By Rotimi Fasan
THE news had hardly made the rounds when it was denied. Vice President, Namadi Sambo, had last week announced to an audience in far away Oxford that President Goodluck Jonathan had of his own volition elected to drop the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all because he was sick of the tiring protocol associated with the title whenever he was introduced in public.

Henceforth, Namadi said, he wished to be addressed but only as ‘Mr. President’! The Vice President went ahead to make the point that, unlike the case in the past, he had been introduced with little or no fanfare at the Oxford event in question.

For the VP, the President’s dropping of the C-in-C title was a thing to be commended. The immediate reaction in sections of the Nigerian public was one of praise. While some commended the President for his humility others saw the act as yet another evidence of his unassuming nature. But those singing the President’s eulogy had hardly shut their mouths to swallow some air when the Vice President came out to ‘clarify’ his earlier comments on the matter.

No, he said, he hadn’t said the President would drop the title of C-in-C. Rather, he explained, he had only chosen to cut down on the long protocol the title invoked whenever he was introduced. Moreover, the wise VP explained, the idea of Commander-in-Chief was already implied in the title of president.

What first struck me about Namadi’s initial comments on the matter was that it had to be made in Oxford, and in reaction to questions from members of the audience who had sought to know why Nigerian leaders appeared seemingly obsessed with titles. The strong impression the VP’s comments made was not simply because it came in Oxford.

Our leaders are known for their predilection to leave the shores of this country only to make or announce important state decisions the press at home, not even members of their own government, were aware of. I found the VP’s comment remarkable because it was made in reaction to a question.

Was the VP expecting to be asked that question, or is it the case that somebody had been planted in the audience to ask the question that would enable the VP make the announcement? For there could have been no other way to announce the supposed decision of the President’s to drop the C-in-C title if the VP had not been asked the question he responded to in the manner he did.

What informed the apparent volte-face thereafter? Perhaps the President never said anything about dropping a title. Perhaps by answering the question the way he did, the VP only sought to offer excuses to protect himself, the President and other Nigerian leaders, not knowing the comments would reverberate beyond the Oxford lecture venue the way it eventually did.

The change in position could have been as a result of any of the foregoing. Or some more astute politician than the VP and the President must have sensed the foolishness of such a decision at a time sections of the political class, especially politicians in the North, led by Adamu Ciroma, are questioning the legitimacy of Jonathan’s presidency.

What could such a decision portend if not capitulation before one’s adversaries? It’s like adding fuel to the fire of those calling for the President’s resignation in the aftermath of his comments absolving MEND of complicity in the Independence Day bomb attack in Abuja.

Giving up the title of Commander-in-Chief at this trying hour would be one way of saying the President no longer has the authority to command the armed forces. Better to retreat than add fuel to the fire of his rivals. But after all said and done, is it not the case that there are a few more Commanders-in-Chief out there beside Goodluck Jonathan?

Indeed, it might be more than merely ironic that the announcement that the President would drop the title of Commander-in-Chief would coincide with the escalation of violence in diverse parts of the country.

There are more people or groups controlling weapons of mass destruction outside the military today than at any time in the past. From small time criminals to armed robbers who hold entire streets for hours or lay siege to banks and blow them up with grenades and other explosives, there are more Nigerians commanding armed groups than are authorised to do so.

Beyond armed criminals and thieves, there are the militia leaders and their groups that increasingly promote violence against the state. Since Jonathan became president many of such groups in the Niger-Delta, with the singular exception of MEND or a group that operates in its name if we are to believe the President, have maintained relative calm. These militias and/or terrorist groups, among which I include Boko Haram, are the new, the defacto armed forces in Nigeria today.

And their leaders are the new Commanders-in-Chief. They operate at will and seem to be more coordinated in their criminal activities than it may appear. In Jos, last week, one such group still operated, leaving death and destruction in its wake.

The state can hardly contain them any more and they certainly take their orders from persons outside the Presidency. Which makes their leaders members of the new elite of Commanders-in-Chief. Perhaps the worst of them all are the faceless politicians hiding behind and sponsoring the activities of these armed groups.

The rate at which high calibre weaponry, including rocket launchers, is being brought into the country cannot be divorced from the forthcoming elections, and says something about the new Commanders-in-Chief in our midst. Only last week, 11 containers loaded with different types of weapons were intercepted at the Lagos port.

There had been previous finds at different entry points across the land.  In due course, well after the elections, these weapons would find their way into the hands of common criminals who would then proceed to terrorise the rest of us with them.

The same people responsible for the build-up of the arms would come out to tell us the country is under siege without acknowledging their input in the matter. They are the new Commanders-in-Chief. We must find a way to stop them and make them drop their unauthorised use of the C-in-C title.