Before the eventual announcement of Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu as spokespersons to the newly elected President Muhammadu Buhari, there had been wide speculations that either of the two would emerge. Their deserving appointments came with confusion and challenges. The two share the same portfolio but with different designations, with Femi Adesina named as Special Adviser while Garba Shehu emerged as Senior Special Assistant, both on Media and Publicity. I will deliberately avoid dabbling into the politics of the appointment and who is most senior in terms of age, professional practice, qualification or on the current position. They have each been role models to aspiring journalists and writers.
When I started writing as an undergraduate of the Mass Communications Department of Bayero University Kano back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was no Internet, email or any form of social media to share my opinions through. Mallam Garba Shehu as editor of the then popular Kano state-owned Triumph newspaper encouraged and published my articles.
The channels available to pass our writings on then were either through direct delivery or through the post office. I delivered most of mine directly and on such occasions, Garba Shehu made sure to provide me some token to defray transportation expenses. As he moved on to become General Manager of Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria Limited (ALSCON) and later spokesperson to the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he always provided moral and kind support to my aspirations, especially on special media projects. He knows how to attract the best team for every campaign.
For Adesina, apart from being addicted to his weekly column in The Sun, I had been inspired by his style of writing in the Weekend Concord in the 1990s. He is a brilliant writer who tackles sensitive and critical issues with fun and through jokes, yet hitting the nail on the head in eloquent prose. As President of Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Chief Executive of a leading newspaper, he has intervened in saving difficult situations towards protecting the national pride and integrity. Most current editors, especially within the traditional media, can attest to those unwritten codes that have preserved stability in the polity.
Being a PR person, I cannot begin to enumerate the special favours we derived from those great editors who put national interests ahead of the need to publish and be damned at a most tempestuous period in our nation’s history.
The two gentlemen are not only highly qualified and well-experienced professionals, but they have also served as Managing Directors of leading newspapers, and were, at different periods, elected Presidents of the NGE.
While commending President Buhari for identifying the huge talents and professionalism in these two great Nigerians, he should nonetheless have assigned them different portfolios to avoid unnecessary tension and confusion, while distinctively defining their roles in the information management system of the administration. While one may not envisage in-fighting between the two mature and responsible spokespersons, conflict may arise through the antics of so-called friends, tribesmen, professional colleagues and other interests. Clashes do occur even among Siamese twins, not to talk of professionals from different background in terms of education, region, political leaning, among others.
The President should redefine their portfolios by ascribing relevant nomenclatures to their beats. Apart from media and publicity, there are also portfolios worthy of consideration such as Public Affairs, Press Affairs, and Strategic Communication, etc. Nevertheless, the officers may on their own decide on who among them should be responsible for Media and Publicity and Strategic Communications.
The common role of a spokesperson is to serve as a publicist who provides and ensures the uptake of information by the public in a timely and professional manner. A publicity officer needs to be close to his or her principal; waking up before the boss and taking leave after the boss does. A publicity officer merely acts as a megaphone by issuing statements on the actions and utterances of the principal. In fact his/her role is typical of that of a media reporter who reports what she sees, feels or is told.
On the other side, an officer in charge of Strategic Communications does not require physical presence with the principal. From a short distance, such a communicator is responsible for tracking and monitoring unfolding issues and providing professional advice on handling the communication process. Like media consultants, a communications strategist is hardly seen or heard but facilitates information flows. Whenever she speaks or issues statements, the message carries more weight than that of the regular releases from a publicist.
The clear demarcation between a publicity specialist and a communications strategist is like one between a media reporter and a media consultant. In ensuring an harmonious relationship, the hidden organiser must operate behind the scene, while the public talker is visible on the scene. It may be difficult and embarrassing if in the current situation either of the two spokespersons desires to combine the two roles.
Meanwhile, with the appointment of a seasoned journalist, Laolu Akande as the spokesperson to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Garba Shehu or Femi Adesina may take the responsibility of managing the presidential publicity rather than being just a spokesperson to President Muhammad Buhari.
Yushau A. Shuaib writes from Abuja.
