The position of the Information Minister in Nigeria has over time become synonymous with image laundering of government not least is the invidious task of rationalizing some of the insalubrious policies of the government to give it some face in the media. seasoned public relations experts are usually engaged for this purpose. unfortunately, successive governments in Nigeria have moved from appointing core professionals in this area to "attack dogs" whose major job description is a confrontational, gung-hoo-style form of media relations that range from attacking the critics of government to rationalizing the actions of the government in power. Some of the statements issued in this regard by the President's N0 1 media handler indents on the absurd and ludicrous. President Olusegun Obasanjo had the likes of Prof Jerry Gana, Dapo Sarunmi, Dr.Doyin Okupe, Chukwuemeka Chikelu etc as spokespersons for the government. While the likes of Prof Jerry Gana and Dr. Chukwuemeka Chikelu.distinguished themselves as Information Ministers, the likes of Doyin Okupe and Dapo Sarunmi were more of "attack dogs". While Chukwuemeka Chikelu was urbane and very professional in his job, Dr Okupe and Chief Dapo Sarunmi deployed their verbal skills to the defence of the government in the media department aimed at countering unfavourable public opinions about the government's policies. Prof Jerry Gana on his own part was deployed to employ his oratorical prowess in defending the government of the day. Soft spoken but a gentleman endowed with the uncommon gift of convincing the most acerbic critics of the administration, Prof Gana impeccably performed his duties of befuddling the citizenry with deftly crafted sophistries that sometimes left those of us in the know, clapping in admiration.
President Jonathan came and had the likes of Ima Niboro, the Late Prof Dora Akunyili and Labaran Maku as Information Managers. While Prof Akunyili represented the straight talking Minister who did the job of information disemmination and enlightenment and no more, Labaran Maku was more of an image launderer who deployed his demagogic skills to effectively do his job. He deftly employed the skill of craft and demagogy to pilot the affairs of the information ministry. The ultimate aim was clearly to befuddle the citizenry. Dr. Doyin Okupe was later deployed to act as the spokesman of the Presidency, a position he used to effectively fight the opposition at the time. Exchange of rancid diatribes with the opposition was rife at the time. Very minimal effort was made to address issues. Statements invariably degenerate to personal insults and attack to the person. The slightest comment made innocuously by any well meaning Nigerian capable of affecting the pool of public opinion was seen as a personal attack on the President which later degenerated to name-calling and verbal attacks. This was the area of public relations where Alhaji Lai Mohammed thrived. It was his turf. He was a man capable of turning snippets of speculation into full blown propaganda. It is indeed believed by some people that the APC owes its victory at the 2015 elections to the propaganda-driven public relations machinery of Lai Mohammed . Alhaji Lai Mohammed kept the PDP on its toes as the spokesman of the APC. The victory of the APC has ensured a role reversal between him and his chief adversary in this sphere, Olisa Metu, who, without prejudice to his travails at the hands of the EFCC & DSS, has struggled to make an impact as the opposition spokesperson. So big is the shoes filled by Lai Mohammed that the slightest propaganda from Metu's PDP is shrugged off immediately by the thinking Nigerian public who see right into Metu's gaffes unlike his predecessor as opposition spokesman who always finds a way of infusing a simulacrum of credibility to his propaganda and sell them to the court of public opinion.
Lai Mohammed having been appointed Information Minister is no longer just a party spokesman. He has become the voice of the government. Not only would he now be grilled on the perceived unpopular policies of the government, he would take the flak for every public relation gaffe of the administration, he would find himself in the firing line for every unpopular public policy/programme or directive of the government when he comes to defend same in the court of public opinion. He now has the unenviable task of selling planned policy directives of the government to the public. Information management has become a major job description for the Kwara born politician. At a time where the Presidency is faced with questions over the anti-corruption drive of the government with its perceived attendant human rights implications , the controversial increase in electricity tariff, the endless foreign trips of the President, the seemingly intractable Boko haram insurgency and the delay in some of the manifestoes of the ruling party, the budget presentation gaffes of the administration as well as the Public relations clangers of Mr. President etc are matters that require the urgent attention of Mr Information Minister. Yet, we are yet to see any press releases from the information ministry on any of these issues.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed had sometime in December last year declared that the government had won a technical victory over the boko haram insurgency. Whatever that means! Yet, bombs have been going off in Dalori, Konduga, Dikwa and Maidugari almost on a daily basis killing scores of citizens. A man who had devoted so much power and time to attack the former administration on the boko haram insurgency should at least be sincere with his information disemmination and tell us the home truth on the boko haram insurgency. Such brazen and blatant falsehood should not be associated with a party that pontificated the change mantra on which it came to power least of all a man that piloted that move with his famed propaganda-driven antics. I cannot even imagine how the family of the victims of the recent attacks would feel reading these comments painting a false picture of the situation. The reported beef up of security at Aso rock is a disconnect from the government's posture in all of this since it is a tacit admission that the war on insurgency is not over and makes a mincemeat of Lai Mohammed's assertions. Surely the word " technical " should mean "inchoate and or incomplete" and if that is the case, then, we are all in agreement that the war is far from won. Even the out-gone administration had spells of reprieve from the boko haram attacks until the bombs go off again.
The budget gaffes by the administration has surprisingly not attracted a shred of statement from the Ministry of Information instead, all we have seen is a bunch of knee-jerk reactions from the Presidency in the name of statements. Ditto for the anti-corruption drive, un-savoury comments on the judiciary by Mr. President etc none of which has a elicited a reaction from the Ministry of Information. Whether this is a public relations strategy is left to be seen but it seems the President has entrusted the most sensitive information management duties to his larkies at the Presidency. I am however curious as to how Alhaji Lai Mohammed would fare as Information Minister given his abrasive and combative antecedents.
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