My yelling at staff not because of ‘Ogogoro’ – Abbe

“Now that I am leaving, the yelling will be over. But I shout at them so that they can do their job better and be better-paid, not for any ulterior motive,” the ex-Minister said, even as he acknowledged the support of the staff. Abbe noted that his job was strenuous as he worked under heavy pressure, especially when he was saddled with the leadership of the Post-Amnesty programme. “Sometimes when you are in the creeks in the morning, in the afternoon and having to stay through the night and end up at work the following morning, sometimes there is that tendency to lose it and shout. You know, because you want a lot of things to be accomplished at the speed of your aspirations. It was not ‘Ogogoro’ or something, it was just that I wanted things done on time.”

Abbe went down memory lane on the effects of pressure: “One day, I discovered my hands were shaking and I was disturbed. I asked if there was a medical doctor in the ministry and they said yes, so I asked for her. When she came without a stethoscope, I asked her to go and get it, which she did. I told her to check my hand and see if there is still blood there. Secondly, I asked her to check my heart if it is still there and beating. She just stood there and started laughing. Later, she checked and said the blood is flowing in the arm and that the heart is still there and beating normally. She then asked when last I slept and I said I haven’t in the last two days.” Abbe said the doctor was mortified.

But the ministry’s Director of Human Resources, Alhaji Mohammed Badamasi, in his remarks, jokingly remarked that the yelling of the minister can only be misconstrued by those that do not understand the workings of the military and the need to move things faster and better. “We will welcome you back with open arms if you are ever deployed back to the ministry,” he said, eliciting laughter from those present.

Abbe then apologised for any misgivings in the course of his tenure: “If at any time you find that this minister is very difficult, it was not deliberate. It was just Nigeria telling you to do your job so that you can be better paid.”