The unfortunate face – up between the Nigerian government officials and the US cable news station, CNN, this past week over the Lekki shootings, has once again brought to light, the poor information management of our government.
In its widely viewed documentary on the Lekki shootings, the CNN claimed that Nigerian soldiers, who invaded the gathering of the Endsars protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on that fateful night of October 20, used live bullets on the crowd, which resulted in unspecified number of deaths, contrary to claims by the Nigeria government that no live bullets were used. The CNN backed up its claims with pictures of bullets from the guns used by the soldiers.
It was disclosed that the bullets were procured in 2005 from Serbia. Satellite images of the convoy of the troops were seen moving into the toll Gate with flashes of bullets flying all over the place as the protesters ran helter skelter for dear life in the ensuing melee. It was indeed, a damning expose, which hit at the credibility of the Nigerian government.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed responded with a rejoinder at a press conference the day after the CNN report was aired, and he was unsparing in his relentless rebuttal of the story. He went on to call for sanctions against the CNN for what he considered as professional conduct.
The CNN report was a rehash of what many local news sources had published or broadcast regarding the Lekki shootings. Government officials, in conflicting reactions, had dismissed some of this information as “fake news,” mainly because most of the news emanated from the social media, which has become notorious for “fake news”.
However, there’s no smoke without fire. The reaction of government officials to the whole Endsars saga calls to question the credibility of our public officials in their dealings with Nigerians. When the Endsars protests broke out in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo – Olu handled it well like he has done so far with Covid – 19 pandemic. He engaged the protesters and patiently heard them out; he took their charter of Demands to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
Everything seemed to be going well until that ill-advised attack on the defenseless protesters by the troops. This unfortunate incident created the panic that generated the conflicting response from Governor Sanwo– Olu and the Army, over who ordered the Army invasion of the Toll gate. Nobody wanted to take responsibility for the deployment of those troops who caused this terrible damage. When the question was asked: who called out the soldiers? Governor Sanwo – Olu said he wasn’t as he lacked the power to order troop deployment.The Army initially called the “shootings” Fake News! Later, The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mallam Malami, said the soldiers we saw at the scene of the attack were hoodlums who wore the uniform of the Nigerian Army; meaning, they were fake soldiers. This corroborated the earlier claims by the Army that their troops were not involved at all.
Moment of truth: when push came to shove, the principal actors in this tragi-comedy began to trade blames. The Army said Governor Sanwo-Olu invited them to send soldiers to restore order. With nowhere to hide again, the Governor fired back saying he requested for troops but he never asked them to shoot at protesters.
That settled, the Army claimed that blank bullets, not live bullets were used; moreover, blank bullets do not kill, so nobody could have died as widely claimed on the social media, and the CNN.
Governor Sanwo-Olu himself wasn’t consistent in his dissemination of information on the state of casualties. He initially said nobody died, but after a tour of the hospitals, he admitted that one person died from injuries suffered. Were the injuries from bullet wounds? We were not told, for obvious reasons.
What do we make of all these discordant tones? Is CNN not justified? Even President Buhari who conceded to the youth the right to protest, has recently warned that he’d no longer tolerate protests. His government has gone ahead to freeze the bank accounts of Endsars group, some of these youth are being haunted down, arrested and detained. We are even hearing that they may be charged to court with terrorism! Obviously, President Buhari is being fed with some nasty stories, some of which involve alleged plot by the Endsars group to topple his government.
For God’s sake how can we stoop so low in this country that our leaders cannot be taken for their word? Is the truth deficit so bad that government officials have to openly eat their own words, contradict each other and engage in self-denial? How can our President make a statement and disavow it the next minute?
We may even forgive Sanwo – Olu, who obviously was completely overwhelmed by the chaos he faced and had to recant under pressure. We could excuse the army for the same reason; but the President who is the Commander – in – Chief, ought to be on top of all these from that start. A proper coordination from his office would have prevented all the conflicts we have witnessed in the management of this crisis, including the information aspect. The truth must be told always even if heaven would fall.
Mr. President, please, takes full charge next time.
Weekend Spice: you must despise where you are before you will ever be where you want to be- Mike Murdoch
Ok folks, thanks for reading. Covid-19 is real, keep safe. Stay motivated.
•Ayodeji is a pastor, activist, and speaker. You may reach him on 09059243004 (sms, email or Whatsapp) only