In this explosive interview with
Tribune,
Special Adviser to
the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati says he owes no
one any explanation for working with the present administration, adding
that his belief in the leadership of Jonathan was what made him decide
to serve in his govt.
Abati also stated that most of his critics, one of whom even referred
to him one time as a product of same sex marriage (FFK), have ended up in the
GEJ led administration. He says the likes of Oby Ezekwesili, Mallam
Nasir El Rufai, Dino Melaye, Bola Tinubu and their 'Northern godfathers' are being awaited to also 'see the light and allow the
light set them free'. Find his interview after the cut
How challenging has it been for you managing the president’s media affairs?
I am not complaining. I mean, every work has its own challenges.
There is no work anybody would be engaged in and there would not be
challenges. That, certainly, is not an issue. But if I may make effort
to answer your question, I think one key observation in terms of what I
have experienced on the job is the fact that you have to keep explaining
things to people. You have to keep reiterating issues all the time. You
can’t put out a statement or explain an issue and assume that people
already have accepted your position or that they understand or that your
message has been communicated. So, this is a major challenge.
Often, you listen to people, they make some statements on television
or they write articles in the newspapers and you feel embarrassed that
these are issues you have already dealt with. On that particular issue,
statements have been issued, the president’s speeches, statements and
positions have been distributed worldwide; the only thing this
particular person making uninformed comments is required to do is to
just go online and do a little homework. You know, these things are
available online.
Without trying to boast, I think this presidency has been very
proactive in terms of trying to provide information, in terms of
documenting the president’s activities, but you just see that some of
the more vocal persons in the public domain refuse to pay attention.
Either they refuse to listen or out of mischief, they just pretend not
to notice or they just deliberately go out of their way to twist
information.
And the bigger thing is not just people being deliberately
uninformed; it is also about people being deliberately uncharitable,
mischievous, mean.
I’ll give you two examples. On one occasion, the president was at the
Eagle Square in Abuja commissioning vehicles that had been procured
under the SURE-P. Now, somebody went online, twitter, BBM and announced
that whereas Nigerians were on strike protesting over the deregulation
of the downstream sector, the president was on a jamboree to South
Africa. Cruel disinformation, but it spread like wildfire. And the
president was not anywhere near South Africa. He did not go anywhere.
He was at the Eagle Square. The programme was being aired live on
three TV stations. And yet, the blackmail was going round on twitter, on
BBM, that the president had left the country. Somebody even said he
sighted him at the airport in Johannesburg. Meanwhile, the same
president was on live television attending a programme.
On another occasion, they said the president was involved in a plane
crash on a day when the president was in the Villa throughout. In fact,
three, four days before the phantom helicopter crash, he did not go
anywhere. So, the extent to which people can go to be mischievous, to be
mean either for political reasons or just out of plain ignorance is so
amazing and can be frustrating.
The challenge, therefore, is that you keep seeing these things and
you just have to keep explaining, and clarifying, and pushing back, even
when it is clear to everybody that it is the other party that is
ignorant, unintelligent and mischievous.
Some of those you are complaining about now were your
colleagues as editors and columnists. How difficult was it for you to
transit between being a columnist and where you are now?
I was not just a columnist, I was an editor for many years and I was
also a journalist full time, both print and television, both serious and
soft sell. In addition to that, I did a lot of purely intellectual
work: teaching, publishing, dilettantism. I did that for about 25 years.
But I don’t think it will be fair to blame print journalists, because
the way your question is phrased, you are making it seem as if it is
print journalists that spread misinformation.
I have not in my comment identified any category of journalists. The
thing to realise is that in this type of work, you are not dealing with
only the traditional journalist. The idea of the journalist as a
traditional practitioner is long gone. We are effectively in the age of
information, a far more inclusive province of communication and debate.
In fact, some of the people who make the most impact in terms of
public opinion, they are not people who wear the label of a journalist.
And I think the time has probably come where there must be a
redefinition of who a journalist is, because the way it is now, the
ordinary citizen has become a journalist. Anybody with a laptop or with a
phone can set up a blog or choose to be very active on twitter,
instagram, BBM and other platforms of influence and communication.
Some of the boys who influence public opinion, particularly among the
younger generation, have never been to journalism school; they have
never worked in any newsroom. They have no professional media exposure.
All they have is their phone and they are on that phone 24 hours
tweeting, posting photographs, influencing public opinion, leading and
misleading people, and you will be amazed how influential they are. Even
bloggers have become so influential now that advertisers patronise them
either for political campaigns or for marketing purposes or for any
kind of campaign because they have an active live audience.
So, we have gone past the stage of saying my former colleagues or my
colleagues. I deal with a communications constituency that is large,
that is international. I mean, you have the print journalists, you have
the broadcast journalists, you have the foreign journalists, you have
the local journalists, you have bloggers, both local and foreign, you
have the average citizen whose only source of power is that he has a BBM
PIN number, or a phone with a camera with which he plays the role of a
photojournalist and some of those phones take amazing, award-winning
pictures.
So, the template for this job had changed radically by the time
President Jonathan assumed office. And anybody who is a media adviser to
a president in the age of information, to a president in the age of the
internet cannot be complaining about editors or columnists. No. You are
dealing with a very wide platform.
The technological revolution, I am describing, makes this work even
more challenging. It makes the constituency you have to deal with bigger
and wider: mass communication in the 21st Century sense; completely
post-modernist in orientation. Old assumptions don’t work anymore
because even the famous 24-hour news cycle is much shorter now. That’s
why when we release statements; we are not just sending statements to
newspaper houses or broadcasters. We send statements to bloggers,
instagrammers, flipgrammers, and virtually anybody with a device.
Even before the newspapers come out with the story the following day,
the bloggers have already taken the story everywhere. But there is also
the question of timing, knowing when to send the news out so that the
blog sites don’t exhaust the news and the newspapers will not find it
useful anymore. You must always keep something special for the
traditional media too, because there is still a lot of force, influence
and potential in that direction. I end up doing a lot of balancing. It’s
a big, media market out there.
When you were out there, one of the reasons you were able to
build a large following was your critical positions on issues, on
government, government officials and policies. Your critics say you have
changed, that if you were still out there, your stance would have been
different from how you see things now. How do you manage this
perception?
This is an old question. I have responded to this question so many
times. I don’t owe anybody an apology. It was my decision to take, to
work for government, and in particular to work for President Goodluck
Jonathan because I believe in him and I admire him. And having taken
that decision, I am not going to spend my time apologising to people
because as an individual, I have the right to make a choice.
It was my choice to work for President Jonathan and to accept the
position of his spokesperson and media adviser and I have absolutely no
apology and I have seen that for me, it is a positive move because
today, I consider myself much better informed, because I have been on
both sides. I have lived the life of the outsider looking at government,
governance and society from one observatory and I have also been inside
and I can see how government functions.
I don’t think any form of apprenticeship in terms of exposure to
public life can be higher than working with the president of a
democratic country, working at the highest level of authority. It puts
you in a vantage position to learn so much. If this was a course of
study in which a certificate is awarded, I think I should be getting
close to getting one, having taken so many course units and learning so
much.
I am talking about apprenticeship in a serious sense, and the
opportunity also to serve one’s country. I don’t think anybody can put
that down by saying “you were once a social critic, you shouldn’t be
here.” No. In fact, I will encourage so many other journalists and
persons in other capacities to come into government and work for
government. Why is it an issue that when a journalist works for
government, people complain? There are doctors in government. There are
engineers working for government, their colleagues have not carried
placards. We all have a duty to play a role in the making of our
country.
But of course, since I came here, I have seen many of those who
criticised me ferociously - our own colleagues - hanging around and
hustling for appointments and many of them have taken this or that
position in government, much excitedly too. And when they land on this
side, I say to them: ‘Ha, I thought you wrote an article the other day
and published articles criticising Reuben Abati. You are on this side
now too.’ I welcome them and I congratulate them. So, you see, I have no
apologies whatsoever. I have no regrets also.
The president believes that he is doing a lot to improve the
country and many people actually see it that way but many others think
nothing much has been done by this administration. Why do you think that
in spite of what government is saying, there are some people who don’t
think Jonathan has achieved anything?
I don’t know who you are talking about because when you say some
people, the only people I still see out there that are misinforming and
misleading the people are people who have partisan interests. They are
persons who sponsor other people to pull down government because they
themselves are interested in the office of the president. But you see,
it doesn’t matter, the amount of blackmail or hate campaign or
disinformation that those persons put out. They cannot run away from the
facts and the facts speak for themselves in terms of the achievements
of this administration. And I will urge you also, as a journalist who
has the opportunity to do little research on this, to make the effort
and to help us inform the public that whoever is saying this
administration has done nothing is telling a lie.
Now, for the first time in the history of this country, you have a
president who approached the electorate and said: ‘This is my contract
with you, this is what I will do, I will focus on the following issues;
job creation, inclusive growth, strengthening the education sector,
providing infrastructure, ensuring transformation in many aspects of our
life both local and in terms of our relationship with the rest of the
world, change the look of government and provide purposeful leadership.’
And he has kept his promise on all of these goals.
This is the first administration in Nigeria in recent memory, the
first president that would give the directive that his ministers one by
one, should go and face the public, face the cabinet first, give an
account of what they have been doing and go to the public and also give
an account of what they have been doing. This is the government that has
upheld the twin pillars of transparency and accountability in every
regard.
We just had the gubernatorial election in Osun State. The PDP lost,
the opposition won. President Jonathan immediately congratulated the
winner. The same people who were complaining that there was too much
security are the same people who are now turning around saying President
Jonathan did well. They have seen that this is a president who is
committed to the rule of law and who is committed to free and fair
elections.
Free and fair election became a major refrain under President
Jonathan. Before now, nobody in this country ever believed that
elections could be free and fair because it was not the pattern for the
ruling government at the centre to lose elections. But under President
Jonathan, the PDP has lost elections in a number of states; in Anambra,
Edo, in Ondo and now, in Osun. You must have lived in this country in
those days when elections were determined on the basis of the readings
of the preference of the president. But President Jonathan has not
imposed anything on anybody. That, in itself, is a major achievement
because this is one president who has gone out of his way to
deliberately strengthen the democratic culture.
When you were in primary school, depending on how old you are, you
probably learnt something about Nigerian Railway lines under Social
Studies. Now, that disappeared for almost a whole generation because the
railways were not working again. The Nigerian Railway Corporation
collapsed. Schools stopped teaching pupils about rail transportation in
Nigeria because there was nothing to teach. Under President Jonathan’s
watch, the rail stations are back. There is a comprehensive plan to
further link up the entire country. President Jonathan is designing a
Railway Network that will take rail transportation in this country
beyond Lord Lugard.
The trains are moving again and people board those trains and they
give concrete evidence, testimonies. Many of the roads that had been
abandoned in this country have been fixed. The power situation; some
people still complain that maybe power supply is not yet at the level
they want, but they all agree that it has improved because President
Jonathan has made power sector revolution one of the major priorities of
his administration.
The power sector privatisation process was mismanaged by previous
administrations. Today, with President Jonathan in charge, it is now
adjudged by international investors as one of the freest and the most
transparent that they have ever seen, anywhere. There is evidence to
that effect. You can research it. And are you still saying nothing has
been done? It was under President Jonathan that the Nigerian economy
became the largest economy in Africa and our economy that has not been
rebased for 20 years was rebased. Foreign Direct Investment is going up,
another record achievement in that regard.
In terms of international reputation, our international reputation
continues to rise. President Jonathan has empowered women, he has
empowered the youths, he is creating jobs. Every month, he is busy
launching one legacy project after another. Because he is such a
compulsive achiever, I suspect some people are jealous of him. If there
are people who think that President Jonathan’s achievements are hurting
their egos, they should just be truthful and say so.
When the Chibok girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram March 14,
the president made a declaration to the country that it was the
beginning of the end for the insurgents, but up till now, the terrorists
are still thriving and people are wondering why there appears to be no
movement on the final resolution of the Boko Haram issue.
It will not be right to say that there is no movement. What people
must realise is that the fight against terror is an unconventional kind
of war and it is also something that is unusual in our environment. Even
in other countries where they have had cases of terrorism, it is not
something that was resolved overnight. If you go to Mexico, Colombia,
they are still battling with the threat after so many years.
It took America 10 years to be able to track down Osama bin Laden.
And the thing to understand about the nature of terrorism is that you
are dealing with agents of evil, people who have resolved to wage war
against humanity and human civilisation and they do not wear any
uniform.
They strike at will and their identity is, for the most part, hidden.
One thing we must all know is that in spite of the special challenge it
poses in our environment, our security agents have been able to quickly
develop a capacity to be able to address the challenge. There may be
questions, but all of those questions will be dealt with, because
primarily, there is political will to deal with the challenge and that
is what is most critical.
What President Jonathan has pointed out is that the war against
terrorism may be a long drawn out war, but no matter how long it takes,
whatever it takes, the government is determined to win the war because
the government is not going to allow people who want to pull down the
country, who want to destroy other people’s lives to prevail. That is
what the president has said, and he means every word of it.
The general elections are just months away and there have
been agitations, especially by pro-Jonathan groups for him to contest
the presidential election but he has not said anything. When should
Nigerians expect him to make his intention known?
What the president has always said in this regard is that people
should patient. The INEC has released a timetable and the president has
said that at his own time, he would make a statement about 2015 -
whether he is going to run or he is not going to run. I think it is
better to just leave it at that. I don’t think it will be fair for
people to create a job out of be either anticipating or seeking to
stampede the president. He is a very experienced politician. He knows
what he is doing. Whenever he wants to a make statement in that regard,
he will. But as of this moment, what I know is what you know. So, why
are you anxious? Let’s be patient.
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There
is also the question of his eligibility to contest having been sworn in
two times already and some people are in court or had been to court to
seek interpretation.
I thought that matter has already been settled in court. People have
gone to court and they have lost. What the constitution says is very
clear. The president was sworn in for a first term in 2011 and the
constitution makes it clear that the president or a governor is entitled
to a maximum tenure of two terms. What the president has done is just
one term. So, he is entitled to a second term. But it is his choice. It
is up to him to go for a second term or not.
Some people went to court. They wanted an interpretation which is not
a problem. In a democracy, people can always seek an interpretation but
I think that is a settled matter. That is not where we are as at this
moment. Where we are is your earlier question, people asking what is the
position of the President with regard to 2015, is he going to declare,
is he not going to declare and I say, well, people should be patient. If
your bride is being brought to you, you don’t need to strain your neck.
Just wait.
But what is his perception of the pressure people,
particularly the overtly pro-Jonathan groups, with television
commercials, radio jingles and newspaper advertisements are putting on
him to contest? How does he see them?
President Jonathan is not under any pressure. I think it will not be
right to say that the president is under pressure. The people who are
agitating that they want the president are supporters of the president.
They are people who admire him. They are people who are saying the
president has done very well and he deserves a second term. They are
people who are saying that President Jonathan is the best man for the
job. They are free to express themselves. There is freedom of
association, freedom of expression. And if you look at the papers, APC
blackmailers have been falling over themselves to discredit the Jonathan
administration.
I mean, there has been no campaign yet, nobody has called out any
campaign but the APC is running negative advertorials on the President
almost on a daily basis. And yet you have some other groups coming up
and saying ‘no, we will not allow you to tarnish the image of our
leader, we will not allow you to distort the truth.’ You find all of
that on the pages of the newspapers.
It is a good development that there are people who are saying they
will not allow anybody to pull down this administration or discredit
President Jonathan. They are also Nigerians. They are stakeholders. They
live in this country. And they say when the APC comes up with their
negative information, they will confront the APC and go to the public
with the facts and the figures.
Listen to their message. They are saying that this is a President who
has performed. This is a president who is focused this is a president
who is the best man for the job and on the basis of all of that, they
say they want the President to run for a second term. And I think you
cannot deny them their right to also express their own opinion.
One of the most used words by the opposition or people who
don’t like Jonathan is that he is “clueless.” Looking back, from what
you have said about the president’s achievement, how do you respond to
that?
I have had cause to respond to those people on many occasions. It is
very obvious now that it is those people criticizing President Jonathan
who are totally clueless. They have no idea whatsoever. You are
beginning to see it now. The thing around their neck is beginning to
play out. Some of their key spokespersons who used to criticize
President Jonathan are now all rushing to come to the President’s party.
They are in fact gate-crashing.
I mean, one of the key figures in the APC has declared for the PDP in
his home state in Adamawa. And that is a man who was once famously
quoted as saying that Nigeria under President Jonathan is a sinking
ship. The same man is joining that ship because he has seen that the
ship is not sinking at all and that the captain of the ship is a good
captain who is providing quality leadership. He has seen the light and
the light has set him free. That is the kind of illumination that has
been happening to many of these persons. They suddenly see the light and
they recant and I am very happy.
Even a former governor and a former Minister have also joined the
PDP. These are people who used to criticize the ruling government, these
are people who used to criticize President Jonathan but they keep
seeing the light. We welcome such people.
So, the same people you are quoting, many of them are coming into the
PDP. Many of them are joining President Jonathan. And I believe that as
we move towards 2015, you will find more and more people like that. We
don’t need to say anything anymore. The Lord Almighty is winning the
battle for us.
These are the people who championed the various abuses and they are
turning to our side now and supporting us. I mean, there was one person
in the fold of APC who even said I was the child of a same-sex marriage
just because I pointed out to him that his criticism of President
Jonathan was unfair. Today, he is one of the leading defenders of
President Jonathan. The thing speaks for itself, then.
They even now make my job easier because those people that I used to
fight with, they are coming to our side one by one. We are waiting for
Nasir el-Rufai, Lai Muhammed, Oby Ezekwesili, Dino Melaye, and the
Jagaban (Bola Tinubu) and their Northern godfathers: may they all see
the light, and may the light set them free. And that tells you
something, that we have a president who is a true leader who in the
fullness of time, you find his worst critics, becoming his strongest
promoters. And that is our point; this whole thing should not be about
ego, it is about doing the best in all circumstances for our country.
Nigeria must and will prevail. We welcome everybody who is willing to be
part of that national agenda of progress and transformation.
