phyllosilicate:
Nice write up, I have a question? Did GEJ did anything wrong when he appointed SSG, COS, minister of finance, petroleum, works, power from just two regions SS/SE?
If he was, why didn't you write this kind of article then?
If he wasn't, why are you complaining now?