aso rock

Aso Villa

Two days ago, President Muhammadu Buhari stood before Nigerians and friends of the country at the Eagles Square, Abuja to take his Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as the President of the country, thereby formally taking over the mantle of leadership from former President Goodluck Jonathan, who had called the shots from the Presidential Villa, Abuja in the past five years.

The change of baton will not just be from one administration to the other or from the Peoples Democratic Party-led administration to one now controlled by the All Progressives Congress; it will also translate into many other changes in the outlook of the seat of power: the Aso Villa.

One of such changes that will be obvious in the seat of power will be the manner in which residents and members of staff go out and profess their faith.

During the Jonathan administration, the Aso Villa Chapel was a beehive of activities. That was because the former president, who was the political head of the chapel, is a Christian. The chapel, which was built by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, is located between the Office of the First Lady and the President’s official residence inside the Villa.

While Jonathan’s tenure lasted, political jobbers and favour-seekers always besieged the place of worship either to get his attention or that of his influential wife, Patience.

Many government officials also adopted the chapel as their church. The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Ayo; and the Chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Mr. Jide Adeniji were members of the Chapel Management Committee. A member of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, was also a prominent member of the chapel.

The story will change with the coming on board of Buhari who is a Muslim. There is anxiety that the population of the chapel will drastically reduce. Jonathan himself made an allusion to this during the last presidential breakfast prayer held inside the old Banquet Hall of the Villa.

He said, “I expected a very low turnout because in most cases, when government is winding down, people reduce. You will notice that even in the chapel, the number of people that will be coming will become less and less. But when I came in, I noticed that this whole hall was filled up. So, I have to sincerely thank all of you.”

Although Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also a pastor, is expected to ensure that the chapel is not closed down, many observers believe that there is a limit to which he can go in ensuring the survival of the chapel under a President who is a Muslim, especially when the worship centre is closer to the President’s residence than his.

On the other hand, worshippers in the mosques within the seat of power will naturally increase under this dispensation. There are three mosques in the Aso Villa. While two are located inside two of the car parks in the villa, the last one is directly behind the President’s office.

Shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Buhari the winner of the March 28 presidential election, the population of those who pray inside the mosque behind the President’s office surged. This is in expectation that Buhari will be joining them to pray inside the mosque.

“When late President Umaru Yar’Adua was still alive and in charge, we worshipped together inside the mosque behind his office. After prayers, he would remain seated on the praying mat to listen to some of us.

“We are envisaging that President Buhari’s case will not be different. Therefore, we shall be meeting at the mosque,” a member of staff of the Presidential Villa, who spoke under the condition of anonymity told our correspondent.

One of the mosques may, however, suffer the same fate that is feared to be awaiting the chapel. This is the mosque located inside the Akinola Aguda House, the official residence of the Vice-President.

When former Vice-President Namadi Sambo was still in charge, visitors to his residence at any hour of prayer were welcomed by calls to prayer blaring from the loudspeakers mounted outside the mosque.

This is expected to change since the new occupant of the residence is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Even if he has a few Muslim domestic workers, observers say they may not carry out their prayers in a manner that will be seen to be disturbing their principal.

Another worker told our correspondent that the unwritten dress code in the Villa will change with the arrival of Buhari at the saddle. He said, “You will observe that when Jonathan was in power, being an Ijaw man, many aides and workers here were wearing the Ijaw traditional dresses. You will be seeing more of Hausa dressing and maybe a bit of Yoruba attire too,” she said.

Another thing that will change, according to staff in the administrative department, is the nature of visitors. Being the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, a large percentage of those visiting Jonathan were PDP chieftains or those sympathetic to the cause of the party. But with the turn of events now, most visitors will be APC members and their sympathisers.

The likes of former Governors Rotimi Amaechi, Aliyu Wamakko and Rabiu Kwankwaso, as well as Governor Abdufatah Ahmed who stopped visiting the villa after defecting from the PDP to the APC, will now be visiting since their new party has produced the President.

Also under ex-president Jonathan, meetings of two organs of the PDP: the Board of Trustees and the National Caucus were always held inside the banquet hall. This will definitely stop since the APC had thwarted the opposition party’s quest to continue in power.

There is also an expectation that the National Economic Council, which became divided under Sambo because of the leadership crisis that led to the factionalisation of the Nigerian Governors Forum, will now be meeting more regularly. The council, chaired by the Vice-President, has all state governors as members.

Under Jonathan, most governors who would be absent without representation at the NEC or Council of State meetings were APC governors. The tide will likely change.

In all, government is said to be a continuum, so many are expecting that apart from the few changes that will naturally come with a new government formed by a new party other than the party of the immediate past government, the new administration will not embark on a wild goose chase by changing policies that will favour the common man on the streets just for the purpose of “change.”from punch