NewStats: 3,263,209 , 8,179,402 topics. Date: Thursday, 05 June 2025 at 05:11 AM 1q3z3s

Former Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Reno Omokri on Tuesday made a case for Buhari over the president’s alleged lopsided appointments saying appointments should be made on merit and not sectional interests.

Omokiri made the statement in his article titled As Buhari blazes the trail for merit.


Read his full article

Recently there was a big uproar about the appointments made by President Buhari. I disagreed with those who complained that the President’s appointment were lopsided.
Appointments should not be made on the basis of ethnicity, region or religion.Appointments should be made strictly on merit!

As far as I am concerned, the President can appoint all his appointees from the same state as long as they are the best Nigeria has to offer.
In 2013, Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations. That victory was only possible because we selected our best players.

A large proportion of the squad were from the Southeast and Southsouth including Vincent Enyeama, Austin Ejide, Chigozie Agbim, Joseph Yobo, Elderson Echiejile, Kenneth Omuero, Efe Ambrose, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Godfrey Oboabona, Mikel Obi, Reuben Gabriel, Nosa Igiebor, Obiora Nwankwo, Brown Ideye, Ogenyi Onazi, while Ejike Uzoenyi, Victor Moses, Ikechukwu Uche, Sunday Mba and Emmanuel Emenike.
Nobody complained that this squad was lopsided because we knew these were our best and if we wanted to win we had to present our best. At the end of the day they brought home the cup and that was all that mattered.

In the same vein, nobody should complain about where Buhari’s appointees come from. What we should insist on is that they are appointed on the basis of merit and that at the end of 2019 they must bring home the cup by giving Nigerians good governance that will yield tangible democracy dividends.
Nigerians are always quick to say the problem with Nigeria is corruption, but I am not so sure it is.
Corruption is a symptom of the problem but it in itself is not the problem.

Corruption is the catarrh coming out of Nigeria’s nose. If you experience catarrh you do not treat it by merely cleaning your nose. The discharge will just keep coming because you are treating the symptom not the cause.
The way to treat catarrh is by treating its root cause which is the common cold.

What is the common cold that is causing the discharge of mucous from Nigerians nose?
In my humble opinion, it is quota system and the principle of federal character.
Federal character and quota system are the root cause of corruption in Nigeria.
As long as ethnicity is the yardstick for itting children into schools or recruiting adults into the civil service, we will never have a merit driven system and where we do not have a merit driven system, the end result will be corruption.
President Muhammadu Buhari means well in his anti corruption battle, but if a civil servant has to report to someone who is less qualified than him and who only got his position because of quota system or federal character, his morale would be low and he will not be committed and when opportunity presents itself to be corrupt, that civil servant will seize it and he will not feel sorry or guilty.

As long as there is no level playing field in Nigeria, none of our anti corruption efforts will work. We will merely be cleaning rye discharge of mucous from our nose. There cannot be a successful anti corruption war in the midst of social injustice.
Nigerians are not by nature correct. It is the Nigerian system that is by nature corrupt.
The other day the Federal Ministry of Education released cut off marks for unity schools and the cut off Mark for one state is 138 out of 200 while the cut off mark for another state is 4 out of 200.

This is not a joke! This is a reality in modern day Nigeria in the year 2015 and I kid you not!
Right there and then Nigeria has planted the seed of corruption in the heart of the child from the 138/200 state and the seed of entitlement in the heart of the child from the 4/200 state.
Any system that is not built on merit cannot but be corrupt. It is a fact of life and those who do not like this inconvenient truth can get as angry as they like with me and people like me, but that will not change the truth.

Whether we like to say it or not or whether we choose to pretend it does not exist, the truth remains that so many groups in Nigeria feel alienated by quota system and federal character.

We have grand plans as a nation of being amongst the top 20 biggest economies of the world by 2020, but which of the countries amongst the current top 20 economies has a system like ours?
The answer is none.
The G 7 nations of Canada, , , Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States along with their partner nations of China and Russia are constantly competing with each other in the areas of early childhood to high school education.
If the educational rates of children in America is slipping when compared to that of other nations in the G-7, it will become a major electoral issue.
The influential Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) releases a regular triennial study of global education systems and these nations keenly compete to outdo each other in these rankings.

Now, how can Nigeria expect to their ranks and compete internationally when we do not even allow fair competition domestically?
Are we going to write a letter to the G-7 or the OECD telling them that is not fair to expect us to compete with them and ask them to lower the standards for us?

Merit is the way. No, I take that back. Merit is the ONLY way. And I thank God that we have a President with the foresight to base his appointments solely on merit.

That is a beginning, now we must ensure that merit is also applied to ission into government schools and recruitments into the public service.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/buharis-appointments-omokiri/

cc lalasticlala

My very FTC this early Tuesday.....Seun i dey expect my alert ooo
Newly discovered style of begging for post from Sai Boohary!
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BTW

If I hear!

The guy is obviously looking for appointment with style..

My 2nd front page this week...is it a sign that I may be given an appointment?

Abeg hit like for me joor

HMMM

Rhino of all people

Even the Chief Tanoid/Wailer knows what's good for our dear country..

Nairaland Wailers, How Market?


Continue Wailing like the pix attached

I see the qualities of God in my sai buhari that's why I love him.



Appointment should be based on merits



Even the opposition party knew that it was because they were not giving positions to people who merited it that brought there down fall. The opposition where busy imposing candidates


It takes a wise man to applaud your rival and commend him for areas that you where weak his strong and it takes the wisdom from God to do that.


God said when your ways pleases him your enemies will be at peace with you that's why reno is at peace with him.


My sai baba is truly from God


Sai buhari

I just enjoy the way everyone is falling in line under this new government. At this rate, only Barcanista and FFK will vote PDP in 2019.

And Reno Omokri concluded this article in a very fantastic way. In his words:


'That is a beginning, now we must ensure that merit is also applied to ission into government schools and recruitments into the public service.'

Please, let there be this same merit in the educational system and also public service.

Buhari! Reno Omokri is saying that, you can appoint whom ever you want politically because it is within your prerogative as the constitution demands for you to appoint those competent in your eyes. But, he also stated at the end that, this merit should be applied in all spheres of our life in Nigeria like in the educational sector, health sector, public sector, technologically-wise.

So! Let the competition of merit begin in the country. We shall see who will bulge, now that federal character has been thrown to the Bin.

Sai chanji!

Look at NDDC. All Southerners. All looters.

In my humble opinion, it is quota system and the principle of federal character.
Federal character and quota system are the root cause of corruption in Nigeria.
As long as ethnicity is the yardstick for itting children into schools or recruiting adults into the civil service, we will never have a merit driven system and where we do not have a merit driven system, the end result will be corruption.

I can't believe Reno omokari will say that at the emboldened...... And this is the reality
Federal character and quota system breeds corruption.

Let merit takes its place

Okay, I'm confused

And I thank God that we have a President with the foresight to base his appointments solely on merit.

So before we didn't have??

The thing be like dream for my eyes

the truth is always sweet.

Do you know a good number of problems in the world would disappear if we talked to each other instead of talking about each other?

Ok

I hope your aspirations should be met by booari. Because i know you talking for self and not the citizens

Interesting

Lalasticlala

If we base everything on merit in dis country......I fear the north will be at d receiving end......

Is Omokri just waking up or has he chosen today to declare he was Jonathan's sycophant?

Different strokes for different folks

Haaahahahahahahahahahahahaha


hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha


hahahahahhahahahahahahahah

WAIT.......... CONTINUE

Nice one coming from Omokiri, this how politics should be, being Opposition should not be for criticism of all the actions of the present gov, just like how Lai Mohammed and his APC goons did during GEJ istration......

Coming from a renowned TANoid , hope minnows wailers like the chief protection seeker & his co travellers won't turn their back against their fellow comrade.

wailers would definitely ignore this thread...

I hope it's going to be OK when another leader excludes northerners from his political appointments??
Since federal xter is the problem, let GMB introduce a legistlation to NASS demanding to abolish it in JAMB, Unity Schools, Police, federal boards, Army, Civil Service, NASS leadership..

Hmmmmmn

This is the kind of news my APC brothers love to read..Okiri knows full well that our presidiot likes "sweet mouth"..What other way can you give him sweet mouth than to tell him his appointments are not loop sided.

As far as I am concerned, the President can appoint all his appointees from the same state as long as they are the best Nigeria has to offer.
In 2013, Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations. That victory was only possible because we selected our best players.

Is he bluffing or what

If the best must get the spot they should stop punishing our kids for being brilliant by denying them ission into choice Federal Government Colleges all in the name of quota system! The North has chosen not to catch up academically and we are being made to pay for it!

Hian!

FFK repent as well

Thank God not all Tanoids are brain dead, would have been a disaster to the nation.

NB: Where is Barcanista, has he deactivated his or changed moniker Fellow wailers help us look for your chief