The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Adamawa State, Umar Ardo, has urged President Bola Tinubu to reflect deeply on the caliber of persons he recruits into his cabinet.
Ardo, who was a former presidential adviser, noted that the success or failure of any administration rests as much on the ability of the leader as on the competence or otherwise of his advisers.
The SDP chieftain said “The Constitution of our country creates at the federal level the Council of Ministers and offices of Special Advisers for the good purpose of executing the powers and functions due to the Office of the President. This invariably means that the stability and good governance of the country are dependent on the sound character, right practice and good judgment of the president; while the well-being and quality judgment of the president depend on the knowledge, skill and ability of his official advisers. Blessed therefore is the president with truthful, knowledgeable, intelligent and right-doing advisers who among other things will always put to him complete facts of every issue that may come before him to decide.
“Advising a leader, therefore, is an onerous task that necessarily requires very special proficiency to perform. The lesson here is that the capacity for sound advice in a presidential system of government like ours must not be taken for granted that it can always be found in about every person close to the president.”
He added that such responsibility requires more than knowing the president closely but needs special skills and total commitment, adding that such commitment can only come when the skilled is formally bestowed with the official garment to perform those duties.
“That way, the sense of duty to the nation and responsibility to the government shall impel in the official adviser total commitment to the president; seeing the latter’s success or failure as his/her own.”
He added that great political thinkers believe that the adviser needs five basic attributes, if his work is to be fruitful and satisfactory namely: Wisdom, Knowledge, Courage, Honesty and Discipline.
“If the president’s appointees turn out to be suitable men and women, then he is most likely going to succeed, for ‘a good official is like the ornament of the King’; but if they turn out to be unsuitable, then his regime will likewise turn into a kakistocracy and so most likely going to fail,” he added.
