CHIEF MEDIA CONSULTANT ON SECURITY AGENCIES RESIGNS – SENDS BUHARI A WARNING MESSAGE
The Chief Media Consultant to the
Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA),
Yushau Shuaib, has resigned his appointment with a call to President
Muhammadu Buhari, warning him to <<<
be careful of vested interests who are clearly capitalising on his sincerity and trust for their own proxy wars.
Shuaib was appointed as the media consultant to FOSSRA three years ago
with a mandate to serve as an intermediary between all the major
security and response agencies and the media in Nigeria.
He, however, queried the retired AVM Jon Ode led-Panel, who, according
to him, “deliberately refuses to acknowledge successes recorded by
previous administration in the war on terror, and has only succeeded in
misleading the president with its biased reports that create unnecessary
anxiety in the polity.”
In his notice of resignation to the Chairman of the forum and Director
of Defence Information, Brig Gen Rabe Abubakar, Shuaib said he could no
longer continue to serve FOSSRA which, he noted, is under the auspices
of Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) because of what he termed
“misleading report by presidential committee under the same ONSA” for
unjustly accusing almost all institutions and individuals that served
the office without fair hearing.
He therefore queried the rationale behind empowering a Panel on
Procurement of Arms that is composed of retired and serving military
officers to also be saddled with probing contracts and services that
have nothing to do with arms and ammunition.
Shuaib said: “The Presidential Panel under ONSA is merely criminalising
critical institutions and indicting groups and individuals in the media
without being arraigned in the court of law where the accused could
prove their innocence.”
He, however, warned that: “While it is wrong to criminalise the military
by subjecting their officers to scrutiny in an agency headed by a
policeman, it is appalling the continued exposure of our judiciary to
public ridicule in the sensationalised anti-corruption campaigns.
“In this context, it is foolhardy for anyone to now contemplate using a
PR agency to rubbish media integrity as another critical stakeholder. PR
people engage the media professionally and responsibly to achieve
strategic objectives.
“I strongly believe that President Muhammadu Buhari is being misled with
negative and predetermined reports that continue to portray Nigeria as
the most corrupt nation when he should be encouraged to address the
current problems of weak Naira, fuel crises, poor electricity supply,
and skyrocketing costs of living among other economic challenges which
are denting the image of the administration. President Buhari certainly
does not need lies and distractive propaganda at this critical period.”
He reiterated that: “Since the President is neither a god to be
worshipped nor a devil to be feared, President Muhammadu Buhari deserves
love and respect of the citizens through transparency and motivating
demeanour which are characteristics of a compassionate leader.
“My position on incorruptibility and integrity of Buhari is an open
secret through my writings over two decades, right from the university
days.
“We stand for Buhari not out of fear as if every Nigerian is a criminal;
we love and pray for his success as a national leader. We therefore
urge the President to be wary of vested interests who are clearly
capitalising on his sincerity and trust for their own proxy wars.
“We honoured the invitation to serve our nation out of patriotism and we
dutifully provided our services as crisis communicators diligently and
professionally. While acknowledging the moral support and encouragement
from critical stakeholders, we will continue to volunteer, support and
render the services responsibly. We would never abandon our clients,
partners and friends especially those who are unduly victimised and
vilified.”
Shuaib, however, vowed to head to the court “to clear our name from the
unfortunate media trial of indictment that has been used consistently to
unjustly rubbish reputations of institutions and individuals without
following the rule of law or due process.”
The media consultant there wondered if President Buhari was able to
conduct comprehensive background checks on some members of the panel
before their appointment.
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