ASO ROCK WATCH: Now that ECOWAS has asked Buhari to lead COVID-19 fight. 2 other talking points

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appointed President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the region’s fight against the spread of coronavirus last week. The position would see him coordinate the COVID-19 response in the region.

The appointment was made during a videoconference of the extraordinary session of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government convened by the ECOWAS Chairman and President of the Republic of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou. The meeting was specifically dedicated to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the region.

“To ensure a high-level coordination of all the regional efforts to contain the pandemic, the Summit appoints H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Champion to coordinate the COVID-19 response and eradication process,” the conference announced in its communique.

During the meeting, members reviewed the memorandum of the President of the ECOWAS Commission on COVID-19, particularly on the crisis and its economic, financial and social impact on the ECOWAS region. Thereafter, they constituted ministerial coordination committees on health, finance and transport to coordinate regional efforts to fight the pandemic, under the supervision of President Buhari.

While it is reasonable to congratulate Buhari on this appointment, it must be noted that this is not the first time a Nigerian President would be saddled with the responsibility of championing the cause of the ECOWAS region. Nigeria remains a leading nation in the region, perhaps, due to its size, population and general endowment.

The President, however, must appreciate that this is not a laid back job. He would be expected to lead from the front and initiate productive strategies to see to the eradication of the pandemic in the region. At this time, his counterparts and the entire people of West Africa will be looking forward to see how much of the Nigerian model he would deploy. So, the poser raised by many observers borders on whether Nigeria is a workable example to use in the West African region. Therefore, Buhari’s handlers must realize that re-evaluating the strategies Nigeria is using to arrest the health crisis and fashioning out something more productive would be subject of central discourse in time to come.. This, perhaps, would make his coordination of the COVID-19 response and eradication an interesting activity.

2 other talking points

Will lecturers ever sheath their swords on IPPIS?

One other news that dominated the Presidency last week was Buhari’s approval of immediate payment of two months of withheld salaries of university lecturers who failed to enroll on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). The approval was reached after the President had a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.

Read also: ASO ROCK WATCH: Mourning ‘strongman’ Abba Kyari, plus that hasty attack on Senator Ndume

This development was made public in a statement by the Minister’s media aide, Emmanuel Nzowimu. The statement noted that President Buhari had directed the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, to immediately effect the payment of February and March salaries to University Lecturers.

Ngige averred that the payment would help cushion the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on lecturers and their family members. “Mr President Muhammadu Buhari has today approved the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of February and March 2020 of the University Lecturers who had not registered on the IPPIS platform. All Vice Chancellors are to revalidate affected Lecturers’ BVN and forward to Accountant General of the Federation for the payments,” he said.

ASUU, led by Biodun Ogunyemi, outrightly rejected the IPPIS, a new platform for the payment of federal civil servants’, in December 2019. It also rejected the demand for lecturers to produce their BVN details before they could enjoy the outstanding two-month largesse offered by Mr President.

By sticking to verifiable data, the President demonstrates commitment to pursuing the path of accountability and transparency in the face-off with ASUU. He gets commendation as nothing can be seen to be wrong with making sure that the lecturers become part of an automated system.

ASUU looks set to lose the moral war this time and must be advised to tow the part of genuine reconciliation as the country can ill afford being dragged back to the stone age where big data meant little or nothing to managers of resources. The presidency is encouraged, however, to continue to leave its doors open for conversations that would lead to quick resolutions of the impasse, reopening of schools and return of students to classes.

That other death in the Presidency

In the past week, the Presidency announced the death of one of Buhari’s personal bodyguards, Warrant Officer Lawal Mato.

In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, Mato succumbed to diabetes, which he had struggled with in the last three years.

He was one of the security details restored to President Buhari by the late President Umaru Musa-Yar’Adua as personal security. He had been off full duty in the last three years due to the illness.

“After three years of struggling with diabetes, one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s bodyguards, Warrant Officer Lawal Mato, on Tuesday passed away.

“The President described the officer, who had been working with him for many years before he won the 2015 elections, as very thorough, trustworthy and dependable soldier who carried out his duty with diligence and focus,” the statement reads in part.

Mato’s demise adds to recent sorrow within Nigeria’s seat of power, given the death of ex-Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari about two weeks ago. While it is important to commiserate with the President over Mato’s death, these sad occurrences throw a searchlight on the nation’s health care system and the need for an urgent revamp. This has the potential of putting to an end the financial wastages on medical tourism which have now become a norm, especially among public officials.

If there was not a lockdown, Kyari and Mato, perhaps, would have enjoyed the rare privilege of being shepherded abroad for special medical care. But all that is now history as the coronavirus pandemic has turned a leveler and made public officials to have a taste of what our health care system is like.

Will the Aso Clinic, and many other rundown hospitals across the country, enjoy a fresh attention post-COVID-19? Tough question but President Buhari will have to prove that there have been lessons learnt.

By John Chukwu.

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