Ending my response to Reno Omokri’s assessment of BAT’s one year in office and his adulation of Appointees and Ministers who simply deserve commendations, beginning with the NSA Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu yesterday been 5 days officially to the 365 days of our Chicago State University Graduate whose turn and throne we are experiencing.
Today, It’s the turn of the Minister of Information. Unlike Reno Omokri; I won’t limit my assessment to just the person of the Minister and his office; the institution of his ministry will feature under our review.
Omokri stated; “The Information Minister has increased Nigerians’ trust and confidence in this administration by being truthful and avoiding propaganda. Compared to Lai Mohammed, he is a breath of fresh air. The difference is light and day”.
Lai Mohammed was the best tool for the job at hand at the time he was hired, pre and post 2015. If any body will know this, it should be Omokri. His Principal, our former President and his government were submerged in the water of propaganda that sprung from Lai. The loftiness of Almajiri Schools lost to the politics of power and the propaganda that powered them. That was the script APC handed Lai, and Mohammed interpreted the script to detail and delivered on the term and condition of his engagement. Tinubu would never had been President had Buhari not won the 2015 election. The LIES and Propaganda of Lai Mohammed today despised brought Buhari to Power. Except Omokri of course was fooling us like FFK. There is this pack of mouths, the trio, who I will recommend for BAT as hands that must be part of his branding towards 2027. Signed already is Omokri, Bwala is at the negotiation table and FFK is waiting for the scout who will convince this government against his inherited inherent traitor’s traits for him to join the duo of Reno and Daniel. Only God, who rules in the affairs of men, whose project Nigeria is and whose turn it is to rule Nigeria can stop BAT in 2027. #Godsturn #Olorunlokan
If a man without power survived all the odds against him and overcomes all the obstacles that the feudalists led by Buhari planted on his way. It is not mortals who will stop a man whose conspiracy with mammon is the best in the land where hunger has become citizens companion.
“He does not sit in an air-conditioned office to attack critics, rivals and opponents of the government. He understands his job. He constantly goes around the country with journalists to make them see with their ‘koro koro’ eyes, what the government is doing and how Nigerians tax Naira are being spent.
Perhaps because he is a PR professional, he understands that effective rebranding is a projection of positive things that are now happening”.
There are no mincing words that journalists (which was the practice in the past) are misfits in the world of brand enhancement that public engagement for persons in government and their government has become in the millennium.
It has become the job for the gifted and the skilled. Reno Omokri is both, an attestation to modern day exploits in the field. He holds a master’s degree in law, a prolific writer, author and social media influencer. A gospeller not limited to the gospel of Christ. Champion of BAT Goodnews! Resident of Southern California and the Pastor; Mind of Christ Christian Centre. His contributions to public discourse far outweigh that of many corporate media outfits. Of course, individuality is the trend of the time. Recognition of this has helped FIFA to keep football (soccer) as the most loved and followed game on the globe that inspired the shape of football. It’s a season for individuality in the market place leaving team work to Government and Team game, the very reason we must be very careful how we relate to individuals whose achievements are products of Team spirit and efforts.
The time is here when you have no business speaking as image makers on a discipline they have no expertise on. Though, the niche of endowed ability horned to skills will forever speak for itself. That’s responsible for your amusement when a roadside mechanic fixes the trouble with your car that your multi certificated Engineer couldn’t!
This must interpret public engagement portfolio at CBN. For example, the office should no longer be filled by people who have no expertise in finance. What is needed by CBN is not policy information, but policy education. Post Emefiele’s CBN is still dancing around the damage done and scratching the surface of the assignment of winning back public confidence. Nigerians are lost to monetary policy, and simple info won’t do the Job.
The Job of the Minister and his Ministry of information should be information and data driven. What sampling has he done of the area of disconnect between the leadership and the people? What programme has this Minister designed to bridge such areas of gaps?
Is there any programme on NTA or Radio Nigeria put up to address monetary policy education, food security and insecurity? The leading trio of troubles in critical areas where Buhari left Nigerians behind, for which the populace are running but not catching up with the BAT administration. Success for this Minister and his ministry should not be premised on road shows across the country. He must come for us where we were left stranded, apologize on behalf of APC and Tinubu as its National Chairman for wasting 8 years of our lives. Show us this administration’s plan, inform and educate on how we can be part of the journey and to lend our hands to the building. Intelligent intimidation of their hired many Media to close the evil pages of their 8 years record and force us to forget can’t do the job. If memories are failing them, ours are still intact. If the conscience is seared ours are not. If the hearts have turned stony, ours are still fresh in the flesh that God made it.
This Minister of Information is rather fortunate to work with a President who is not in the dark concerning the power of the media as helping the public to form its opinion or at setting agenda to create narratives to wean the public from a propaganda or publicity trend.
The President is with possibly the highest number of Media Aides and Assistants in the world today with over 20 officially on tax payers neck. Not minding many like Reno Omokri who are on the side of the President in the name of nation building to spew purely narratives that are to the advantage of the President and his Government, out there on the social media as consultant and friends of the President and “Lovers” of Nigeria. Only they and the President can tell if their services are given pro bono or not. Sincerely, no influencer who is not residing in Nigeria deserves the attention of Nigerians on issues of policies and performance of this administration. Those who are not in this shoes with us shouldn’t be handling us shoe pads telling us to keep enduring the pains and pinches. Check the profile of your favourite influencer. If he/she is not a fellow in the same ship; then they should mind the captain of their Ships and Leaders of their nations of residences. Biden is Reno Omokri’s Captain on board the Capitol hill’s ship sailing on freedom high sea towards liberty harbour. Our course is different, so is our Captain. It will be foolish of us and our Captain to listen to people who can’t stake their lives and future on this voyage with us.
“Surprisingly, his ministry was able to secure rights for the Nigerian Television Authority to broadcast the AFCON live. An unprecedented achievement”. The consolation that Football has become wouldn’t allow me go hard on that but it’s about time that NTA is unbundled. A platform of 3.3 billion average yearly view shouldn’t fail to seal any viewing contract on the shore of Africa. The only need NTA and Radio Nigeria are serving as far as I am concerned is helping the government to say its news the way they want it said. If their content is the truth and nothing but the truth, then they don’t need such waste of money that its values are hardly seen. The credibility of some private broadcasting Corporation is most times what the government depends upon to tell its news. What then is the need for keeping those old elephants for milk when they can no longer produce. Those organisations should be in the hands of Business minded people who can make profit with them. Here end my one Kobo advice to the President and Nigerians on information and information ministry.
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table.
