Jolomi: At last President Bola Ahmed Tinubu agreed to participate in the traditional media chat after one and a half years in office. For so long, he simply and stoically ignored jibes about his refusal to speak at some length to the media. Of course, there were all kind of mischievous insinuations bordering on incapacity and inability to sustain prolonged discourse. This no doubt arose from glitches and gaffes during the presidential campaign.
Obuneme: It was a season of war and blunders were expected!
Jolomi: You can say that again! At last, we have heard from our president!
Abubakar: Yes, at last. Better late than never, as they say. I admired his guts and confidence, though I didn’t agree with him on some issues.
Jolomi: His rather tame and withdrawn predecessor was in office for only seven months when he held the first media chat. He was sworn into office May 29th 2015 and gave the first opportunity to journalists to interrogate him on December 30 2015. For a man who was taciturn, he beat the articulate almost loquacious BAT in terms of first-time engagement.
Obuneme: But BAT gave a good account of himself. He was very confident and almost dismissive of the probing questions.
Tega: Almost bordering on arrogance, if I may add, that feeling that he is in charge, he is in control, and that there is nothing anybody can do about it. You know, a take it or leave it attitude and demeanour. That was disturbing to me. The father of the nation ought to appeal to the reason and sentiments of the people, assuring them in a fatherly-tone that the pain is a temporary injury and that there is hope at the end of the tunnel. That empathy was tellingly absent in my considered view. Giving hope is one of the characteristics of good leadership, the kind of leadership which PM Winston Churchill provided for the UK when the devil came pounding that little island in the name of Adolf Hitler. In an apparently hopeless situation, Winston managed to convince the British that ‘we will fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds’. He provided hope in a hopeless situation, against all odds.
Obuneme: I agree with you, sister. Hope springs eternal in the human breast, wrote Alexander Pope, ‘man never is, but always to be blest!
Abubakar: Well, our president has spoken. I don’t think the presidential chat should be a mere ritual. It must contain facts. Besides, one should not be in a hurry to media-chat if there is nothing substantial to say!
Obuneme: Is there any time in which the president of a country will not have something substantial or profound to say? This can only happen if the incumbent is vacuous. BAT by all standards is articulate and can hold contestations of ideas with any group of persons.
Ebikeme: So, where did all blabablu in the pre-election days come from?
Rotimi: Was that not a media creation? If indeed he experienced slurred speeches in the pre-election days, it could be the stress of the campaigns. Not an easy time, you know. That agonic ‘emilokan’ speech in Abeokuta in 2022 showed he felt pained that some people who knew the deal were trying to shortchange him. And he cried and asserted from the depths of his soul that it was the turn of the Yoruba and his turn after supporting others to high political offices. For me, that was a turning point.
Gloria: If we know the objectives of a presidential media chat, we would understand why it took BAT this long to enter the media fray. These chats provide an opportunity for the president to explain his policies, decisions, and actions directly to the public. It is also an opportunity for the president to share information about his administration’s achievements, challenges, and plans, helping to educate the public and shape public opinion.
Rotimi: As for me, there are some takeaways from the chat. One is that the interviewers were free, not teleguided by some unseen hands. From the follow-up questions, it was clear that that they were not following a script. Also, BAT made it clear that he does not believe in price controls which one of the interviewers had suggested as a palliative measure. His statement that he does not regret subsidy removal was a highlight, though he sounded insensitive as my sister Tega has pointed out. Yes, he believes in his policies, but there ought to be words of solace.
Tega: There is too much sorrow in the land that a few words of comfort will not hurt anybody. It is one of the burdens of leadership.
Ebikeme: He also declared and I agree with him, that borrowing is not a crime. The real problem is what the government does with borrowed funds. Federal roads are a disgrace. The road between Benin and Warri and some national highways are nightmarish to commuters. Borrowed funds could be used to fix the roads. He defended the tax reforms proposal, showing that he is a master of the finance industry.
Tega: His stout defence of his military chiefs did not sit well with me. He seems to have given them a blank cheque to do as they please. As far as I am concerned, the security situation has not improved. Whole parcels of land and some communities are still controlled by bandits and terrorists. Some words of ending the insurgency will not harm anybody.
Rotimi: A Commander-in-Chief does not give orders to his generals in public. What purpose will it serve if he tells the nation that he will probe the military? Grandstanding? He will simply destroy their morale. The president has enough resources to know all happenings in the military without a probe. A probe is suggestive of wrongdoing, lack of confidence in the generals. Why don’t we focus on the positive part of his presentation lie saying that he has met the nation’s obligations without depending on funds from NNPCL?
Gloria: How then has he financed the economy? Borrowing?
Abubakar: Through ways and means. As long as he does not run foul of the law, let him do what it takes to take us out of this mess.
Gloria: Do you really believe he can get Nigeria out of the mess?
Rotimi: He has promised to get us out.
Ebikeme: With the level of corruption going on?
Abubakar: The Western democracies have grown despite corruption.
Tega: I don’t like the way he handled the stampedes and deaths issue. He put the blame squarely on the organizers.
Obuneme: Yes, he did. He answered the question out of context by referencing America and food stamps. The questioner meant that the hardship in the country led to the rise of individual efforts. In other words, address the hardship and there will be no need for palliatives.
Rotimi: What did Christ say? The poor will always be with us. There will always be need for palliatives!
Tega: It is true according to Mr. President that ‘reforms are not meant to inflict pain, that they are necessary for growth. But it is also true that the reforms have caused pain for millions of Nigerians. I can hardly buy my medications now. I have removed chicken from the weekly menu in the house. Rice is out of reach. I have parked my car, used only during weekends. This is hard on me. People don’t have enough transport money to go to work. There are too many family members who ask for help these days. So, Mr. President, the reforms are killing us. Try and connect with the people from what you say and do. Don’t be so distant. Even military dictator IBB tried to connect with the people each them he tinkered with the price of petrol.