One man who was 99.99% certain of
being appointed national security
adviser (NSA) by President
Muhammadu Buhari was
Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau — until
two weeks ago when his stock began
to fall.
Dambazau, who was removed as chief
of army staff and then retired as a
lieutenant general in 2010 by former
President Goodluck Jonathan, was one
person whose appointment was
thought to be a mere formality.
He was, in other words, the NSA-in-
waiting and he was already behaving
like one.
But Buhari surprisingly appointed
Babagana Monguno, a retired major
general, as NSA in the much-awaited
shake-up of his security cabinet on
Monday.
Presidential sources told TheCable
that the case against Dambazau
started building up a few weeks ago
as Buhari began to finalise his list for
the key security appointments.
One of the sources said: “Buhari
initially wanted Ibrahim Coomassie,
former inspector general of police, as
NSA, but so much argument was
made about Coomassie’s age. He is
just 69, but it seems those who made
that argument carried the day.
“That is how Dambazau moved to
the top of the list as the favourite.
However, several issues came up in
the process of taking a final decision.
One, Buhari does not want any officer
who has held positions that exposed
them to a lot of money. As it were, he
wanted ‘innocent’ military officers to
spearhead his security agenda. If you
look at the new appointments, most
of the security chiefs have never held
what we call ‘plum’ positions in
Nigeria.
“Buhari wants to re-professionalise
the military. Those who have had
questions asked about their past
stewardship eventually fell down the
list. He liked Dambazau a lot but he
could not dismiss the case against
him.”
Also, his tenure in the army was
reviewed and some of the facts that
emerged did not do him any favours.
“The Boko Haram insurgency
budded under his watch as army
chief, with Gen. Sarki Mukhtar as
NSA. The No. 1 security priority of
Buhari is to tackle Boko Haram.
Dambazau’s CV was not glittering in
that aspect. It was going to be a
questionable appointment,” the source
added.
Another presidential source said
Buhari would still accommodate the
retired general from Kano, who was
the first chief of army staff to hold a
PhD when former President Umaru
Musa Yar’Adua appointed him in
2009.
“The fact that Dambazau did not get
the NSA position does not mean he
has been blacklisted by Buhari. He is
still highly regarded. But you cannot
question the choice of Gen. Babagana
Monguno as the NSA. He comes
highly recommended and he has an
enviable record. He is upright.
“He was unfairly retired because
Jonathan wanted to make Gen.
Kenneth Minimah army chief. So
Minimah’s mates and seniors had to
go. It was not as if Monguno did
anything wrong or was found
wanting,” the source added.
Dambazau’s failure to get the NSA
slot was all the more shocking
because he seemed primed to play
the role right from the campaign days.
He was the head of the security
committee of the APC campaign
organisation, and was always around
Buhari in the days leading to the May
29 inauguration as well as after the
president assumed office.
Dambazau toured Aso Rock together
with Buhari in the last days of
Jonathan, and appeared prominently
in all the pictures.
He also travelled with Buhari to the
G7 summit in Bavaria, Germany, on
June 7 — before travelling with him to
Johannesburg, South Africa, for the
25th African Union summit.
TheCable understands that he played
a major role in the security
arrangements for Buhari, including the
appointment of Muhammed Lawal
Abubakar, a lieutenant colonel, as ADC
to the president.
Dambazau also prayed regularly with
Buhari at the state house mosque.
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granted subject to appropriate credit
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