Femi Adesina: It is unwise to describe Nigerians as “pitiable souls. Of all men most miserable”

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Sometime in September 2016, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, former United States first lady and the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party in the 2016 Presidential elections, while speaking at a fundraiser activity in New York City, said half of President Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables”. Clinton said “You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables”. She said the other half of Trump’s supporters “feel that the government has let them down” and are “desperate for change” adding that “Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.” She was heavily criticised by Trump supporters, Republicans and moderate Democrats for the use of the word “Deplorable.” According to them, no American deserves to be referred to as Deplorable under any circumstance, including their political leaning. She eventually apologized. Such a graceful lady.

The above narration is necessary today in the context of Mr. Femi Adesina’s recent piece published in many of the national dailies, and the need for the presidential spokesman to be graceful enough to admit the mistake made and apologise. According to the Vanguard newspaper online edition of 6th August, 2021, the media adviser to the President authored an article entitled: See how they are being sent to God to answer for their crimes’’. In the article, the author quoted copiously the statistics of the successes achieved in the war against banditry and terrorism in the North East, North Central and North West as published by PR Nigeria News. It is apt to salute the presidential spokesman for revealing the extent of the success story of our armed forces and the security services, especially for those who do not have access to the PR Nigeria news. That is principally what is expected of the Minister of Information and the Media Team of the Presidency. Bravo.

However, it would seem that while doing the good job of informing Nigerians about the extent of the fight against bandits and insurgents, the author also unwittingly embarked on a battle of words against Nigerians who criticise the government as not doing enough. The media adviser said “some people say they see nothing that government is doing. Pitiable souls. Of all men most miserable”. It is on this note that the presidential spokesman should be advised to at least engage the hand brake, even if he is not ready to employ the foot brake yet. Perhaps, there would be a reflection on the fact that among the people advising or criticizing the government are noble men and women, including the Sultan of Sokoto. They cannot be described as charlatans who “see nothing that government is doing”.

In the 6th August, 2021 edition of 21st Century Chronicle online newspaper, the Sultan of Sokoto was reported as saying that “The problems of Nigeria are mounting up daily, let’s not deceive ourselves that things are getting better, things are not getting better at all”. The Sultan said this at the third National Summit of Peaceful Co-existence and Nation Building organised by Da’wah Coordination Council of Nigeria in Gombe. It is pertinent to restate that there are Nigerians that do not have political affiliation and whose religious inclinations do not come into play when discussing national issues.

The Sultan and other such eminent persons raising concerns about the situation in the country cannot and should not be described as pitiable or miserable souls. This advice is pertinent and it is for the author to know that Nigerian government is paying his bills to serve the President in order to convey to Nigerians when and where necessary, the position of the President on issues of national importance and not to heap abuses on the critics of government. There is no doubt that at times, the provocation and temptation to respond to every criticism targeted at the President is so great, but in responding to same, derogatory words should not as a matter of principle, standard policy and decorum come from the office of the President who is the symbol of Nigeria’s sovereignty. The contending forces are enormous, no doubt, but the presidency should not lose focus in handling such situations.

While there is no doubt that the armed forces and the security forces are doing the best they can, it is going to be difficult to convince the parents of the children kidnapped from Bethel Secondary School in Kaduna or the children of the Islamic school in Niger State, whose wards are yet to be rescued that enough efforts are being made. It is just the way that an unemployed person will react if statistics of the employment opportunities created by the government is being reeled out. As long as there are still unemployed people out there, the efforts by any administration for that matter are just insufficient. That in itself does not mean that the government is not doing anything. It is only suggestive of the fact that the accomplishment isn’t just adequate yet. And if they cry out, they are the ones that deserve pity and the response ought not to be that they are pitiable or miserable souls.

Meanwhile, it is safe to assume, though without evidence, that the next two years would be a busy period for the media team of the government and the president as they would be faced with unrelenting criticisms against the performance of the President and the administration, especially in the run up to the general elections in 2023. Are we then going to see more of the abuse or measured response that befits the status of the symbol of Nigeria’s sovereignty? Nigerians will rather see that the presidency goes above the fray and take the advice of another graceful former United States first lady, Michelle Obama who said “When they go low, We go high”. Just allow the facts to speak as revealed in the compilation by PR News.

It is appropriate to conclude this piece by joining the presidential spokesman in prayer: “May God bless our troops. May He protect them, reward their labor of love”.

Wale Oloko

Abuja, Nigeria

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