(Personal Opinion)
By
Anas Sani Anka
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It is with a deep sense of humility and respect that I decided to say my personal standpoint about the appointment of the new media aides by the Governor of Zamfara Dauda Lawal on Tuesday the 30th day of May 2023.
As someone within the media industry, I felt degraded with the choice of these personalities not because they do not have capacity or the competency to be given such appointments, but considering the dynamism in the world of corporate Democratic governance they may likely not fit the job they were delegated to do through their new appointments.
My reasons are enormous and I will state them here for the Governor and all my readers to see and agree or disagree.
Media aides to Governor of a state are supposed to be people with trained specialty and also with multifaceted skills needed to communicate effectively to the governed and also manage situations of emergency.
Before laying my power points to probe my arguments on the competency or otherwise of these personalities let me make some short synopsis of how communication structure of the office of the Governor of a state in Nigeria should look like.
Ordinarily, it is expected that Special Adviser Media and communication or whatever nomenclature they refer to it depending on the state should be the official Spokesperson of the Governor and the man leading team of the Governor’s communication experts.
Depending on the peculiarities of the state however, some usually appoint a Director General to deputize the Special Adviser while others appointed Director of Press only.
Where there is Director General Press Affairs Master of Ceremony (MC) is usually appointed to handle the microphone of the government and master over the governor’s daily events and programs.
Where there is Director of Press Affairs instead of Director General a Press Secretary is usually appointed with additional functions of being the master of ceremonies for the Governor.
Though because of the emergence of the digital media, some state governors in Nigeria appointed other aides to manage digital media or new media outlets as some refer to it and notwithstanding their nomenclature they work under the media directorate of the office of the Governor.
But all of the above the entire media team are headed by the Special Adviser Media not press affairs who leads the team and ensure proper coordination in terms of discharge of statutory functions.
Special Adviser Media or whatever he is called is the official Spokesperson of the Governor and ensure that all information to be released regarding the policies and programs of the Governor passes through an agreed channel he controls.
Who should be appointed as Special Adviser Media and public enlightenment as the case may be in Zamfara? of course someone with at least decade of experience in media practice, a professional journalist who possibly grow through the cadre to become an editor in a newsroom.
He must have vast experience and stamped over dozens of hurdles in the journalism practice and also have broader scope of understanding of wide range of issues and have the ability to mitigate over emergency situation.
He must also be a certified member of at least one of the professional bodies possible the Nigerian Union of journalists or the mother body the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
I could remember during the days of Abdulaziz Yari in Zamfara precisely in 2011 he partitioned the Directorate of Media and Communication to include another directorate of communication, but that does not take away the function of the Special Adviser Media who was the official mouth-piece of the Governor.
Now the Governor took the most appropriate steps of appointing his aides as Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants because that is the only thing he can do for now until after the state assembly members are inaugurated before they can begin to consider nominees for the post Special Advisers but notwithstanding, the appointments came with serious confusion.
Special Assistant Press Affairs and Special Assistants Media and Enlightenment and by suspicion the Governor may likely elevate the duo to substantive Advisers after the state assembly members are inaugurated the confusion is who lead who? and who does what function?.
The Question is important because there is a serious confusion even among the citizens of the state because the combination of the two appointments shows that there is likely going to be duplication of roles and functions, jittery between the actors, display of pride and show of political closeness as well as double standard.
Using the criteria captured above to assess the appointees I believed whoever advised the Governor in the selection of thses candidates he has advised him wrongly.
None of them fit the job in my opinion I may be wrong not mincing the foundation I have made at the beginning of this piece.
I knew Shatiman Rijiya and worked very closely with him during the days of former Governor Matawalle while he was the PDP Spokesperson and even after the Governor left the party, we remained very closer to each other.
I know his extent and I know his limitations couple with the professional requirements of the office of Senior Special Assistant on Press Affairs I know that there is a dust a head because his orientation and experience cannot match the stress and pressure of that office.
I am sure even his excellency Dauda Lawal knew where Shatiman Rijiya fits better that is “political party management”.
It is the expectations of many people that just the way Dauda Lawal the Governor tactically opted Mukhtar Lugga the acting PDP chairman out of the party mainstream, he will begin to think of creating a good space for Shatiman Rijiya within the party structure of the PDP so that he will continue with the job of depending the party.
How I wish Dauda Lawal may substitute Abba Bello the current party spokesperson with Shatiman Rijiya so that Abba can be re-assign alternative job to do within the government structure and allow Shatiman Rijiya to continue to be exchanging political blow with the opposition politcal parties that is the job that fits Shatiman Riji the most.
For anyone who listened to the last interview of Shatiman Rijiya at the vision FM regarding the work of the MD Abubakar led transition committee constituted by Dauda Lawal he will surely come to the conclusion that Shatiman Rijiya has a very limited understanding of how government is run.
Even today I listened to the interview again and said to myself how is this man going to be managing information on behalf of the government when he knew less about how government is run. I am afraid if he may not end of causing the government a monumental embarrassment.
That aside, as for Malam Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, he is one of our colleagues whom I know very well, and I can testify to his extent and limitations too, especially during his last beat of assignment as DG Press Affairs to the state house of assembly.
If Jafaru should be truthful to himself, he would know that the task of managing the office of the Governor’s spokesperson is too heavy for him.
Yes, of course, he can do the job fairly well, but only if “capable and competent hands can be incorporated to support him” the Governor should carefully mark this conditional statement and the time will judge us.
I am providing this suggestion with all sense of fairness to the appointees because one may not like a situation where the Governor will begin to complain about poor performance when media practitioners begin to hammer on the government and its approach to governance.
Hausa people use to pass this adage “tun za’aje ake shiri basai an dawoba”. And I think the Governor needs to be guided; hence we are the one to work with them, and we know how controversial some of us used to be when it comes to relating with the government media aides.
I don’t think at this level we need media aides that would succeed in writing press statements only. Time has changed where corporate information management requires people with skills to strike and defend their principals without hitting the governed.
It is not too late for the Governor to continue to beam his search lights around other alternative individuals to be handed over the job or in the interim attach other capable hands to support these personalities if for some political or considerable reasons he wanted them in that positions at all cost.
I learned that the other person appointed to head new media is a professional and I don’t see any reason why he can’t lead the team if what I heard about him and his profile is true hence Tambuwal has done it with my late friend Malam Imam Imam of blessed memory.
Kashim Shatima and now Babagana Zulum have also done that with one of our colleague also Isah Umar Gusau who is currently the Spokesperson of the Governor of Borno State not mincing he is from Zamfara state.
This should be the last option if the Governor believed there are no other competent person to handle the job for him within home may be for some obvious political reasons.
What matters is not the identity of the person doing the job but end result which is success because we cannot sacrifice result for personal identity.
I apologize to those who may not feel good about my perspective but it is the bitter truth.
May Allah help us
