Nigeria, June 29 -- "On matters of security, the bulk (sic) stops at the President's table." - Bola Ahmed Tinubu, April 2014

On 26 January 2009, Mamman Bello Ali died. He was the governor of Yobe State in north-east Nigeria. At around the same time, an anti-terrorism campaign by the government of Nigeria in Yobe State and its neighbour, Borno State, was about to make a murderous transition into a full-blown insurgency. As Governor Mamman Ali made his earthly transition in a Florida hospital, his deputy, Ibrahim Gaidam assumed office on the same day as the new governor of Yobe State. Today, as minister of Police Affairs in the federal government, Mr Gaidam, whose life in politics has included a stint as a member of the Senate, has high re...