Ministers Defy Jonathan – By Dr. John E. Oshodi

Posted by admin Articles, Columnists, Goodluck Jonathan (2010-present), John Egbeazien Oshodi, NNP Columnists, Presidency Monday, April 23rd, 2012

By Dr. John E. Oshodi | Abuja, Nigeria | April 23, 2012

Mr. President, Why Ministers Defy Order on the number of Aides
It is now in the public domain that a good number of Nigerian Ministers
have openly ignored your directives to curtail the number of their
Aides in regards to special adviser/assistants and personal assistants.
Mr. President the reason for this defiance is clear given your
declarations not long ago— “I’m no Pharaoh or army general’. Also, “I
don’t need to operate like the Pharaoh of Egypt, and I don’t need to be
an army general to change the country”. Actually you are quite right.
But from the point of psychological science these words might just be
signs of frustration at the time of their expression or mere points of
euphemism or understatement.

However, there are those humans who will unconsciously or consciously
interpret your words along the lines of weak character, executive
weakness, presidential softness, open-leadership, elastic-headedness,
managerial slackness, leadership shallowness, executive insufficiency,
and easy-going leadership.

Mr. President, while many Nigerians now know you for your
conscientious, calculated, pointed and meticulous leadership there are
times when you have to creatively act in a despotic, ruthless, and in a
pharaoh-like manner.

Psychologically, there are some humans who just like to defy orders as
that is part of their authoritarian tendencies, and as such they need
to be humiliated and humbled through presidential instruments of
reprimand or reproach which some of them may equally enjoy oddly.
But what is clear from these punitive responses is that these sorts of
characters must sometimes be displaced of their negativities and
authoritarianism.

It has been over one year that this presidential order on the number of
aides was reportedly given for the Ministers or your cabinet members to
have only one special adviser/assistant and one personal assistant; as
this type of move could save tax payers some money and make the
government more fiscally responsible.

As part of these Ministers hard-headedness, some of them equally
refused to listen to pleas from the office of the Revenue Mobilization
Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

As part of their leadership style and power needs, some of them
reportedly continue to retain more than ten Special Advisers/Assistants
each and remain in defiance to your authority.

This is pure disobedience to a head of State, especially to a non-royal
or ceremonial head, who exercises active executive power in all aspects
of government and in the day-to-day affairs of the government.
Mr. President because of your appearance of gentleness, meekness and
cheerfulness how many more directives or presidential circulars have
largely gone unheeded and continuously ignored?

Mr. President, this is an embarrassment especially at a time when the
Nigerian people are looking at your presidency and wondering how much
wastage of resources abounds everywhere in the midst of abject
suffering, apathy and worry.

Mr. President with just another executive order with attached
consequences for disobedience to it; make it a rule for all your
cabinet members to get some of their aides from the civil service
leaving some room for very little number of political appointees.
As a matter of fact it will be better for the country if most of their
aides come from the civil service as many have the necessary experience
to do their jobs.

Mr. President, we will all wait to see what type of sanctions will be
meted out to the disobedient ministers, as it will tell the people
that you are truly a Commander-in-Chief and not a mere meek President.
___________________________________________
John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D., is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and
the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Psychological Association (NPA),
Abuja. [email protected] 08126909839wp_posts