By Donu Kogbara

Last week, I praised President Goodluck Jonathan for appointing Major-General Kenneth Minimah as Chief of Army Staff (I said he had a good reputation and felt that those who were criticising Jonathan – simply because Minimah is a fellow Ijaw – were being unfair).

I also described Adamu Mu’azu, the new Chairman of the PDP, as a good choice…but questioned the wisdom of giving Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, Mu’azu’s predecessor, the chairmanship of the ailing Railway Corporation.

I expressed the view that Tukur has some good qualities and can add value within certain contexts, but is not likely to shine within the context of a state enterprise that desperately needs dynamic and youthful leadership.

The above points attracted various responses from Vanguard readers and I’ve decided to publish two of these reactions:

From: Ifeka Okonkwo ifekaokonkwo@yahoo.com

Donu, Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, the newly appointed chairman of NRC, stated when he was the chairman of PDP that it is a party of patronage and so it is no surprise that our president gave him that post for him to continue enjoying our proverbial national cake at his old age, without minding whether he modernises the railway system or not.

That is PDP for you, a party that recycles old men who should have since retired, instead of looking for a new crop of rulers…!!!

From: Usman Santuraki <ususanturaki37@gmail.com, a public affairs commentator who is based in Jimeta-Yola.

It is not in my character to respond to issues raised by respected columnists. But I am compelled to respond to your piece titled “Thank You Mr President”.

You said that, “Any Head of State from any tribe is entitled to select an army chief he feels he can totally trust, for whatever reason”. You need to be told in no uncertian terms that many previous Heads of State never selected their army chief from their area.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as military Head of State did not select his army chief from his tribe or area. Alhaji Shehu Shagari as civilian President never selected his army chief from his tribe or area and even the late President Umaru Yar’Adua did not select his army chief from his area.

As for the installation of Alhaji Adamu Muazu as the PDP National Chairman, it is not a smart move. This is because there is nothing Muazu can do towards making  inroads in the North if President Goodluck Jonathan declares his intention to contest the election in 2015.

As for Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, he has come a long way and a lot of people are saying that with his age and exposure, he should vacate the scene and leave it for the younger generations.

Illuminating Interviews

I was recently invited to sit on an interview panel. The organisation in question wanted to recruit someone competent to run its public relations department and felt that I could add value to the process because of my media experience.

A professional human resources consultant had prepared a list of questions for panellists to ask every job candidate. One of the questions was: “What is your greatest weakness?”

Much to my amazement, ALL of the candidates looked puzzled and taken aback when this question was fired at them. They had clearly not given any serious thought to their shortcomings and they all struggled to provide answers.

After long pauses, they said things like: “I don’t sleep when there is a lot of work to be done” and “I am too kind to people.”

In other words, none of them were initially willing to admit to any REAL weaknesses. The characteristics they presented to us as weaknesses were, in fact, strengths. One guy even smugly described himself as “totally perfect”.

I was flabbergasted and irritated by this ridiculous and mendacious arrogance and I pushed them to be more truthful. To make them understand that we wouldn’t hold it against them if they were more transparent, I pointed out that all mere mortals possess personality flaws and mentioned some of mine.

Interestingly, the male candidates rigidly stood their grounds and refused to confess to any normal human failings, while the women – albeit reluctantly – eventually succumbed to the pressure and admitted that they weren’t saints.

Why does the average Nigerian find it so difficult to engage in totally honest self-analyses and interactions? If you cannot focus on or reveal your shortcomings, how on earth can you even begin to eliminate or mitigate them?

By the way, the fact that it was the female candidates who eventually realised that humility is not necessarily synonymous with stupidity is yet another reason why this country needs more women in positions of authority!