Would Hajo Sani become Buhari’s next Chief of Staff?

As the race for a new Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari’ continues,  analysts posit he should look beyond his circle and go for an upright, incorruptible, realistic, resourceful, well-educated and non-controversial personality from any part of the country.

Meanwhile gender experts insist that appointing a female Chief of Staff to the President will elevate President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to new level of greatness.

Speculations are rife that the President would likely choose from among his key loyalists including the current Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation from 2007 to 2008 and former vice presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the June 12,1993 presidential elections, Babagana Kingibe; current Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; current Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; and former military governor of Lagos State, Buba Marwa.

However, some Presidency sources have tipped Dr. Hajo Sani, OON as the next replacement to the late Mallam Abba Kyari.

Inside sources in the presidency disclosed that President Buhari might not sustain further crises that have sandwiched him between his wife, Hajia Aisha and his closest associate and uncle, Mamman Daura. Consequently, the president is now searching for somebody who is very close to his wife in other to avert future crisis.

The sources further revealed that presently, all attention and advice have drifted to one side, which is that of the First Lady as the other side has obviously, failed Nigerians due to greed.

This became very evident especially when some facts began to emerge that the president was highly disappointed and full of regrets over certain developments that have since dragged the presidency into some very embarrassing matters. “Mamman Daura does not see him like before”, the sources stated.

This position Dr Liz Ewumi a gender expert and sociology lecturer noted as “… a promising development for the country that a woman is even being considered for such a role in a patriarchy. More heart-warming is the fact that the individual in question, Dr Hajo Sani OON, is a highly educated and accomplished woman who has held high profile positions including as a cabinet minister and currently as a Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration. I honestly hope it comes through for her and for Nigerian women too.”

She further pointed out that the appointment of the Chief of Staff to the President is a matter entirely at the discretion of the President. “It is not a Constitutional role, it is more of a housekeeping role.

“Secondly, it is under President Buhari that the office of the Chief of Staff has for the first time since independence attracted such prime attention, as it did under its last occupant, the late Mallam Abba Kyari.

“Thirdly, appointing a female to the role will be a ground-breaking, glass ceiling-smashing achievement which will certainly elevate President Buhari to a new level of greatness and possibly recoup much of his credibility in the eyes of women both in Nigeria and beyond.

“Recall that quite early in his tenure, he made that unfortunate and ill-judged remark about his wife’s role being in the other room. Appointing a female, particularly one with all the requisite qualifications and experience, against the odds, will not only redeem his own legacy but set a whole new benchmark in gender diversity for leaders in Nigeria and beyond.”President of the Abuja Literary Society and Read Africa LLC, Mr. Victor Anoliefo, rpa described Hajia Sani as: “A quintessential administrator, accomplished scholar and prolific writer, Hajo Sani represents a very rare breed in humanity. Untainted by the stellar heights of her career achievements, Hajo Sani has always bestrode the realms of human endeavour that have kept her mind actively engaged.”

Recalling his first encounter with her was as the departmental head at the Society for Family Health, he recalled: “It was a position she embraced with such vigor that it was hard to believe, unlike the typical Nigerian characteristics, that this was a former Federal Minister. It was the bond that grew from there that inspired her nomination as life member of the Advisory Board of the Abuja Literary Society.

“Ever sagacious in her quest for new frontiers of literary endeavor, Hajo Sani has the extraordinary capacity to meld demanding officialdom with the very constant values and requirements of motherhood and friendship. With a well-honed network of friends and associates from the length and breadth of Nigeria and indeed the world, she is truly an exemplar in human capacity development.”

Given the role of the Chief of Staff in the Presidency, expectations are high that it would not take long before the president announces his choice. But President Buhari has caught the image of a man who takes his time to make up his mind in matters of appointment since assuming office.

A former president of Igbo think tank group, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, said the president should appoint a man who would be less controversial and who has the interest of the masses at heart to replace the late Abba Kyari.

“The next Chief of Staff should be a practical man who is ready to be in the shadow of his boss. The chief of staff is essentially a personal aide. During Obasanjo’s time, I knew there were two ways of getting to the president – through chief of staff or special assistant on domestic matters. Under this president, it became centralised, just the chief of staff. So, it’s too much burden on somebody who is not practical because he will make enemies for the president without the president knowing.

“As a matter of fact, to be a president or governor you are in prison. You are a prisoner of your own making. Remember it’s only the president that has the prerogative of appointing anybody as his personal staff. For that of chief of staff, he doesn’t even need the approval of the National Assembly unlike the ministers or number of special advisers. As a matter of fact, in him lies the conduit for reaching the president.

“But I think in the case of the last chief of staff, it became so difficult for anybody to bypass him; it was a problem. In people’s language, it was only what Kyari wanted the President to see that he saw.”

Uwazurike, therefore, said, “whoever is going to be there must be somebody who has the interest of the masses at heart and the president shouldn’t be a recluse. If he becomes a self-made prisoner and the bridging water is the chief of staff, he has only himself to blame. I’m sure he has to adjust. I have heard so many names mentioned. Some of them are continuation of the past; some of them are even more restrictive. But the person must be a practical and realistic man.”

To a public affairs analyst, Mr Jide Ojo, the president needs someone who is upright, resourceful, educated, diplomatic, a team player and an incorruptible person as chief of staff.

“I say this against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the person of the last occupant of that office. My own condition is that whether true or false, the president should stay away from appointing another controversial and divisive figure into that office. We need an efficient but not controversial chief of staff. We need someone who would not be a surrogate president; we do not need a de facto president. Two people were elected to that presidency – the president and the vice president. If the President does not have the capacity to govern as is expected of his exalted office, he should devolve more powers to the vice president. We don’t need a chief of staff that will be leading delegations to Germany and other countries as if he is an elected official. We need somebody who will help the president to organise his schedules and do all other chores that is expected of a chief of staff not one that everybody will be pointing accusing fingers to as the de facto president,” Ojo said.

Ojo, who recalled all other chiefs of staff the country has had, noted that nobody pointed accusing fingers to them as surrogate presidents during their time.

“For instance, up to five people openly accused the late chief of staff of holding the president to ransom including the wife of the president. Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State was one of them. The current National Security Adviser about a month or thereabout, in a leaked memo, accused the immediate past chief of staff of impeding the fight against insurgency and holding meetings with the diplomatic community and service chiefs without the knowledge of the president and the NSA. We do not need that kind of chief of staff.

“So, it is in the enlightened best interest of the president to look for somebody who would be non-controversial and who will do his job professionally.”

Here are some tit bits on the Chief of Staff to the Nigerian President

1) The Chief of Staff to the Nigerian President oversees and manages the President’s office, including his/her schedule, correspondence and any other duties that may be assigned by the President. 

2) The Chief of Staff to the President is the senior operational member of the Office of the President of Nigeria.

4) The Chief of Staff is the principal channel of communication between the president and the government (Constitutionally led by the SGF).

5) The COS also has responsibility for the official programme and correspondence of the President.

6) Through these roles the position wields considerable influence.

7) The Chief of Staff is appointed in full discretion by the President and does not require confirmation by the Senate.

8) General Abdullahi Mohammed (rtd) was Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo (99-07) and to President Yar’Adua from 07-08.

9) Prior to that there was no such office in existence.

10) In 2010, President Jonathan appointed Chief Mike Ogiadhome his COS and in 2014, replaced him with Brig-Gen Arogbofa who served him till the end of his tenure the following year.

11) On 27 August, 2015, President Buhari appointed Mr Abba Kyari to the position, which he held until his death on 18 April, 2020.

12) There has never been a female occupant of the post of COS to the Nigerian President.