In this report, GEORGE AGBA gives an insight into the presidential routine in Defence House where President Muhammadu Buhari still operates temporarily, pending when renovation in Aso Rock is completed
President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo spent their first official working week at the Defence House. As at last Friday, they were still operating from the Defence House instead of moving to their offices in Aso Rock.
The only time they were visibly seen in the seat of power was when former President Goodluck Jonathan and his erstwhile deputy, Namadi Sambo took them on a familarisation tour of the villa a day before handing over. Buhari and Osinbajo only hosted the inauguration dinner at the presidential villa penultimate Friday. Since then, they have been operating from different locations.
But did the development affect the President’s official duties? Certainly not; the Defence House where Buhari temporarily operates from at the moment was a beehive of activities that did not fall short of the normal duties of a country’s leader. It was as if the entire Aso Rock moved to Maitama district, opposite MTN office where the Defence House is located.
It is a presidency situated at the centre of a very busy district. You can hear the screeching Sounds of private cars and commercial vehicles from the hilltop of president’s temporal office. You can even hear the sound of hawkers, including Abokis and food vendors, popularly known in the local parlance as mama put, selling their stuffs.
The street facing the Defence House, beginning from the MTN office, is choked with activities. Prospective customers, both pedestrians and motorists are all over the place transacting business with young men and women hawking recharge cards, phones, internet facilities and electronic accessories of different shades.
Besides, the gate of the president’s temporal office is right in front of a traffic light at a four corner junction. This contributes to make the place more busier than accessible to the public than Downing Street in London where the office of the British Prime Minister is located at number 10.
This kind of working environment is not new to Buhari. Apart form his military background and disposition as an old soldier who can operate comfortably under any situation, he was once a military ruler who used the Dodan Barracks in Lagos as his office in the 80s when he was head of state. Although Obalande, the suburb in Ikoyi which housed the Barracks used as State House was a very disciplined town at the time, it was still a busy place like the Maitama area where Defence House is located.
The environment where Buhari operates from as President at the moment is not as cosy as the palatial Aso Rock. But despite the change of environment for the presidency, the seat of power now residing temporarily in Maitama district still plays host to the high and mighty.
Last week, the President held a closed door meeting with National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki and a former Interim National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, on Monday. The President also held a meeting with Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, at the Defence House. The next day he met with service chiefs and the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC), all in Defence House.
On Monday, workers in various departments had waited patiently at the presidential villa for the arrival of the new leader. Most of them, were said to have arrived the place earlier than they used to in order to preempt Buhari’s no nonsense disciplinary measures- recall his famous War Against Indiscipline (WAI) when he was a military ruler.
To some of the workers, it was time to impress- what is generally regarded as eye service. The idea was to show the new leader how dutiful they were in doing their jobs. And in a bid to shape into the new trend, some have changed their dressing code. Some of the officials who had always dressed on suits appeared on the traditional Hausa caftan. Others who had always dressed in Niger Delta attire to appear like kinsmen of former President Jonathan were now seen wearing caftan and Babariga.
On sensing that the president was not ready to use Aso Rock so soon, the zealous workers joined Buhari at Defence House. Members of the State House press corps used a shade, probably built as parking space, as their tent. They were given camp beds to complement the few chairs that were made available to them, as they waited patiently to gather news and conduct interviews on daily basis.
Trust journalists when it comes creating comic relief, even in the harshest and most uncomfortable environment. From the shade outside the building where they camped, some of them whispered to each other about the latest working environment. They verbally casted headlines like, “State House Reporters Turn Internally Displaced Persons * As Buhari refuses to relocate to Aso Rock”.
Public commentators have also suggested reasons why Buhari and his deputy were yet to move to Aso Rock. On the social media, funny reasons have been adduced to this development. Some say what is happening in Aso Rock is called spiritual cleansing. They claim rather jocularly that a contract had already been awarded to a mallam who will appease the devil for the charms they believed the former occupants buried there.
Another set of observers believe that there must be a lot to clean, giving what has been going on in Aso Rock. “With over 60,000 Nigerians wasted, hundreds of billions stolen from the treasury, Aso Rock needs to be cleansed lest the residual evil starts to affect our clean and incorrigible duo of Buhari and Osinbajo”, one of them stated.
Still, there are those who believe that Aso rock has a confusing influence on leaders historically. According to them, from December 12, 1991 when IBB moved into the place till date, these leaders always come in with a clear vision, become blind while there and regain their vision on their way out, or on some occasions, die there. “If in doubt, ask the community of black bats that live perennially on the trees of the Aso villa complex”, one observer noted.
An official clarification, however, came from the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu. He told journalists that the President was yet to move to his office and residence at the Presidential Villa because the place was still undergoing renovation.
Shehu said. “They claimed that some renovation works were ongoing in the place. The place is being cleaned up for his occupation. The contractors are working probably at their own pace, if I need to know or if you need to know this, I will probably we have to talk to someone.
“As it is at the moment, I am not saying he’s comfortable where he is at his rented house. But he is operating from there and the moment the villa is ready, he will move in”.
But whichever way one looks at it, the dust raised about the president’s decision to still be operating temporarily from Defence House are mere rhetoric because ruling the country from there or Aso Rock has not changed the course of governance in Nigeria. Nigerians have just witness purposeful leadership as demonstrated by Buhari who has just spent one week in office. What constitutes he seat of power is the quality of the leaders and not buildings.
Source:Leadership
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