Two valedictory/tribute sessions have so far been held by the Federal Executive Council under the current dispensation. The two situations are different.
The first of such sessions was held on March 9, 2016. It was a sad one. It was the day the council led by President Muhammadu Buhari paid special tributes to the late Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Mr. James Ocholi (SAN), who died alongside his wife and son in an auto crash. The mood at the Council Chambers that day was gloomy.
The second of such sessions was held on Wednesday. It was meant to be a joyous one but it ended up being one of mixed feelings. That day was the last time the Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, was meant to attend FEC meeting. She has been appointed the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and is expected to resume work in March.
Cabinet members decided to hold a special session in her honour. That was the joyous side. The sad part was the difficulty in saying farewell to somebody they have worked closely with in the last 15 months. So the feelings were mixed.
Since Buhari is on extended medical vacation, the lot fell on the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to preside over the session. He started by laying the ground rules. Only a few members would be allowed to speak and each speaker would not be allowed to exceed two minutes.
He ended up allowing more people than he planned to accommodate. He said that decision was based on the fact that almost all council members had indicated interest in speaking. He was the last person to speak after which the woman they were celebrating had the opportunity of responding.
Amina Mohammed as a fast talker: Osinbajo like others who spoke before him eulogised Mohammed to high heavens. He spoke about how he is fascinated by what he called her incredible understanding of so many things. “It is amazing that you have one person who seems to know so much. She is competent in practically everything: finance, planning, environment even law sometimes,” he said about the minister. Osinbajo added that Mohammed had remained a good role model for many young people, including his two daughters. He said his daughters always told him that she is the best.
On a lighter mood, the Acting President said the problem he has with Mohammed is that she talks too fast. He said he had told her that it is difficult for people to understand what she is saying, therefore advising her to speak more slowly. Osinbajo must have spoken the minds of some journalists who have had to strain their ears anytime it’s Mohammed’s turn to brief them after FEC meetings. The Acting President however said he has no such difficulty because he is used to fast talkers since his first daughter is one of them.
And the man weeps: While the tribute session was progressing, Mohammed was sobbing. She was not alone in her “grief.” A gentleman sitting next to her on the left was also with misty eyes. His handkerchief came handy as he kept using it intermittently. That man that betrayed his emotion had served as Mohammed’s deputy for 15 months. He is the Minister of State, Environment, Ibrahim Jibril.
Jibril wept more when it was his turn to talk. He admitted that it was a very emotional moment. He said it had been traumatic for him trying to come to terms with the minister’s imminent departure. “It has been 15 months full of exciting moments and experiences having to work with a near-perfect team leader,” he said.
At a point, his voice started shaking. Then he became inaudible. He tried very hard not to break down in tears completely. He had to quickly end the speech to avoid this.
The supplier of chocolate is gone: The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, belongs to Mohammed’s club of fast talkers; one has to strain one’s ears to hear them clearly. One Wednesday when both of them were to brief journalists, Adeosun had jokingly said “yes, it is turenchi today with the two of us briefing.”
She had an opportunity to speak. She recalled how she met Mohammed a few years ago while she was talking passionately about Millennium Development Goals. She talked about how she has the gift of turning something very mundane to something exciting. This, she added, she did when she turned the Ministry of Environment around.
Adeosun said she calls her Mama Ogoni because she got everybody very passionate about Ogoniland. Then came the chocolate angle. “I will miss her. Those of us on this side of the table will miss her because she supplied us with chocolate. We will certainly miss her,” she said.
The wandering Fulani woman speaks: Then it was time for Mohammed to respond. Ngige warned her loudly that she should not cry but she ignored the warning and started sobbing from the beginning. She struggled hard not to talk fast in order to impress Osinbajo. She confessed that members of cabinet secretariat have also been complaining about the way she talks. “I thank the Acting President for your wise counsel and for being there for me. Based on your advice, I have been trying to speak slowly. I have been trying because the secretariat have been telling me to write whatever I say for them. I promise I will speak slowly on the 38th floor of UN building.”
The hall erupted in laughter when she added, “l am a Fulani person. So just expect me to continue to wander, and I want to tell the Minister of Agriculture that I won’t go into his ranch.”
A season of presidential telephone calls
Since the President left the country on January 19 for what has now become an extended medical vacation in London, United Kingdom, different stories have been flying around about the true state of his health. The situation has put the President’s handlers permanently on the hot seat.
To douse the tension, Nigerians have been asking that their President address them directly. So far, that has not been done. But a few persons have reported that they had received the much-desired presidential calls.
Buhari was reported to have spoken on the telephone with the Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung; and a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Adamu Fika. Both of them lost their wives recently.
Before now, Osinbajo had told us that he spoke with Buhari at length. The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had also spoken with the President and thereafter proceeded to visit him in London. The US President, Donald Trump, had also spoken with Buhari on the telephone.
The latest addition to the league of the big men that have received Buhari’s calls is the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje. The President was said to have called him on Wednesday in the middle of a prayer session the governor organised for him.
Those around Buhari should let him know that I am waiting for my turn. My line is open.
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