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Jonathan’s Cabinet : why Col. Umar
declined ministerial offer
By
Danlami Nmodu
Newsdiaryonline
Mon June 20,2011
Many Nigerians , especially those with
contacts within the corridors of power, are making frantic
efforts to get their names on President Jonathan’s ministerial
list.In facts, names of immediate past ministers and other
aspiring nominees who have apparently been lobbying for cabinet
posts have been making
the rounds in the media.
But it has emerged that not every Nigerian
is excited over the
prospect of being a
minister .
Newsdiaryonline has learnt that Colonel Abubakar
Dangiwa Umar(retd) former governor of Kaduna state is one of
such Nigerians.It was learnt that an offer was recently made
for Umar to be in President Goodluck Jonathan’s new
cabinet .It was not certain which portfolio he was offered.
Newsdiaryonline
however learnt
that Umar shockingly
declined the offer. A source close to him said
yesterday that he does
not believe in this mad rush by some Nigerians
to grab ministerial
offers. The retired Colonel it was learnt has
decided that he would concentrate his energy on his
ostrich farm rather than serve as
a minister.
According to the source, this should not be
misconstrued to mean that he hates President Jonathan or he has
any problem with Jonathan’s government.The source recalled that
Umar had related cordially with
Jonathan during and after
President Umaru YarAdua.
“So his decision to
decline the offer of a cabinet position
is not because he has any problem with the president”,
Newsdiaryonline source said. Rather
the colonel has just decided that he would rather focus on his
ostrich farm.
A source indeed recalled that
though he did not openly campaign for Jonathan, Umar did
not seem to be opposed to Jonathan’s emergence as a presidential
candidate as the debate over zoning of the presidency raged on.
The retired Colonel was said to
have repeatedly advised former President Ibrahim
Babangida to desist from championing the call for the
zoning of the presidency
to the north.Because of Babangida’s insistence on zoning,Umar
parted ways with IBB, his former boss.
Umar is known to have taken
rather patriotic, even
rebellious views to controversial national issues. He is a self
-confessed ‘June 12 fanatic’ who resigned his commission from
the Army in 1993 in protest against
IBB’s annulment of June
12 presidential elections won by Chief MKO Abiola. Umar
eventually
lost his commission in
the heat of the intrigues over the election.
He became a thorn in the flesh of
late General Sanni
Abacha’s tyranny as he spoke fearlessly about the misrule .He
has been a consistent patriot
and pro-democracy advocate ever since. Those close to him
said he has consistently refused to take up offers made to him
by successive governments. Perhaps , his decision to
decline to serve in Jonathan’s cabinet is part of his principled
position on such matters. He prefers his ostrich farm to plying
the corridors of power
as a minster.
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