Buhari’s PR disasters: Fuel, Power and Adesina

It’s been quite a while in the wait-o-meter of ever-impatient Nigerians. And this is to be understood. After several years in the furnace, Nigerians yearn for change, a positive change, true change, effective change, life-enhancing change – that which they could see, and feel. Consequently, majority of them voted massively for Muhammadu Buhari as President just about a year ago.

Buhari had promised to rein-in, amongst other things, corruption, insecurity and unemployment, primarily. He spoke glowingly about his intentions, and how unthinkable it was for Nigeria to still be grappling with Boko Haram, Power and Fuel supply at this stage of our nationhood.

Buhari and the APC designed one of the best manifestos there could be. And we joined the groove, buying foremost into his integrity to say and do, to save, and not fool us.

With no prejudice to what efforts are being made, or what the new budget will facilitate, Nigerians today are groaning, and that’s not because it’s in our DNA to grumble. Our collective anxiety is real, even as quite a remarkable majority still have unflinching support and confidence that Buhari will deliver, ultimately.

But going by the indices on ground, there are reasons to fear. The fuel queues are getting longer and slower, in a country where the black market for fuel is getting stronger you’d think they had a different source of supply. The only thing thinning is the people’s patience, and understanding.

PMB’s PR disasters

Going to its lowest level in our history, the decline in Power generation is a calamity; and coupled with the fuel scarcity, it is an embarrassment to the President and his administration. We had been used to irregular Power supply, but we’ve also always made do with Petrol fuel to power our lives, or most of it. Now both are inaccessible! Unthinkable!

In the midst of all of these comes Femi Adesina, Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, saying that the President sold one of his houses in order to send one of his children to school abroad. “Don’t forget that it was in the public domain even before he became president that when one of his children needed to go abroad he had to sell his property; maybe it was his house in Lagos or somewhere”, he said.

“Maybe it was his house in Lagos or somewhere” tells just how sure he was! And how does that, by the way, affect the issues on ground?

 

Adesina had previously also been on Channels TV to tell Nigerians who may have any complaints about the dwindling Power situation to go ahead and take the vandals and saboteurs head-on, by themselves. “if some people are crying that they are in darkness, they should go and hold those who vandalise the installations…that’s it!” So he said, with a tone of finality!

 

It’s Adesina’s contention probably, that we, the masses are better equipped, and constitutionally responsible for arresting the situation, and the culprits with it. He reminded us how we should get used to not having the right things done by the right people, and more importantly, he reminded us of why the right people need be appointed to important positions.

 

Save for the exigencies, logistics or Protocol, there’s nothing Adesina will say on behalf of, or for the President that a Press Secretary or Media attaché can’t say; possibly, one of the reasons he was appointed to that role is for the tact to say it, which he apparently couldn’t find in more than both instances.

The issues of Fuel, Power and Adesina’s tactlessness have made a meal of the people’s understanding of, and patience with the President, and collectively represent Public Relations disasters for this ‘do-good’ administration. The perception managers of this government, if any, have just not turned up. The Presidency needs to make a more deliberate effort to help the people understand it better.