The colour of a war cabinet

Add the dismissal of nine ministers on the heels of that of Inuwa Abdulkadir and you have the real reason why the hapless Minister for Youth Development was dropped earlier. Analysts believe President Goodluck Jonathan dismissed ten ministers in a matter of weeks in order to strengthen his hands in the ongoing crunchy negotiations with […]

Add the dismissal of nine ministers on the heels of that of Inuwa Abdulkadir and you have the real reason why the hapless Minister for Youth Development was dropped earlier. Analysts believe President Goodluck Jonathan dismissed ten ministers in a matter of weeks in order to strengthen his hands in the ongoing crunchy negotiations with the rebel group inside the ruling party called New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP). However, it is doubtful if the dismissal can break the determination of the new group to drop their main demands of reforming the party and holding Jonathan to his single presidential term pledge.
Nevertheless, the president now has the singular opportunity to populate his cabinet with the people he thinks can change the game, basically those that will be capable of neutralising the seven governors of Adamawa, Jigawa, Kano, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto and Rivers States. The president is determined to contest another election and with the South West impregnable, he must make a good impression and garner at least 25% of the votes in these states if he hopes to win in 2015. The president refuses to believe that the rebellion in his party has anything to do with his leadership; contrariwise, he sees it as a calculated attempt by the “born to rule” to retrieve political power from him in four years time. Well, Jonathan’s own constituency has determined that he must exercise his constitutional right to two terms irrespective of what happens to the country in 2015, and be warned; you are dealing with the most partisan president since the return of civilian rule. Everyone understands that the president has the constitutional right to serve two presidential terms; the problem is that in the heat of negotiations for the 2011 elections, Jonathan surrendered this entitlement – behind Asari Dokubo and other militants and their god fathers.
So what to do? The president has had a rethink, he is now going to bring into the cabinet tough characters that will neutralise the rebel governors and get him the necessary votes to win the next election, or can’t he? This time, Jonathan will have to overcome his tardiness when it comes to filling vacancies; remember how long it took him to assemble the first cabinet even though he had promised to hit the ground running? He can learn from Tony Abbott, the new Prime Minister of Australia, who has already unveiled his cabinet though he was elected only on 7th September. How much more is expected of a ruler intent on transformation?
So what is the colour of a war cabinet? It is normally combative; it leaves no quarters for the critics of the Villa; it comprises of those who will give the seven rebel governors sleepless nights, like in Rivers. It will consist of proven and implacable opponents of those governors and their supporters; it is going to be composed of those who will deploy and manage enormous resources and ensure that they reach the grassroots for Jonathan victory in the mother of all elections. The president refused the national clamour for reshuffle all this while because he anticipated this auspicious moment; what you saw was a sack, now you will see the real reshuffle.
In Sokoto, the president will do well to appoint into the cabinet, without delay, his long time friend and confidant, Abubakar Gada. This man, if empowered, can match Alu, thug for thug, Naira for Naira and conspiracy for deceit. In Niger State, the president should not hesitate to tap Professor Jerry Gana, the man that combines most the experiences of serving both civilian and military dictators as minister; no other person fits the bill from that part of the country. Gana also appears to be consummate and skilful in religious politics, the latest being his directing role in maintaining balance in Taraba politics.
In Kano, the biggest price in the so called North West, the president should name Ghali Umar Na’Abba, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and a known loyalist. Principle doesn’t matter in this half time. The president can hand Na’abba a senior ministry, such as Defence, to appease those who say ministerial appointment is a demotion for a former speaker. Undoub-tedly, Ghali is combative enough and can get even with both Kwankwaso and Malam Shekarau. But if the president has doubt on this, he can consult Ambassador Aminu Wali, his other die-hard, who can man the ministry himself. In Kwara, the president can recruit Dele Belgore, a lawyer and nemesis of Saraki and Governor Abdul Fatah combined. If he stonewalls, he can be persuaded by Alfa Modibbo; there is every chance Belgore will accept “this national assignment.” Now that Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa’i has already handed over the ministry to him, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, is a senior minister and can be counted upon to further tighten the screws on Chibuike Amaechi. Felix Obuah or Celestine Omaehia or even Dr Abiye Sekibo can be brought into the war cabinet, and any of them can work with the “unanimously elected” speaker Evan Bipi and de facto governor, Mbu Joseph Mbu, to seal the fate of Amaechi the “dictator.”
The other Jigawa nominee, Dr Nuruddeen Muhammed, remains in the cabinet because in addition to being harmless, the president is enamoured with the young man; still the president can confer with Ambassador Wali on how to deal with the Sule Lamido notwithstanding the fact that his 2011 speech in Fulfulde caused the Fulani to deliver votes to Jonathan.  
The cabinet works for Jonathan not Nigeria, and for about half a dozen members, not-withstanding the corruption allegations against them, the party continues. Diezani Alison-Madueke of the Petroleum Ministry; Mohammed Adoke Bello, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Industry, recently called “ole” by his staff; Bala Mohammed of the Federal Capital Territory and his counterpart in Niger Delta ministry, Godsday Orubebe, the man that used to sleep on the ground with Asari Dokubo, while waiting to catch a bus to Lagos, are all credible enough to continue to serve. They are untouchable. They will go when they want to. They are the president’s warriors. That then is the colour of a war cabinet.