When President Muhammadu Buhari named the 36 men and women that formed his cabinet last year, one of the major criticisms was that many of the ministers were old. The line of argument of those who belong to that school of thought was that the President should have given more opportunities to youths in this digital age.
As expected, the Presidency rose in defence of Buhari at that time and the rest, as they say, is history.
But on Wednesday, a very senior government official openly confirmed that members of the cabinet are “analogue” ministers. The official is no other person than the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
I have reported here before how Lawal derives pleasure in cracking very serious jokes before the commencement of serious state functions in the Villa.
The Federal Executive Council meeting held on Wednesday gave him another opportunity to display his talent which will make leading comedians in the country envious of him.
True to the saying that once beaten, twice shy, most cabinet members arrived early for the meeting. They must have learnt one lesson or the other from the last council meeting when Buhari arrived the venue about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. As of the time the President declared that meeting open, many council members including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo were still finding their ways to the venue.
Immediately Lawal arrived on Wednesday and saw ministers discussing in groups, he took his seat and started asking them to settle down. When he discovered that his co-cabinet members were not moved, he resorted to calling names. As his voice roared through the public address system, statements such as “Minister of Budget, sit down!” and “Minister of State, Power, take your seat!” rent the air.
While he was busy making the announcement, Osinbajo arrived the venue and sat beside him. The Vice President always arrives for the meeting with the President. So since he arrived alone this time, most council members were not aware of his arrival. After exchanging pleasantries with Osinbajo, the SGF resumed the announcement with modification and said, “All latecomers should take note that the VP is already seated. He came in five minutes ago.” That was at about 9.50am.
When he was sure that he had caught the attention of the cabinet members, Lawal decided to run them through a device that he said had just been introduced into the Council Chambers while they await Buhari’s arrival.
He told them that a notebook had been installed on the President’s table. He said during meetings, any member who wanted to make contribution would only need to press one of the buttons available on the table and such person would be queued on screen in front of the President.
He added that once the President recognised such person to speak, the council member would be required to press the button again before talking.
The SGF looked round the hall and started laughing when he saw the looks on the faces of the ministers and suspected that they were confused. Amidst laughter, Lawal said, “Any question, these analogue ministers?”
Instead of getting angry however, some ministers were heard asking the SGF which of the buttons on their table would do the magic. A young man from the technical unit of the Villa thereafter went round to show the ministers the button they would press.
Youthful Ooni of Ife was here
First class traditional rulers from all parts of the country have been visiting the Villa to confer with the nation’s leaders on national issues and matters concerning the developments of their communities.
Some of the monarchs who are appointed into Federal Government committees also visit either to consult on the responsibilities assigned to them or when they are ready to present their reports.
In most cases, these traditional rulers would come in and leave almost unnoticed. But what happened on Tuesday was a different one. That was the day the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, visited the Villa. Many workers who heard about his visit struggled to see him.
On arrival, he was first driven in a black Sports Utility Vehicle marked “Oonirisa” to the forecourt of the President’s office where he was received by Osinbajo. I am sure the Vice President saw some recent photographs of former President Olusegun Obasanjo where he prostrated before the monarch who is in his early 40s. He must have found himself in a slight dilemma on what to do. He however did not prostrate. He shook hands with the traditional ruler and uttered “Kabiyesi” respectfully. He ushered the Ooni into the President’s office to meet Buhari.
Immediately the meeting was over, Osinbajo trekked a distance of about 200metres back to his office to wait for the traditional ruler. The traditional ruler took time out to brief reporters of the purpose of his visit to the seat of power before he was driven in his car to the Vice President’s side.
The excitement at the Vice President’s Wing knew no bounds after Ooni’s meeting with Osinbajo. It is not every time and everybody that the Vice President sees off after a meeting. But he did it for the Ooni. Out of respect, the Vice President accompanied him to the front of his office where his car was parked.
Osinbajo however had no choice but to leave the Ooni there and return to his office when the traditional ruler was literally held hostage. Many Villa workers wanted to take photographs with the monarch and they would not allow anything to stop them from achieving their aim.
Most prominent among those who scampered to take photographs with the monarch were young and pretty female workers. The clamour was so intense that an elderly man later told some of them that if it were to be in the olden days, the traditional ruler would have left with one or two of them that would be added to his long list of wives.
PUNCH
END
Be the first to comment