By Adesina Soyooye
In an unprecedented outcry, President Muhammadu Buhari is accusing some Journalists of planning to destroy his reputation.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari said some media blogs and Online Newspapers have been mobilised to start an unprecedented attack against him in form of Editorials and alleged investigative reports. He said the coordinated write-ups would accuse him of bias in the handling of the atrocities committed by rogue herdsmen, and in the running of the country, generally. He said they would also allege religious bias and much more.
But not a few Nigerians fault the President’s claim. They insist that the allegations of bias against the President are nothing new. They say they see mischief behind the Presidency’s statement, and challenge the Presidency to fault any of the allegations, and what makes them new now.
Many say the statement by Adesina is aimed at finding reasons to clampdown on Online publications and blogs, revealing that already, there are strong reasons that the Presidency plans to do so.
For years, and especially, in recent times, there have been allegations of bias against the President especially, when it comes to the handling of issues concerning Herders, religion and appointments.
One of the most recent attacks came from the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, His Lordship, Mathew Kukah. The Bishop had accused the President of nepotism, favouritism and said that there could have been a coup if Buhari was not a Northern Muslim.
Kukah’s opinion attracted wide commendation from most Nigerians, and condemnation from the Presidency and some Islamic groups.
Adesina’s statement is seen as the Presidency’s moves to preempt a pending publication that it says aims to cast the president as indifferent to the activities of killer herdsmen.
Following, the full text of the statement entitled:
UNRELENTING PLOT TO WAGE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST PRESIDENT BUHARI
“There is a compelling reason to alert the nation of another orchestrated smear campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari, using some online newspapers and blogs.
“The campaign, scheduled to be launched anytime soon through editorials and purported special investigative stories, is designed to further exacerbate tension in the land, by portraying the President as pandering to ethnic and other primordial tendencies, contrary to his pledge to belong to all Nigerians.
“Impeccable security findings indicate that those behind the plot have procured online blogs and newspapers, which are to launch coordinated publications, alleging subjugation and suppression of a particular religion and ethnic groups.
“A specific medium has so far contacted some opinion leaders, especially those very critical of President Buhari.
“Part of the planned publication is to make unwary readers believe that the President has continually used the powers of his office to shield and protect an ethnic group against crimes of murder, kidnappings, rape and banditry in the southern, middle belt and some northern states.
“The publication will also refer Nigerians to a 58-page document, which chronicles purported atrocities of the ethnic group in the South since 2017, all of which it claims the Presidency has turned blind eyes to.
“Again, the hatchet job will allege that the President has continued to place members of his ethnic nationality in sensitive positions, so as to confer undue advantage on them. This allegation is by no means supported with reasonable facts and figures.
“Just on Thursday, President Buhari, while meeting with the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, restated his even-handedness on the issues of ethnicity and religion. Said the President:
“The Federal Government under my leadership does not, and will not, allow religious prejudice or partisanship to influence any of its decisions and policies. It is my solemn decision to be fair and just to all segments of society.”
Those who are bent on stoking ethnic and religious unrest in the country remain deaf to reason, and impervious to reality. They are hell-bent on distorting reality, and Nigerians are urged to be wary of them. It is all about quest for power, and filthy lucre.”
