A couple of months ago I did a post on our President’s much vaunted honesty and integrity. He’s called Mai Gaskiya on account of his inability to lie. He’s truthful to a fault and that in itself is a plus. Based on these attributes he was voted in and one of his latest sobriquet is the Sheriff. He came in to clean the augean corruption stables. The new Sheriff is in town and we must all fall in line. But saying the truth is subjective. Nigeria is corrupt no doubt but are we any more corrupt than other nations? Even as we are corrupt our Chief Marketing Officer is duty bound to draw positive attention to the brand we are selling.
Now Buhari is the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria. He’s also the Chief Marketing Officer. Nigeria is the product which must be sold. His job description first and foremost is SELL THE BRAND! While campaigning he shouted corruption to the highest heavens. The previous government was painted as inept and popular opinion turned against him. Even people who had gained individually and collectively turned on him. All for the new battle cry.
Now Buhari is president and I personally don’t understand his style of governance. First he never speaks to his people. Any pronouncement we hear, we hear from foreign media. And every pronouncement is a negative indictment of his product. Every nation he goes to (which by the way is quite plenty), he sings dirges about his product. His product is flawed, his product is corrupt, bad, inept and of no use. He demarkets the very product he’s been employed to sell and there seems no end in sight.
Buhari calls his lieutenants noisemakers and says they are of no import. After a rigmarole of nearly 6 months he’s yet to conclude on the cabinet of noisemakers or assign noise making portfolios to them. He says some will not have portfolios and may have to work without pay. And in the most uncharacteristic twist in Nigeria these people actually agree to serve for free. There’s a sudden new found altruistic love of nation and I laugh out loud!
Buhari’s aides need to sit up and teach Mai Gaskiya how to comport himself on international speaking. No one goes about demarketing his product. In the business world he will get an outright sack and though this is politics, it is the business of managing Nigeria. Diplomatese insists we sell ourselves right. And of a truth Nigeria is a lovely country which needs proper management and maintenance. When the President of a nation sees nothing good in his country except to sing corruption at the tiniest opportunity who then in the world will call us otherwise?
If the Chief Marketing Officer thinks his product is flawed and can’t be remedied, then he should quietly hand over to one who though has a flawed product is willing to make it work.
We really can’t go on like this. Something’s gotta give and soon too.
END
The writer has made some nice points and I will agree that its about time Baba Mai change his straight jacket approach to all the political issues he is confronted with.