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AMINSO George, professor of Strategic Communication, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Texas Christian University, Texas, United States of America, in an interview with Anayo Ezugwu, staff writer, Realnews, at the Pan-Atlantic University, PAU, Lagos, speaks about the troubling ritual killings in Lagos, and what the federal government should tell Nigerians about President Muhammadu Buhari and Boko Haram. Excerpts
Realnews: You have been in Nigeria for the past four weeks, what is your impression of the country?
George: I think a lot of things have changed. A lot of development and Nigerians are very hard working people. I was here in 2016 and I have seen so many new businesses in Lekki, Victoria Island and other places. So a lot of development but at the same time I’m quite concerned about the state of security particularly the ritual killings of innocent people in Lagos. That is very troubling but I should also tell you that as a country, Nigerians are very resilient in spite of the economic challenges people are going through. They are very hard working people and I have seen that in very challenging times, people are just doing their best.
Realnews: As a crisis communication expert, how best do you think Nigeria can tackle Boko Haram crisis and ongoing agitations?
George: It is not an easy thing but I think one of the mistakes government made and yes you can quote me on that, was saying they will defeat Boko Haram within a specific period. That was not the smartest thing to say in my opinion. And I remembered listening to the chief of army staff on BBC a couple of months ago and the journalist kept pressing him, when you said you are going to defeat Boko Haram within this period of time, they are still there and keep on cropping up in different forms. How do you respond to that and he was trying to get around the question and I said not the best response. This is an issue and I think it’s very important for the government to really level with the people. The government is doing her best and it’s very difficult to really root out a terrorist organisation such as Boko Haram because you really never know when they are going to strike. But I think it is important to level with the people and say this is not something that we can suddenly defeat overnight. Government should tell us the truth. It is not right for government to tell us that they will defeat Boko Haram in three or four months whereas the group is still killing Nigerians. I don’t think that was the wisest thing to say.
Realnews: Do you think that Boko Haram issue and other agitations are as a result of unemployment?
George: Of course, it is the root cause. I know from talking to a lot of people and reading the newspapers that unemployment level is very high. A lot of young people who graduate from high schools have no jobs. Perhaps, if there is efforts made to find employment for them maybe not everyone will have government job, I don’t believe in that at all. But I don’t believe college is for everyone. I believe that people could learn some technical skills and I know that some state governments are doing that. I’m not quite sure federal government is doing that, maybe they are. But they need to get people to engage in skills not every people is for College or University. But people could learn skills whereby they will earn an honest living. And if people are engaged in one productive form or another, I think it will be very difficult for all kinds of groups to tell them that you have a reward in heaven if you kill people. I think that is a very dangerous thing. I think government ought to provide opportunities for people.
Realnews: What do you think of education system in Nigeria considering the incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which just embarked on another round of strike this week? What is the country actually missing in this sector?
George: I think it is a disservice and I don’t know all the details but I’m making this comment based on what I have read. I think all sides with the government really need to come together whether they have to use a mediator to work on this issue because the people who are suffering are the students. Not every parent can afford to send their child to Pan-Atlantic University or Covenant University where the school fess is quite prohibitive. Every parent cannot afford it for those who want to send their child to university but if the situation is working they can send them to state universities. But if they have to take seven or eight years to get a four years degree, I think that is a problem. So the government and ASUU really need to sit down and if they cannot talk to each other directly then this is where mediator comes in. And I think we have all kinds of expertise in Nigeria to help everyone understand whose interest is being served. I think that is a question they should ask themselves. ASUU and government should ask themselves who are you fighting for? The students are the once suffering.
Realnews: ASUU talked about government not funding the sector, a lot of infrastructural deficit. What do you think government should do to inject more funds into the sector?
George: Well, if they are going to establish many universities they should find a way of funding them. What I mean by finding way of funding them is that government should certainly provide the seed money. Why have so many universities if you are not going to fund them and I have visited few which I shall not mention. I have visited few in the eastern part of the country where some buildings have not been maintained for quite some time. The laboratories are not up to date and I saw this with my own eyes, I’m not saying that someone else told me. The students study in really circumstances you wouldn’t expect university students to study in. I went to University of Lagos and missionary school here but things have gotten worse except for people who can afford to send their children to private schools. But how many parents can afford to send their children to private schools. I think, it is not about establishing so many universities. Fund the once you have established every well. If a child comes out after studying Biochemistry, he should have some experience working with those things he needs to work with in the lab and not just the theory of Biochemistry.
Realnews: What do you think about government communication strategy with the public?
George: Nigerians are very smart people. Tell them the truth. Nigerians enjoy talking about politics but the bottom line is telling the public the truth as opposed to beating about the bush, trying to cover issues even when people can read them because we are all connected in one way or the other. We can get information about Nigeria that Nigerian government is not making available to us. All we have to do is go online and call our contacts. Tell people the truth, in fact, it is to the advantage of any entity whether government or an organisation because people are going to find out the truth subsequently. So the bottom line is, you want to be on top of things tell people what it is. You don’t have to share government secret but anyone who runs for an office or in public position should know frankly that he/she is a public business. Therefore, we must know and we deserve to know the truth because when we are not told the truth what often happens is speculation, fake news and rumours. With this people get confused and often times the rumours tend to overtake the truth. So it is to the disadvantage of the government, when rumours overtake, people don’t know which one to believe. And then when they come subsequently to grudgingly tell the truth, it is already too late because people had believed the rumours.
Realnews: There has been a problem managing the health of President Buhari, if you are among his media team, how would you have handled the situation?
George: The president is a public person. He is our president and president of a country. Nigerians ought to know what is wrong with him. They are to be told even if they don’t have a date of his return. Of course, he must adhere to doctor’s recommendations but we ought to know what is wrong with him because he is our president. He is elected to public office and we deserve to know. He is not a private citizen. As president of a country, people are concerned and they want the best for their president. They want to know that he is in good health or whatever the case might be we pray for him and wish him well. But we ought to know what is going on.
Realnews: Will you go ahead to announce to Nigerians about what is wrong with the president?
George: Certainly.
Aug 18, 2017 @ 1:00 GMT
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