Despite the fact that they work inside the Villa, many of the civil servants working in the seat of power have never seen successive Presidents one-on-one. The best these workers get is when they see them on television or on the pages of newspapers like every other person.
One can then imagine how excited the workers were when they resumed on Wednesday and saw a circular directing them to attend a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari by 2pm. Those who were already at work started putting calls across to those who were still on the way. That was not the type of meeting that anybody would want to miss. Even those who are on vacation but are within reach will naturally want to be part of it.
There were many issues they wanted to raise with the President, especially as they concern their welfare. Some of them rehearsed how, if they were permitted to ask questions, they would call the President’s attention to how his administration’s change mantra changed what they had been enjoying for years in form of welfare packages for major festivals among other complaints.
As early as 12 noon, the workers started trooping out from the 12 departments in the Villa to the venue of the all-important meeting. By the time they converged on the forecourt of the President’s office, the afternoon sun was at its peak. Many of them were therefore forced to take shelter under some of the trees in the arena. They were looking intermittently at the sky, praying that the scorching sun should not usher in rain while the meeting lasted.
At last, the President arrived and they moved out from under the trees. If they were sitting, they would have stood up on his arrival. So since they were standing, they welcomed him with an applause.
Those who thought the meeting was called for the President to address their welfare needs were taken aback when the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who served as the compere, told his boss that the workers requested to meet him to enable them to welcome him back from his recent vacation. Some of the workers murmured but not loud enough because of the risk involved.
Adesina thereafter invited the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Jalal Arabi, to speak on the purpose of the meeting. Hope rose again that Arabi might still raise some of the workers’ concerns in his remarks. That did not happen. The permanent secretary only told the President that his “children who are privileged to work in the Villa” were gathered to welcome him and pledge their commitment to high virtues expected of them.
Then it was the turn of the President to address his “children.” At the beginning, he got applause when he told them how unhappy he was when he saw that they were standing and sweating profusely under the scorching sun. He said those who organised the meeting could have done better.
That was where the message that impressed the workers ended. By the time the President started telling them the stories they were already aware of -like how he reduced the number of ministries and how oil price dropped sharply in global market- many of the workers started looking at one another.
Buhari who said he would have talked more if the venue was friendlier did not stop at that. He told them how disgraceful it is for 27 states not being able to pay salaries; how the nation’s past leaders failed to save for the rainy day; the insecurity in the North East; the violence in the Niger Delta; the agitation for the State of Biafra; the poor state of power despite the huge amount spent on the sector by past administrations since 1999; his administration’s anti-corruption war and his plan for agriculture among others.
He did not stop without telling the corrupt among them that under his administration, those who own houses in Abuja and abroad outside their legitimate earnings have murdered sleep and would sleep no more. “We don’t touch anybody who did not touch public funds, you should behave yourself. If you don’t have houses in Abuja and the whole of Europe, you will sleep soundly. You and your family will earn respect. But if you shortchange the treasury, you will be caught and I pity your family because people will be abusing them. People will be calling you big thieves and be wondering how you raised money to build all the houses in Abuja and Europe with your meagre salary,” the President declared.
By the time this was on, many of the workers had turned their handkerchiefs and other items to emergency umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun. So it was a relief of sort for them when he ended his speech. Immediately Adesina declared the event over, the dejected workers walked back to their duty posts full of complaints.
Most of them regretted attending the meeting. They complained openly but discreetly enough not to allow their seniors to hear. Their grouse was that no matter how good the President’s message was, it was delivered to a wrong audience because he did not touch on any of the things they expected from him. For them, the meeting was a case of leaving leprosy to cure ringworm.
When ‘our daddy’ returned from medical trip
The President returned to Nigeria on Sunday after spending 13 days in London, United Kingdom where he was said to have seen Ear, Nose and Throat specialists as part of his vacation. A carnival-like reception was organised for him at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Apart from the men of the Guards Brigade who mounted a guard of honour for him, members of the National Troupe decked in Yoruba and Fulani wear were also on hand to receive the President. Although the sound from the presidential jet that conveyed the President subdued their voices, they sang and danced with the females among them twisting their waists in delicate manner to the admiration of those present.
Two state governors -Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State and Yahaya Bello of Kogi State- were among those who came to receive the President. Majority of his ministers and aides were also present. They started arriving as early as 3.30pm despite that his jet did not touch ground until about 5.33pm.
“Our daddy is back. He has gone to take a rest and he is back. We are happy and delighted to have him back,” was the way Bello captured his excitement at seeing Buhari back in the country while Yari also said, “We thank God for bringing him back to fix the country.”
Despite the Presidency’s insistence that Buhari’s vacation was not medical, the President did not join them in that argument. He told reporters who asked him about his state of health that he was better than when he left the country. He even challenged one of them to a wrestling contest.
Even at the meeting he had with workers in the Villa, he did not hide that his trip was medical when he said it clearly that, “I thank you for welcoming me back from my health break. You are the judges, perhaps I look healthier than I left or I came back worse.”
Whether it was a medical trip or not, the important thing is that ‘our daddy’ (apology to Governor Bello) is back at his duty post.
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