This most valuable asset of a policy analyst, a social influencer and political commentator is credibility. No one respects a lapdog whose mouth is in his principal’s ass leaking his or her sh!t. This Omokiri guy has built a reputation as an unapologetic supporter of the president. Many allege that he has in fact turned it into a cottage industry from which he is smiling all the way to the bank. This is mere speculation but a reasonable one at that.
No doubt the president’s reform policies were a much needed tough chemotherapy for the unsustainable Nigerian economy that was on the throe of total collapse from the metastasis of corruption, budgetary indiscipline, oil subsidy and an artificially juiced foreign exchange regime that were bleeding life out of the economy while a few were profiteering like bandits.
However it is beyond ridiculous and absurd for anyone to say that the Nigerian economy is on full rebound. That is beyond the pale for even an Omikiri.
How ridiculous can Omokiri get to include the statistics of the number of life-streaming of Wizkid’s recent album as a metric for the rebound of country’s economy. Spotify is a global music streaming entity whose subscribers are global. By the way,not all Spotify subscribers are paid subscribers. Spotify offers free subscriptions with advert.
I am also a great supporter of President Tinubu, not because he has already turned the economy around. Only time will tell. The legacy of most transformative leaders often come after their tenure has long elapsed when historians look back. That is likely to be the case for President Tinubu who I strongly believe history will judge as one, a transformative leader, if he remains committed to his reform agenda putting the interest of the country above every other consideration. I support him for his courageous leadership. Every president before him knew that our economy was heading toward the abyss of the apocalypse with endemic corruption, budgetary indiscipline, the oil subsidy scam and juicing up our foreign exchange to enrich the well connected while bleeding out and hemorrhaging our economy. They were just too lily-livered to pull the plug. They chose to prioritize their personal political expediency over the future of this country and of generations yet unborn. President Tinubu is not a saint. No one qualifies for the sainthood after playing in the mucky water of Nigerian political pigs pen. He however, has shown the courage to do the needful to safe the country.
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President Tinubu needs to call Omokiri to order and let the country know that he has his three-person presidential communication team and that Omokiri is not one of them.
Like I have said before, there is no better spokesperson for this president than himself. As he busies himself choreographing the reform agenda, he must combine it more and more with his equally important role as encourager, motivator, truth-teller and empathizer-in-chief. The communication role of great leaders is often an underrated but often a most important function. Nigerians know how they feel. They live daily in the reality of the painful economic reform agenda. No amount of sweet-talking Omokiris and his unhinged propaganda machine can make them unfeel their daily reality. It is the job of the president and his team to continue to encourage, reassure and motivate the citizens by their soothing words, their action, and life style of prudence to keep holding on, bear the pain and that a bright glorious future lies behind the dark gloomy cloud.
Adewale Alonge, PhD, is Founder & President, Africa Diaspora Partnership for Empowerment and Development. www.adped.org