Aisha Alhassan can’t stop
running her mouth. And no one wants a faucet within the
ranks.
Aisha Alhassan who is the
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, must now know
that her days in the President Muhammadu Buhari cabinet are
numbered.
And she brought it all upon
herself.
Alhassan who is fondly
called ‘Mama Taraba’ had a choice
between concealing her intentions and running her mouth. She chose
the latter.
In Robert
Greene’s classic ‘48 laws of
power’, the author cautions that in the power game,
you conceal your intentions, learn who you are dealing with, do not
offend the wrong person, say less than is necessary and master the
art of perfect timing.
By endorsing Atiku Abubakar for the
2019 presidential race when her boss, Buhari, hasn’t yet ruled
himself out of a reelection battle, Mama Taraba trampled on all
laws of power known to mankind in one fell swoop.
Her timing was atrocious. Her mouth
hasn’t stopped running all week. She’s shown disloyalty and no boss
tolerates disloyalty from within his camp.
In her defense, she said Buhari had
told his inner circle (which includes her of course) before the
2015 election that he wouldn’t be seeking a second term once his
first term elapses. Even that in itself was a tacit admission that
you can’t trust Mama Taraba to keep a secret.
2015 is a long time ago and people
do change their minds in the light of new developments.
At exactly 2:24pm on Thursday,
September 7, ‘Mama Taraba’ waltzed into the Villa and no one was
willing to take her into their offices.
Reports say the President was on
his desk, but didn’t want to see her. Neither was Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo willing to touch her with a
ten-foot pole.
Mama Taraba also made her way to
Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari’s office—but
even he didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
So, she stepped out of the Villa
the way she had come. A pariah.
She has fallen out of favour with
her superiors. She has fallen on her own sword.
Outside the Villa, State House
correspondents sought to know from Mama Taraba if she had any
regrets for saying she’ll back Atiku in the 2019 contest. The
Minister wouldn’t back down. As a matter of fact, she doubled down
on her previous comments.
“Atiku is my godfather and if
he’s on the ballot….I’ll choose him over Buhari or I’ll beg Buhari
not to contest again….”
Asked if she now realises that she
is facing the sack, Mama Taraba said: “God gives and God
takes….you know that there’s an end to everything”.
Of course she knows that for her,
the end has now come.
Quizzed on her relationship with
Buhari at the moment, she said: “How will I know? I have
not seen the President but I don’t think the President is a naïve
person.”
Mama Taraba has broken ranks and
she’s now firmly in Atiku’s camp. Even if Buhari wasn’t going to be
hurling his hat into the ring in 2019, setting out her political
stall this early makes her a distraction and liability in the
cabinet.
Aso Rock sources have told this
writer that Buhari won’t pull the trigger on her. That he’s willing
and ready to wait this one out and see how it all pans out. A
student of power himself, the President knows that you do not put
too much trust in friends…that you learn how to use your
enemies.
“He’ll keep her around and see
if she gets the message and resigns. The President won’t want to
look vindictive by firing her”, offered the source.
Another source has squealed that a
cabinet reshuffle is imminent and that Mama Taraba knows she was
already on the chopping block, hence her decision to risk it all by
going public.
In any case, she’s now bitten the
bullet and left herself in an untenable position.
Should Buhari go ahead and fire her
now, she’ll understand. She’ll have no complaints.
She’s broken the code. She’s shown
disloyalty. She’ll now be considered a snitch at federal executive
council, inner circle and party meetings.
In the world of the ‘mafia’, you
resign even before you get fired once you’ve crossed the red line
and gone against the grain. In the convoluted world of power,
there’ll be hell to pay for running your mouth.
That’s just the way it works.
Mama Taraba should pick up her
belongings from her office space and walk. And she shouldn’t forget
to close the door behind her.
Aisha Alhassan can’t stop
running her mouth. And no one wants a faucet within the
ranks.
Aisha Alhassan who is the
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, must now know
that her days in the President Muhammadu Buhari cabinet are
numbered.
And she brought it all upon
herself.
Alhassan who is fondly
called ‘Mama Taraba’ had a choice
between concealing her intentions and running her mouth. She chose
the latter.
In Robert
Greene’s classic ‘48 laws of
power’, the author cautions that in the power game,
you conceal your intentions, learn who you are dealing with, do not
offend the wrong person, say less than is necessary and master the
art of perfect timing.
By endorsing Atiku Abubakar for the
2019 presidential race when her boss, Buhari, hasn’t yet ruled
himself out of a reelection battle, Mama Taraba trampled on all
laws of power known to mankind in one fell swoop.
Her timing was atrocious. Her mouth
hasn’t stopped running all week. She’s shown disloyalty and no boss
tolerates disloyalty from within his camp.
In her defense, she said Buhari had
told his inner circle (which includes her of course) before the
2015 election that he wouldn’t be seeking a second term once his
first term elapses. Even that in itself was a tacit admission that
you can’t trust Mama Taraba to keep a secret.
2015 is a long time ago and people
do change their minds in the light of new developments.
At exactly 2:24pm on Thursday,
September 7, ‘Mama Taraba’ waltzed into the Villa and no one was
willing to take her into their offices.
Reports say the President was on
his desk, but didn’t want to see her. Neither was Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo willing to touch her with a
ten-foot pole.
Mama Taraba also made her way to
Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari’s office—but
even he didn’t want to have anything to do with her.
So, she stepped out of the Villa
the way she had come. A pariah.
She has fallen out of favour with
her superiors. She has fallen on her own sword.
Outside the Villa, State House
correspondents sought to know from Mama Taraba if she had any
regrets for saying she’ll back Atiku in the 2019 contest. The
Minister wouldn’t back down. As a matter of fact, she doubled down
on her previous comments.
“Atiku is my godfather and if
he’s on the ballot….I’ll choose him over Buhari or I’ll beg Buhari
not to contest again….”
Asked if she now realises that she
is facing the sack, Mama Taraba said: “God gives and God
takes….you know that there’s an end to everything”.
Of course she knows that for her,
the end has now come.
Quizzed on her relationship with
Buhari at the moment, she said: “How will I know? I have
not seen the President but I don’t think the President is a naïve
person.”
Mama Taraba has broken ranks and
she’s now firmly in Atiku’s camp. Even if Buhari wasn’t going to be
hurling his hat into the ring in 2019, setting out her political
stall this early makes her a distraction and liability in the
cabinet.
Aso Rock sources have told this
writer that Buhari won’t pull the trigger on her. That he’s willing
and ready to wait this one out and see how it all pans out. A
student of power himself, the President knows that you do not put
too much trust in friends…that you learn how to use your
enemies.
“He’ll keep her around and see
if she gets the message and resigns. The President won’t want to
look vindictive by firing her”, offered the source.
Another source has squealed that a
cabinet reshuffle is imminent and that Mama Taraba knows she was
already on the chopping block, hence her decision to risk it all by
going public.
In any case, she’s now bitten the
bullet and left herself in an untenable position.
Should Buhari go ahead and fire her
now, she’ll understand. She’ll have no complaints.
She’s broken the code. She’s shown
disloyalty. She’ll now be considered a snitch at federal executive
council, inner circle and party meetings.
In the world of the ‘mafia’, you
resign even before you get fired once you’ve crossed the red line
and gone against the grain. In the convoluted world of power,
there’ll be hell to pay for running your mouth.
That’s just the way it works.
Mama Taraba should pick up her
belongings from her office space and walk. And she shouldn’t forget
to close the door behind her.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/mama-taraba-should-resign-before-she-gets-fired/