Lai and his N13 million loan

The last piece I wrote for this column in 2015 was on the Information and Culture minister, Lai Mohammed, titled ‘A word for the minister.’ Then I called Mr. Mohammed’s attention to his penchant for speaking the wrong words in the wrong season even when he is charged with making the policies of the Buhari government clearer. A senior colleague asked rhetorically after reading the piece, “What’s with an information minister in a democracy?” Unfortunately, our dear minister did not listen and he has stumbled from one embarrassment to the other. 

Mohammed’s trajectory as minister so far has affirmed that positions do not change who we are but only reveal who we are. He has also shown that while Nigerians may trust the president, we would be foolish to extend the same level of trust to his lieutenants even though critics may argue that the president’s trust too is being eroded gradually. Till date, Buhari has done little to dispel the view that those surrounding him are the greatest enemies to the war on corruption either by their pedigree or continual actions as presidential aides.

By now nearly all Nigerians would be familiar with the ‘loan request’ of Mr. Mohammed from an agency under his ministry, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for a tidy sum of N13. 2 million ostensibly to attend a tourism conference in China in a letter written by the director, public relations and protocol. Were it not for patriots working in the ministry who leaked the loan request, Nigerians would most likely never knew of the incestuous relationship between Mohammed and agencies under his supervision. Pray, how could the agency refused such request? He claimed it was for a tourism conference but how does that impact on tourism administration in Nigeria?

In a move that should shame the rest of us conventional journalists, Sahara Reporters, that nemesis of our debauched ruling class followed up with a story wherein Mohammed was interviewed. His response should interest us as he said clearly, “The way the ministry is run is not subject for public discussion.” You wonder whether he is aware we are in a democratic government. To rub more salt in the wound, he added, “I do not owe you an obligation or duty to tell you that,” in response to a question on whether he sent such letters to other agencies under his watch. Pressed further that does he not owe the public any explanation, he retorted, “I do not.” Too often one gets the impression that the president labours to talk to Nigerians but with lieutenants like Mohammed, we can see perhaps where Buhari gets his inspiration.

The condescension is appalling and probably because it was Sahara Reporters, journalists did not see the evil in a minister maintained by our commonwealth saying that he does not owe the public the duty of explaining an action taken in the exercise of his functions, which include a tinge of corruption. As an aside, one hopes that it was not because of his “regular interactive sessions” a euphemism for money-sharing sessions, a pastime of journalists in Nigeria, which has prevented a rigorous examination of Mohammed’s oracular declaration that he is the all-in-all.

This leads to the other matter of Mohammed’s declaration last week that “Nigeria is broke.” Expectedly, journalists feasted on this as it was said after the cabinet meeting. I really like his words that we ought to make “some very painful decisions and some very painful adjustments.” At a level, his statement looked like openness and one that should be encouraged but there are some pertinent questions for Mohammed. The 2016 budget recently posted online indicates that N3.9 billion will be spent on Aso Rock maintenance just as the president is still enjoying the coziness of the 11 jets he inherited from the Jonathan government even when it was a campaign issue last year. Our ministers are still riding in opulence even as Mohammed himself revealed that he has only five cars in his convoy.

It is quite probable that Nigeria is really broke but our leaders are not living in the way they want us to live. They are not making the sacrifice they are asking from Nigerians. We don’t see austerity measures dominating their lives and they are asking us to tighten our belts. That’s why this government’s message is not sinking in well as the messenger is the message at a level, a lesson Mohammed will do well to take to heart. With the way things are, this government’s enemies are not in the paralysed PDP but right in his cabinet. Buhari will do well to take notice.