OPINION: Pimples from PMB’s media chat
By Femi Akintunde-Johnson
After watching the Presidential Media Chat, I came off with some worrying furrows. It is obvious PMB handled this spotlight much better than we have seen in time past. He was relatively calm, assured and stately on almost all issues except economy, Biafra, Dasuki and Shiite…but later on that.
It is also mildly distracting the total humiliation of NTA in the presentation, production and transmission of THIS presidential chat. I can live with the fact that quality and clarity of visuals might have condemned NTA to the background (what with years of criminal neglect and crass sycophantism).
But for Channels to virtually dominate a national event so unabashedly, and in a buccaneering aplomb tells us that the mindset of presidential minders are still buried in electioneering animus. Or it’s a mere slip that will be corrected subsequently. We’ll wait and see.
By the way, we must commend the handlers of the chat: questions didn’t sound orchestrated (though some were long-winded and over-garnished); most of the selected journalists were pushful without being nasty (kudos to the anchor and the Premium guy, in this respect).
The dialogue flowed and ebbed, and sometimes pretended to verge on the explosive. And the principal admirably sustained the pace for a 2-hour jaw-jaw, except on few occasions when his age poked through.
We can only advise that in future, a younger face and reps of other arms of journalism should be invited. And please, give more than 30 minutes to the fabled 170 million Nigerians watching.
Now, to my worries from the sub-plots of the President’s statements, countenances, “dead-moments” and gestures.
We need to be convinced PMB knows what his economic advisers are saying, and doing! He did not seem to get the level of distress in the business community and the plight of Nigerian students and other Nigerians outside the country.
We appreciate your concerns over likely criminal exploitation of the forex regime, and the urgent need to prioritize productive sectors, but the owners of luxury or “unimportant” goods are entitled to their livelihoods when evidence shows they have fulfilled all legal and reasonable requirements. Let them use their legitimate money the way they deem fit! You can’t legislate common sense or patriotism!
PMB did not use a sharp or long enough stick to prod through the stacks of items and provisions stuffed into the 2016 budget. Some expense centres show no positive CHANGE based on our expectations of what he portends as a clear-headed leader. You can’t gripe about legislative turkey-throwing soiree (planned to gulp near 50 billion naira), and then meekly accommodate profligate oversight like keeping large presidential fleet (air and land crafts), Aso Rock’s scandalous maintenance overheads.
No excuse on earth will make us understand the need for us to brace up for more austere time next year, while Aso Rock’s budget dwarfs some ministries! Or that past administrations criminally indulged in wicked deforestation of the Nigerian reserves with a 90%-10% allocation ratio for recurrent-capital expenditures… and now you hopped to a barely distinguishable 70%-30%! Suffering, hope and patience must be seen to be evenly shared and borne!
PMB is easily irritated by veiled contradictions of the rule of law: the possibility that a truly bad guy can exploit the system and evade commensurate justice. Sir, we understand your frustrations, but you can’t be seen to support disobedience of court orders or subversion of judicial processes – in such cavalier manners. Even if we fear the worst concerning the least amongst us, we must not throw dignity and simple courtesies to the wind. No, sir!
To suggest by your snide remarks and incredulous giggles that investigating the operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces in their interface with a section of the Nigerian society (the Shiite sect) is beyond the “pay-grade” of the Nigeria Police (the primary investigation and enforcement agency) is staggeringly worrisome. And with over 100 people killed on this occasion, sir, your token commiseration did not cover nor indemnify the heinous damage. I suspect, such mindset gave birth to the current malignant cancer (Boko Haram)!
In anger do not sin, the holy book admonishes. Your barely concealed anger at the on-going Biafran agitation may be understandable, but it’s not justifiable. As a 13 year old democrat (by your own admission), you cannot let slip such venom against a citizen or a group of people however misguided you think they are… to the point that you flaunt intelligence reports on our faces, to make us appreciate the severity of the situation.
As you have rightly supported your ministers against unproven corrupt charges, so should those agitators be similarly respected until otherwise sanctioned – whatever the weight of your intelligence reports.
We truly hope that we can all look at ourselves in the mirror, and choose to prune needless growth and tend our productive parts – vigorously, without second-guessing our neighbours.
Have a prosperous new year…in spite of our situation.
Femi Akintunde-Johnson is a media practitioner..
