When Media Echoes Public Opinion About Ability to Deliver

JajaIfeanyichukwu writes about need Enugu State residents to remain focused with people-centered programmes being executed by Governor Peter Mbah and jettison intrigues of Abuja-based paper weight politicians from the state.

On Saturday, May 24, 2021, the THISDAY newspapers could not have made me more proud of its perfection as purveyor of information and pop culture. Noted as Nigeria’s newspaper of record, THISDAY did a near-clinical analysis of the performance of the members of President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet. 

The newspaper graded the ministers according to their ranking in three broad categories, namely, The Bright Spots, Not Pulling Their Weights and Sleeping Ministers.

That Saturday edition of THISDAY newspaper noted aptly: “Ultimately, the performance of President Tinubu’s Ministers serves as a direct reflection of his administration’s effectiveness. That is why it is important for us to evaluate the contributions of his Ministers as he prepares to mark his second year in office.”

I grabbed a copy and read through the analysis with relish. I was particularly elated by the realities captured in the copy for the main reason that it echoed my sentiments earlier articulated as a think piece on the Friday May 16, issue of the newspaper.

In my article, which appeared under the caption, Of Opposition Politics and Distractions In Enugu State, I had pleaded with President Tinubu to do well and retain his Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Geoffrey UcheNnaji, despite the Minister’s obvious less than average performance.

It should be noted that in that article, which was published barely eight days before the THISDAY’s evaluation of Mr President’s 48 Ministers, I had stated: “Another election cycle is approaching, and such a personality, who has always lived in the shadows of Senator Uzodimma is raising his head as a potential governorship flag bearer once again. And some Enugu people are already shouting, how?

“Most of those who express worry how UcheNnaji — for that is how we all know him — has the boldness to aspire again. As a Minister, our people have been wondering whether he understands the expectations of President Bola Tinubu and his Renewed Hope Agenda for Science, Technology and Innovation.

“At a time when many public-spirited individuals are setting up incubation hubs to enhance the technological and ICT skills of young people, Nigeria’s Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation is searching for how to turn his ministry into a fulcrum of activities or a place for the harvest of ideas.

“One expected that Minister Nnaji should have by now outlined the essential pillars of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as they concern the crucial topics of Science, Technology and Innovation. Is that too much to ask for?

“If Nigerians are not worried that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has turned into a dry ground, those of us from Enugu State can no longer hold back on this, just for the mere reason that our son and brother sits in that office.”

Although many callers had affirmed the accuracy of my candid assertions, some complained that my write-up may have opened the eyes of Nigerians to the shortcomings of the Minister.

Those who complained against the article were of the opinion that I must have taken internal political dynamics at home to a national level, a development they said could rub-off negatively on our (Enugu people’s) opportunity at the centre.

But, barely a week after my article in the THISDAY newspaper issue of May 16 had thrown up debates about the performance of Enugu State’s representative on President Tinubu’s cabinet, the same Nigeria’s newspaper of record went to town with its authoritative delivery.

Readers can now understand why I was more than happy that the fourth estate of the realm could echo my assertions. My elation is in part also because I have been vindicated and exonerated from accusation of political mischief or native animosity against the Minister.

In fact, I screamed with huge relief and ecstasy, when I read the Saturday issue of THISDAY May 24, where the newspaper under the subhead of Sleeping Ministers, wrote: “The leading figure among them is the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Geoffrey Nnaji.

 “Nnaji has been largely absent from public discourse to the extend that a lot of persons mistake Bosun Tijani as the person in charge of his Ministry.

“At a time when Nigeria desperately needs forward-thinking leadership to harness technology for national development, his performance has been underwhelming.

“Many observers view his tenure so far as disappointing, marked by a lack of visibility and measurable progress. Nnaji has remained colourless and far from inspiring.”

Placed side by side with the portion of my article of May 16 inserted above, any objective reader could see the similarities between the THISDAY’s summations and my assertions on the May 16 article, which talked about “Opposition Distractions In Enugu State.”

But, the point remains that it would be hard to relate how a politician that could not pull his punches as a Minister should be aspiring to become a state chief executive. I know that as an academic, I am not angling to take  Nnaji’s place in President Tinubu’s cabinet.

At the same time, as a patriotic citizen of Enugu State, I am concerned about the political distractions to good governance in our state.

It is left to President Tinubu to evaluate his ministers and ascertain how far they have met or failed to meet their KPIs. At any event, the President reserves the right to hire and fire his appointees. So also, citizens should not fail in their own civic responsibility of holding their representatives to account.

After all, as the late DrChubaOkadigbo observed in 2003, eternal vigilance is crucial to deepening democracy and citizen inclusivity. While much rot and distractions from good governance take place at the subnational level, maximum attention is being focused on the federal government.

As someone who is concerned with good governance and social harmony, I maintain that stakeholders and in fact, the electorate, should do well to screen out unserious characters that populate the ballot papers during elections. That was the take-off point of my intervention as published in THISDAY newspaper of May 16.

Recently, Enugu State citizens were united in their expression of relief and joy that Governor Peter Mbah has in the past two years greatly reflected their yearning and aspiration, especially in the areas of provision of essential daily living amenities, educational upgrade and security.

That being the case, left to some objective analysts and voters like me, it would be worthwhile for all Enugu State people to rally round Governor Mbah and affirm his second term return without recourse to the divisive distraction from partisan opponents some of who use elections as ATM.

 That point indeed informed my take on the opinion article I sent to the THISDAY, particularly my inference that “the ruling party in the state got it right at its governorship primary such that the feeble voices of dissent experimented with drab opposition politics.”

So, all in all, as I exult in the validation by the THISDAY newspaper, the point remains that the people should ventilate their opinions about the governors and their representatives. The essence of democracy revolves around public participation more than merely voting at periodic elections.

Apart from endorsements from partisan stakeholders, it is the voice of the people that actually expose the pulse of governance as they represent the objective estimation of those in public office. 

-Jaja writes from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.