Daniel Bwala, who speaks for the presidency on policy and communication, has said that President Bola Tinubu is not looking for “perfect people” to serve in government. He explained that political appointments are the President’s choice and are not based on strict rules.
In an interview, Bwala said there is no law that sets requirements for who can be made an ambassador. He said the role is political and can be filled by either career diplomats or politicians. He pointed out that before President Buhari, most Defence Ministers had no military background.
Bwala said people’s concerns about nominees’ past actions are based on personal opinions. He added that even in countries like the United States, political loyalty often plays a big role in appointments. He gave the example of how Donald Trump picked some Supreme Court justices because they supported Republican ideas.
He said what matters most is whether someone is seen as “fit and proper,” which he said is a personal judgment. “Your choice of rice might be different from mine. Maybe you want fried rice and I want pure white rice,” he said, to show how people’s views can differ.
Bwala reminded Nigerians that Section 5 of the Constitution gives the President the power to run the country and choose who helps him. If the President makes a bad choice, he will deal with the outcome.
He said: “You see, there is no statute or book that talks about the requirement for being appointed as ambassador. That is why you have career ambassadors who are in the embassies. They can advise, they can run diplomatic issues. An ambassador is a political appointment which a President exercises. He can choose to bring a former diplomat. He can choose to bring a pure politician. It is just like appointing somebody as Minister of Defence. Until Buhari, all the Ministers of Defence never had any military experience. They were pure civilians. So political appointment is different.”
He also said: “I think that the basic thing is you must be judged fit and proper. Now that is generic. The definition as to whether somebody is fit and proper is subjective. Somebody can say, I like the temperament of this one. Another person can say, I do not like it. There are people in government right now whose temperament you could also question.”
Bwala said democracy is not about finding perfect people but about choosing those willing to work. He said if someone in office does wrong, they can be removed. He compared it to appointing a pastor who later misbehaves and is disciplined.
He ended by saying that no government is perfect and that leaders must listen to feedback from the people.
Leave a comment