So, what was Buhari’s mission in Kenya?

In from Stanley Azuakola . . . .

Almost everyone agrees that something seems missing in the way the Aso Rock media team presents President Muhammadu Buhari’s case to the Nigerian people. Sometimes it feels uncoordinated, sometimes like they are not doing enough, and sometimes it is downright unprofessional. Whether they take people’s complaints seriously, or simply wave it off as noise by the ”wailing wailers”, one cannot say for sure. But they would be hurting their principal in the long run if they don’t pay attention. As James Madison, the fourth president of the United States said, ”A popular government without popular information… is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.”

A ready example to buttress this point came up this week, as President Muhammadu Buhari prepared to leave Nigeria on a three-day state visit to Kenya. Manoah Esipisu, the spokesperson to President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, addressed the press and released a detailed and nuanced statement concerning Buhari’s visit a day before his arrival.

”The 3-day State visit to the country by President Muhammadu Buhari of the Federal Republic of Nigeria begins tomorrow, Wednesday January 27. President Buhari will arrive at Eldoret International Airport where he will be received by his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Almost everyone agrees that something seems missing in the way the Aso Rock media team presents President Muhammadu Buhari’s case to the Nigerian people. Sometimes it feels uncoordinated, sometimes like they are not doing enough, and sometimes it is downright unprofessional.

”President Buhari will receive a full State reception including a 21-gun salute. Thereafter, the two presidents will proceed to the 9th Kenya Rifles, Moi Barracks, Eldoret where they will be joined by Somalia’s President for a special inter-denominational service to celebrate the lives of our gallant soldiers fallen in Somalia.

”On Thursday, President Kenyatta and President Buhari will hold private talks, before a bilateral meeting at State House, Nairobi,” said Esipisu.

That’s not all in the statement, but notice the groundwork – in three quick paragraphs, Kenyans were told what Buhari would be doing in their country, down to the number of gun salutes he would get from members of the Kenyan Defence Forces. But why was it necessary? Why is the visit of the Nigerian leader good for Kenya? The government spokesman did not take it for granted that Kenyans would just appreciate the fact that another president was visiting their country. He laid out a case before the people on ”why”.

”Kenya and Nigeria enjoy warm and cordial relations,” he said. ”The two countries concluded an Agreement for the establishment of a Joint Commission for Cooperation in July last year. The Agreement established an enabling framework for enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest including, Trade, Tourism, Education, Energy, Agriculture and Technical cooperation.

”Kenya and Nigeria have exchanged high level visits: we welcomed former President Goodluck Jonathan to Kenya in September, 2013 and Nigeria reciprocated by hosting President Kenyatta in May, 2014. During these visits, a number of Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation in a number of fields including Agriculture, Tourism, Oil and Gas, Immigration and Trade, were signed.

One can never get tired of making a case. But maybe that was too much work for Adesina and his team because he simply ignored the substance and moved on to personalities: ”The President’s entourage to Kenya will include the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Industry, Trade and Investment,” he said.

”Notable among the agreements was the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on oil and gas matters between the two countries in 2014. This MOU provided a platform for Kenya to learn from the Nigerian expertise and build capacity in oil exploration. With the discovery of viable oil deposits in the country, Kenya has been working on developing her commercial oil production and such co-operation will go a long way towards achieving that target,” he said.

You see that? Making the case for the things Kenya stands to gain, even before Buhari arrived. Proactive!

Not done yet, Esipisu talked about trade relations between both countries, recalling the ”active Joint Business Forum” which has ”expanded room for further engagement between various sectors, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) launching the Kenya-Nigeria Agro-business Forum which was signed in Nairobi in September, 2014…”

He talked about how ”Warm trade relations between Kenya and Nigeria have enabled a number of Nigerian companies to set base in the country. GZ Industries, which has invested in a can-manufacturing facility in Kenya, and the Dangote Group, which is in the process of setting up a cement factory in Kitui, are two examples of major Nigerian companies that have ventured in the country. Others include Guaranty Trust Bank, United Bank of Africa and Eco-Bank. The growth of business between Kenya and Nigeria has enabled Kenya Airways to operate six flights per week to Lagos and three flights a week to Abuja. It is these areas of cooperation that President Buhari’s visit to Kenya is expected to bolster.”

The Nigerian team on the other hand do not yet realise that working for a president who has made it a signature of his presidency to be shuttling all over the world, means they must be prepared and willing to proactively justify every single trip to the Nigerian people.

Read also: PhotoView: Buhari meets Nigerian community in Kenya
Consider the statement which President Buhari’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, released on the same day as his Kenyan counterpart about the same trip.

The Aso Rock media office has still not come to terms with the fact that it’s role is not just to report a story but to explain how every action, policy and program of their principal has an impact on citizens.

”President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Abuja Wednesday on a three-day state visit to Kenya,” the statement began. ”On arrival in Kenya, President Buhari will join his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta and other dignitaries at a memorial service for Kenyan soldiers who were killed by Al-Shabaab in Somalia on January 15. After the memorial service in Eldoret, President Buhari will proceed to Nairobi for bilateral talks on Thursday with Kenyan Government officials led by President Kenyatta. Before the conclusion of his visit, President Buhari and President Kenyatta will jointly preside over a Kenya-Nigeria Business Forum in Nairobi.”

That is almost exactly what the Kenyan spokesman did in the opening of his own statement – informing the people broadly of the agenda of the visit. Next step by Adesina should have been to make a case for the visit. One can never get tired of making a case. But maybe that was too much work for Adesina and his team because he simply ignored the substance and moved on to personalities: ”The President’s entourage to Kenya will include the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Industry, Trade and Investment,” he said.

And that was all. That was all the presidency felt was a good enough case for the president’s three days in Kenya.

The Aso Rock media office has still not come to terms with the fact that it’s role is not just to report a story but to explain how every action, policy and program of their principal has an impact on citizens.

Ari Fleisher, the former White House press secretary to President George W. Bush said, “The press secretary’s job is to present the president’s positions and thoughts in a manner that helps him advance his agenda, while also helping the press learn what the government is doing. It’s a balancing act that requires careful judgment in service to two masters.” That’s food for thought for the team at Aso Rock.

 

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