Patience Jonathan: When The Trappings Of First Ladyship Supersedes That Of Permanent Secretaryship – by Ayodele Daniel

"If youcome to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who
you are" – Oprah Winfrey.
With the above wise saying by American Television personality, I
recall that exactly a year ago on this day, July 12, the Bayelsa State
Governor, Hon. SeriakeDickson, announced the appointment of the First
Lady – Dame Patience Jonathan – as one of the seventeen new Permanent
Secretaries in the state civil service to the astonishment of not a
few Nigerians.
To justify her appointment, the government argued thatthe First Lady
worked in the civil service of Rivers State before transferring her
services to Bayelsa State when her husband became Deputy Governor of
the state in 1999.
The government further posited that during her stintin the Bayelsa
State Civil Service, Mrs. Jonathan rose through the ranks and was
promoted into the directorate cadre as a level 15 officer in 2005. But
by far the most plausible justification for the President's wife's
appointment was the recourse to the constitutional power conferred on
the state governor in section 203 sub-section 2c.
The purpose of this write-upis not to over-flog the issue but to take
stock of 'Her Excellency's' one year in office as a Perm Sec.
Based on my understanding,the Civil Service is hierarchical in nature
with Permanent Secretaries reporting to Ministers (Commissioners, in
the case of states), who in turn reportto the President (state
governors). Has the First Lady reported to anyone in the last one
year? This is aside the fact that she was not even assigned a
portfolio in the first place.
If the governor in his wisdom deemed her fit to be elevated to the
rank of a Perm Sec., why didn't he deem it fit to assign her a
portfolio or is that also a matter of state secrecy? If the First Lady
has not reported for duty once sinceher appointment, has she been
sanctioned according to civil service rules (by the way, what happened
to Abdulrasheed Maina?) or is she running her invisible office from
the seat of power in Aso Rock?
While justififying her acceptance of the promotion to the office of a
Permanent Secretary in the civil service, Mrs. Jonathan was quoted as
saying, "When it suits them, they will say we don't have office.
Remember when I went to Lagos for peace advocacy, the Governor of
Lagos State said that my husband should call me to order since my
office is not in the constitution and that Ihave no office. Why now
won't I pursue my career that I am sure of?"
Really? In light of the above statement, one would have thought that
Mrs. Jonathan would hit the ground running and leave the comfort of
the Presidential Villa in Abuja for the mentally tasking and highly
demanding job of Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa but alas, our dear
'Mother of the Nation' was speaking tongue-in-cheek as she prefers her
more unconstitutional, yet powerful office of First Lady.
If she is not busy blocking most of the roads in Port Harcourt, Lagos
and Asaba, she is either in Abuja trying to lobby billions for her
African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) project or subtly leading
campaigns for her husband's rumoured second term bid.
But in all these show of absurdities, it is interesting to point out
that at least, some women still have decorum, respect for the rule of
law and would ratherslowly but steadily climb the ladder of success
based on hard work and dedicationto duty not by political fiat or
virtue of their powerful positions.
In this regard, Justice Fati Lami Abubakar readily comes to mind and
stands inmy opinion, heads and shoulders high above any of her
predecessors and successors in office as First Lady. She was
unassuming and rarely seen in public between 1998-1999 when her
husband, General Abdulsalami Abubakar was Head of State, but that did
not diminish her role as an efficient pillar of support and epitome of
womanhood.
Justice Fati did not allow hertemporary stint as First Lady to stand
in the way of her career and this much was succinctly captured by the
Liberian Orbit (May 28, 2001) which described her as "an erudite
African female lawyer that had become First Lady of one of the most
influential countries in the international system and did not fold her
professionalcareer into succulent retirement."
Can this much be said of the present First Lady, who much is not known
of her career as a civil servant but suddenly is catapulted to the
enviable position of Permanent Secretary not because she is the most
qualified but by virtue of herhusband's position?While Justice Fati
continued working 13-years after been Nigeria's First Lady and only
recently took oath of office as the first female Chief Judge of Niger
state, one in a list of firsts (she is the first female lawyer,
Solicitor General and Attorney General of Niger State respectively),
Mrs. Jonathan's busy racking-up the accolades and grabbing all in her
path and I wonder, will she be such a force to reckon with let's say,
three-years after she must have forgotten what power tasteslike? Will
her name echo thesounds of greatness or will she just go the way of
most of her predecessors, who faded into oblivion once thereins of
power were no longer theirs to control?
After her husband's tenure as President, which effectively brings her
own tenure as First Lady to an end, will Dame Patience go back to the
Bayelsa State civil service to work as a Permanent Secretary under a
Commissioner and take instructions without bringing her larger than
life attitude to bear?
The First Lady should realize that nothing lasts forever; that the
power she wields now and the respect that comes with it will surely
fade one day and with it comes the stark reality – that there is no
joy and inner peace of mind in success that was not earned.
Therefore, Dame Patience should as a matter of honourand posterity,
relinquish herundeserved post of Permanent Secretary till such a time
that she can be physically present behind her desk to carry out the
functions of that office or better yet, revert to her pre-2005
directorate cadre (level 15) as claimed and work her way to the top.
After all, nobody asked her to sacrifice her career on thealtar of
political exigencies.