There is no smoke without fire. Denials at the corridors of power are not indications that all is well. In a new era where nothing, virtually nothing can be permanently hidden in the closet, political decisions are no longer concealable. Sometimes they spill out like stench. And everyone is trying to cover his or her nose.
How else can anyone describe the sack or removal of still unspecified number of aids of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, a dashing latter day politician usually considered to be in perfect relationship with Nigeria’s number one citizen, Muhammadu Buhari. Rumours of schism between the two have rent the air shortly after the February presidential election. There were even insinuations that the President toyed with the idea of dropping Osinbajo from the ticket before the election. It remains a surprise that a group of influential persons always milling around the President could not get the Vice President off the joint ticket. Their body language was that Osinbajo was maintaining a high profile from the time the President went to Britain on medical vacation until his return and beyond.
Mark you. It is Osinbajo that has effectively covered the grounds for Buhari across the nation whether or not the President is in town. He has shown up in areas where the administration is considered to be unpopular. A man with his eyes deep in their sockets must begin to cry in advance of the others so that his tears will flow out at the same time others are pouring out theirs. So says a proverb from Southwest of Nigeria. Those who are politically weary of Osinbajo are believed to be working behind the scene to cut to size, Buhari’s Man Friday, meaning his staunch loyalist before the inevitable political calculations and horse trading get underway.
All we can say now are as follows. There was a sudden accusation that Osinbajo collected N90 billion for the purpose of prosecuting the last presidential election. Initially, the Vice President kept mute. However his tormentors read their own meaning into his silence. Sign of weakness, they believed. So they kept the pressure on the man to come clean of what happened to such a huge sum of money said to have been paid to him by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. Although FIRS refuted the claim that it paid any money to the Vice President, his accusers were deviant. Perhaps the reason for their studied silence now is the threat by Osinbajo to sue anyone who maintained that he actually took any money from FIRS. Obviously, there is a semblance of retreat at this time from the social media perpetrators of the allegation against Osinbajo.
The ‘game’ now playing out about the fate of his aids started when it was announced that some of them were being moved out of their offices at the Presidential Villa to a location outside the seat of power. Then, this one that over 30 political appointees in the office of the Vice President have been relieved of their positions! While the government was not immediately forthcoming with its exact position in the matter the social media seized the initiative by going to town with the information. At last a presidential spokesman confirmed the story but attributed it to the policy of the government to save costs attenuating the decision to the point that the Vice President had more support staff than the President.
As if in answer to the feeling gaining ground that the decision to remove some aids of the Vice President from their positions must be the handiwork of some powerful persons in the Villa, especially in the absence of the President from the country, a statement from the Villa underscored the fact that Buhari does not share his powers with anyone. He is in control of the situation in the Presidency. The message was passed across to any doubting Thomas.
Meanwhile, Osinbajo goes on performing his duties. He presided over the regular Federal Executive Council Meeting last Wednesday, sitting in for the President. He also attended the last extraordinary meeting of the Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS that took place a few days ago in Niamey, Niger Republic. His schedules remain tight as he moves from one official function to another. Presidency has even issued a statement denying that there is strained relation between Buhari and Osinbajo. Nevertheless, political observers and public opinion leaders wondered why the President did not formally transfer power to his Vice President this time knowing that he had done so whenever he was on vacation.
With all the discordant notes oozing from Abuja, will it be inappropriate for Nigerians to take any assurance of peace and tranquility at the focal point of power with a pinch of salt? Time tells.
