ASO ROCK WATCH: PMB or GMB? Forget Adesina, Presidency is angry! 2 other things that sparked debate past week

The dust raised by a section of the Nigerian media to address President Muhammadu Buhari as a ‘Major General,’ a ‘Dictator’ might not settle soon. But what difference does calling President Buhari a General or a Dictator make?

Trouble began to brew when, seemingly unable to stomach perceived human rights abuses under President Buhari’s government any longer, the Punch Newspapers vowed to henceforth prefix Buhari’s name with Major General, his rank as a military dictator in the 80s,  and refer to his administration as a regime. This, it said, it would do until his government purged itself of insufferable contempt for the rule of law.

According to the paper, the editorial was a symbolic demonstration of its protest against autocracy and military-style repression. It cited the case of Omoyele Sowore, a journalist, in the hand of the Department of State Security (DSS). It also frowned at other cases of alleged contempt for the rule of law by Buhari’s government.

Presidency is angry!

In its initial response to the decision to address the President as a Major General, the Presidency through Buhari’s special assistant on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said there was nothing wrong if anybody decided to address Buhari with his military rank.

“Nothing untoward in it (addressing Buhari as a Major General). It is a rank the President attained by dint of hard work before he retired from the Nigerian Army,” Adesina said, adding that “rather than being pejorative, addressing President Buhari by his military rank is another testimony to free speech and freedom of the press, which this administration (or regime, if anyone prefers: it’s a matter of semantics) has pledged to uphold and preserve.”

However, the Presidency showed itself in conflict when Buhari’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu took an opposite stance.

According to him, “It is not within the power or rights of a newspaper to unilaterally and whimsically change the formal official title or the designation of the country’s President as it pleases.”

He added that the “Constitution of Nigeria recognises the President as the formal official title of the occupant of that office,” and asked if the newspapers, would in their “hubris” address the President as Prime Minister as it pleases?

“Is it within the paper’s responsibility or power to change the official title of the man who occupies the office of the President? Does that mean any newspaper is free to address the Comptroller General of Customs a Colonel rather than his official title?,” Shehu had argued.

Read also: ASO ROCK WATCH: When Buhari’s aides danced out of tune. 2 other things

So, what’s in a name?

Some say there’s everything in a name. Perhaps, it may just be trite to review it philosophically.

According to William Shakespeare in his play, “Romeo and Juliet”, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Juliet in the play compares Romeo to a rose and says even if he were not named Romeo he will still be handsome and be Juliet’s love.

Many philosophers and great thinkers hold that external labels or titles given to a person hardly change their true essence.

Will reference to Buhari as a General, Dictator and his government as a regime, make any difference in his style of governance? Only time will tell.

2 other things

Washing dirty linens the Aisha way

Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, never short on controversies, regaled the nation with what many believe should be her family’s private affairs. That was not the first time she would do that.

Aisha had descended on her husband’s relative, Mamman Daura and Shehu, the husband’s spokesman, the same day the newspaper editorial threw the presidency off balance.

In what appeared as a ventilation of frustrations, Aisha accused Daura and Shehu of undermining her husband’s administration.

According to her, the duo had been taking actions in the president’s name, without the knowledge or approval of her husband. She said, among others:

”…Mr Shehu has presented himself to these people like a willing tool and executioner of their antics, from the corridors of power even to the level of interfering with the family affairs of the President. This should not be so. The blatant meddling in the affairs of a First Lady of a country is a continuation of the prodigal actions of those that he serves. Mamman Daura and Muhammadu Buhari.

“Garba Shehu as Villa Spokesperson knew the truth and had the responsibility to set the records straight, but because his allegiance is somewhere else and his loyalty misplaced, he deliberately refused to clear the air and speak for the President who appointed him in the first place. Consequently, his action has shown a complete breakdown of trust between the First Family and him.”

Aisha, no doubt has won the praise and admiration of many citizens over her outspokenness. However, many have argued that family business should remain family business; treated and resolved within the family forum. It is hoped Aisha will get to hear that and save her family from some public ridicule.

And, that Buhari advice to youths

One other story from the presidency that made the front burner this past week was his advice to youths. He urged them to remain in Nigeria to help salvage the country.

He stated this at the 44th convocation ceremony of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife. Buhari was represented at the event by the deputy executive secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Suleiman Raman-Yusuf.

“It is high time that universities took more proactive roles in ensuring that graduands perform more meaningfully in the world of works.

“It is in view of this that we wish to exhort our youths to start looking inwards, stay and advance the cause of their motherland. We have no other country than Nigeria. We should remain here to salvage the country together,” he said.

Buhari may have spoken the way a father would. But he and his handlers must admit that the public pulse is certainly sending different signals. What with his frequent travels abroad on holidays and medical check. This image is further sullied by general knowledge of his family’s romance with foreign educational institutions.

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