Office of the Chief of Staff: The Imperatives of Nation Building

By Prof Ahmed Danfulani

When the Office of the Chief of Staff was contemplated in the United States of America, it was purely to oversee the President’s Cabinet. The originators of that idea certainly could not have had Nigeria in mind.

In 1999, when President Olusegun Obasanjo re-established the idea under a democratic dispensation, the Office of the Chief of Staff became the Alpha and Omega of public, political and diplomatic governance. In other words, the business of governance and all communications there to must be warehoused under a single authority referred delicately as the Chief of Staff.

Credit for this must be given to President Obasanjo who appointed General Abdullahi Mohammed, a very competent professional and security veteran, as the first Chief of Staff. The attributions of the office, with extensive powers left none in doubt, that the occupant must enjoy absolute trust, and who in turn must demonstrate absolute loyalty to the President.

The functions are such that the Chief of Staff could be described as an engine room to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Commander-in-Chief.

Successive democratic political transitions brought two other less celebrated but equally powerful Chief of Staff in the person of Mike Oghiadomhe and Chief Aregbofa, serving as the second

And third respectively. The next all too powerful Chief of Staff happens to be the late Abba Kyari, whom President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) described as the Best of us-and for whom, we crave Aljanatu Firdaus.

The 5^th Chief of Staff, appointed by the President is Ambassador/Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and which was described as one of the best decisions taken by President Muhammadu Buhari, based purely on merit and distinction of character.

Gambari, our new Chief of Staff has been acknowledged as being full of integrity, intelligence and capacity to deliver within our complex polity, and who will bring his extensive diplomatic experience to serve the nation. The Chief of Staff has also been adjudged by experts and other analysts as being strategically positioned, by virtue of his academic standing, international exposure and an impeccable career prospects to make very positive contributions to the nation’s socio-economic challenges.

Gambari is seen as an erudite scholar and a perfect gentleman capable of uniting different interests regardless of gender, religion, politics, class and other idiosyncrasies. With this attribute, the Chief of Staff is seen as being absolutely fair-minded capable of uniting the peoples of this extraordinarily blessed nation. Not being a politician and an extremely cautious personality, adogged fighter and superbly principled, Gambari is expected to operate in a manner as to open up more friends, serious academics, business moguls as well as the clergy, the youth, the less privileged, and the elderly in the management of the polity.

Gambari comes to the office with huge experience and Knowledge on governance, strategy and public policy. Gambari, a distinguished scholar, with exposure to several serious institutions at home and abroad, including the diplomatic community, is seen as  a round peg and a loyal friend of Mr. President Muhammadu Buhari spanning four decades. A highly    cultured gentleman, not known for wealth, fat bank account, no properties across the country, Gambari’s emergence came at a time of a misunderstood administration, declining global and national economic fortune, poverty, hopelessness, marginalization and insecurity.

Opinions and enlightened submissions concord that Ambassador Gambari knows the depth of challenges before his office and collectively, our new Chief of Staff needs Allah’s guidance and His blessings on this Nation to harness the opportunities for our survival as a leader nation in Africa.

Prof. Danfulani Ahmed

Former DG, NIPSS.

Expert Analyst on National Issues