Former Media Aide to President Goodluck Jonathan had, Dr. Doyin Okupe has called the hausa broadcast message from President Muhammad Buhari aired by BBC to address Nigerians at Sallah a major fail.
He took to his Facebook page to comment on the pertinent issue that has been the major source of discourse throughout the Eid-El Fitri holidays.
My take on PMB’s Hausa Broadcast to Nigerian Muslims.
I have pondered a while on the supposed message to Nigerians in Hausa language by President Buhari.
These are my thoughts:
I believe the voice is the voice of PMB and not any phoney laboratory creation.
I also believe strongly that PMB never Intended the statement to be used as a direct message to nation. It’s one of two possibilities
The media handlers in desperation to dispel unwarranted rumours of the president “death” or extreme incapacitation, arranged for a correspondent of BBC Hausa service to record a message for their station to be related to their listeners. The claim that it was an interview cannot be correct. An interview is a question and answer session not a monologue. What question was PMB answering when he said ” I Mohammadu Buhari….”
The other possibility which I consider to be more probable is that someone, maybe Garba Shehu, requested a message from PMB. Because he was talking with an aide who is a notherner, he spoke to him in Hausa expecting that this will naturally be translated to English and issued out officially from the Presidency.
Thereafter before the official process could be concluded someone has forwarded an advance copy to BBC Hausa service, and journalists being who they are with insatiable desire for scoops and breaking news, released it instant for maximum effects.
No matter how we look at it, sheer desperation has caused someone to
comit a near fatal Public Relation disaster. Alas, the President suffers an incalculable damage for that but
I am sure the handlers have learnt yet another painful lesson.