AN INTELLIGENCE CZAR AS PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANT

AN INTELLIGENCE CZAR AS PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANT

By Mas Damisa
General Mohammed Aliyu Gusau is not only a recurring decimal in the country’s intelligence community, he has proved to be a shining star that is almost indispensable to most governments since the advent of Abacha’s regime. Between then and now, he has served virtually all subsequent regimes as National Security Adviser, a position more powerful than ever that of the minister of defence. But for the redoubtable General T. Y. Danjuma, whose tenure as Defence Minister may have bridled Gusau, no other minister after him did not bow to the prodigious reputation of Aliyu Gusau in this fourth Republic.
Reputation is often carefully cultivated though for inspite of it, there were many breaches of security and more ethno-religious brouhaha during his tenure as in any other. General Gusau was said to have been spotted by his instructors at the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1965 when he was a Cadet – for his intelligence. Ever since his graduation, he has been made to serve more in the intelligence unit than in other assignments throughout his military career. Officers of his genre are more sought after by both coup-infested polities and governments which underscore security as a big challenge – for obvious reasons.
It is interesting to note that he bidded for nomination of the PDP in 2007 and that even the sly IBB had to step down for him. Amazingly, he never up till now seem to have made implacable enemies in his public service, for none yet has come out to be so identified. A military mind of his make are known to possess a nerve of steel, a smooth demeanour you unsuspectingly trust or lean upon, but also a ruthless security mole whenever they choose to be one. A school of thought believes that Babangida had to step down for Aliyu Gusau in 2007 in deference to or fear of opposing a man who possess many tons of devastating dossier on his regime. That may well be so. Does that explain the phenomenon of Aliyu Gusuau?
Candidate Aliyu Gusau may not fit as an ideal presidential material after all. People of his antecedent are more feared than admired. They are more suspected than are trusted for the simple reason that they are more likely to be secretive than open in their dealings and relationships. In politics, especially the competitive partisan type, your fellow party members and supporters of your aspiration must be sure of who you are, what to expect of you and how to relate with you if you are to be electable.
Mysterious characters such as General Muhammed Aliyu Gusau may not always have or be able to acquire the personae required in debates, arguments and hustling which are the hallmarks of competitive politics. Conducting a campaign in such circumstances will be most difficult except if done by proxy – and yet the voting public would like to feel, see, hear, touch and question their would be president. How General Gusau will handle this aspect of his aspiration is yet to be seen.
How can he run a campaign against his opponents without making a disclosure of their skeletons much of which he knows? Who will disclose his own dubious underbelly if he has one? Campaigns serve to demystify or expose candidates and if Gusau will conduct a real campaign, many a reputation may come crashing on the rock. The Mohammed Aliyu Gusau’s of this world are often more valuable as top security appointees than as elected leaders.