By Inyali Peter
Few days ago, the Spiritual Leader of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka criticised President Muhammadu Buhari over his handling of the security situation in Nigeria. The clergyman who was one of Buhari’s core supporters in 2015 and 2019 asked the President to resign. He equally urged the National Assembly to impeach him if he refuses to.
His statement has generated so many reactions. While others have hailed him for coming out to speak against his former ally, some have blasted him that being one of the religious leaders in the country with unlimited access to the President, his position would have been best served if he communicated with the President privately.
Personally, I’m one of those who believe that Mbaka, being a close friend of the President, chiding him privately would have made his message more effective than going public.
Howbeit, the deal was already been done and it was left for the President’s image-makers to take advantage of the moment to reassure Nigerians that he remains the dogged general with unprecedented capacity to end the insecurity. But this wasn’t the case.
The reply by our great party, the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu to Mbaka is rather making Nigerians to sympathize more with the Priest than the efforts the President is putting to address the issue.
At this critical period in our history, the least the government and ruling party should do is to miss opportunities like this in giving Nigerians hope because that’s what leadership is all about. It was completely needless for the party to threaten to report Fr. Mbaka to the Pope or Shehu accusing him of criticizing the President because he could not get the contracts he wanted.
Nobody would fall for those tales now because we can’t pretend that all is well or that Mbaka lied about the security situation in the country.
Both the party and Garba failed to categorically, address the issue of insecurity which was the subject matter of Mbaka’s scattering remarks. Or is it that the government is doing nothing? Garba and others should stop portraying President Buhari as someone whose averse to opposing opinions.
Each time Shehu has opened his mouth to speak or write on a national issue, he has done more damage to the President’s image than project him positively. I have wondered many times, whether he’s working for or against the President.
Anybody with a fair knowledge of Public Relations would appreciate the fact that one of President Buhari’s greatest problems is the incompetence of his Public Relations machinery. That the President is still keeping them is even a surprise.
Shehu had no reason to pick up a fight on behalf of the President with Mbaka. Even if the President asked him to, as a professional, he should know that Nigerians would be more interested in knowing what the government is doing to end insecurity than whether or not Mbaka went to Buhari for contracts.
People are dying, properties are being destroyed on daily basis. What a responsible Spokesperson should do is to reassure Nigerians that things will take shape soon and not unnecessary taunting. This same Mbaka stood with Buhari when almost all Christian leaders in this country stood against him.
There’s more to be being a Spokesperson than being a great writer. Shehu has shown that indeed, not all good Journalists are good PR persons. Nigerians are interested in knowing the solutions and not what Mbaka or anybody has demanded from the government. In fact, even if Mbaka did, he deserves it. A lot of people who have benefitted so much from this government did not do half of what he did for the President in 2015 and 2019.
A statement like this from Shehu would have served a better purpose :
“Dear Fr. Mbaka,
As a government, we thank you for all the support over the years and your recent public statement on the recent happenings in Nigeria. We understand your pain and those of other Nigerians with genuine concern about the security situation.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari is not resting in ensuring that he put an end to the mindless killings because he understands that the primary responsibility of every government is to protect lives and properties.
He sympathises with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the past few days to banditry, kidnapping and insurgency. This is indeed a challenging period not just for Nigeria but for the whole world.
After the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic has done to the world economy, most countries are having this issue of insecurity. While we acknowledge that what’s happening is not peculiar to Nigeria, we want to assure Nigerians that the end is near.
The President has given marching orders to the security agencies to put an end to this. In the next few days, Nigerians will begin to see more positive results.
We appeal to Nigerians not to lose hope, especially in this challenging time. What’s happening now requires all hands to be on deck. We should and must stick together, fight together and win together.
Once again, we urge you to continue to pray for the leadership and unity of this country”.
The impeachment or resignation aspect of Fr. Mbaka’s speech should have been deliberately played down because it’s of no consequence. The President won’t resign because Mbaka asked him to and National Assembly won’t impeach the President because Mbaka said so. So, there was no need to make a mountain over what’s not feasible.
Shehu statement would only achieve one purpose; further, generate more bad blood towards the government.
President Buhari’s Spokesmen should understand that speaking with empathy and hope would serve the President, government and the country better than throwing jibes at anybody that opposes government at this critical stage.
May God help President Buhari.
May God help Nigeria.
Inyali Peter is a Political Analyst and a Social Commentator.
