Julius OkorieIf you believe that the former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, resigned his appointment and walked out of Aso Rock just like that, then you can believe anything. In fact you can take it in if told that crocodiles now fly.
Nobody resigns and walks away from Aso Rock. It is unheard of. Who does that?
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Aso Rock is the apogee of power play in Nigeria. Merely working at the Aso Rock Villa confers on you so much power and gives you an edge over millions of people.
Giving a directive from Aso Rock irrespective of the office you occupy at the Villa, confers legitimacy to the directive wrongly or rightly. How many will muster enough courage to query a directive coming from Aso Rock?
Under that scenario you expect clash of interest and battle of supremacy. A messenger in Aso Rock may as well be more powerful than the Managing Director of any company of Agency depending on how hungry for power he is.
There is so much power and aura around the Villa and ability to assert authority makes a huge difference. So when you hear that Ajuri Ngelale resigned over “pressing medical matters affecting his family”, it is to be taken with a pinch of salt and indeed most Nigerians did so.
That submission and explanation is of course to be expected from the Villa where all efforts are constantly being made to ensure that no information that indicates a crack in rank is allowed to filter out through the wall.
While the President’s men work round the clock to maintain a ‘brand’, cracks in hush-hush tones keep leaking out of the window.
Ngelale who was appointed President Bola Tinubu’s official spokesperson on 31st July 2023, was also appointed as the first Special Presidential envoy on climate change for the Federal Republic of Nigeria On 19th May 2024.
As if these dual appointments which he was actually accused of creating were not enough, the 37-year-old, who began his journalism career with AIT as Senior Reporter, was also appointed as the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen, Nigeria’s first green industrial zone and as secretary of the Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions, chaired by President Tinubu.
These appointments by their nature guarantees free access to the President anywhere and perhaps any time, and managing such powers can indeed be intoxicating.
It demands discipline, tact and loyalty all of which those irked by Ngelale’s “I too know posture” say he lacks.
But like the saying, you don’t know what a man is capable of doing until you entrust powers into his hands. Soon hush- hush talk about Ngelale reportedly fell out with three powerful men in the villa, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, Principal Secretary, Hakeem Muri-Okuynola and Chief of Protocol, Victor Adeleke. Aside from hitting the bad books of (GHA) as the three men (Gbajabiamila, Hakeem and Adeleke) are jointly referred to by their admirers, Ngalele was also said to have entered the bad books of the President’s son, Seyi who reportedly had teamed up with the Chief of staff to facilitate his appointment as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity in July 2023.
READ ALSO :Just In: Tinubu’s Special Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale Steps Down
Even the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, was also said to have complained to the President that Ngelale created positions and announced to the public without informing his office, which is in charge of political appointments, at a time when complaints were coming over bloated government and the need to cut cost of governance.
Bypass Of Protocol Never Taken Lightly
As Ngelale’s powers were expanding, thanks to his closeness to the president, so was the web against him formed by superiors, who were getting tired of his regular bypass of protocol and tendency to dish out information without consultations.
To further complicate matters, those who believe that Ngelale was not experienced and matured enough to handle the enormous and sensitive responsibilities given to him, appear to have been justified with public knowledge of serious blunders he committed in information dissemination that embarrassed the country in general and the Presidency in particular.
Incompetence Always The Last Straw That Breaks The Camel’s Back
For instance, he wrongly announced in September 2023, that Tinubu was the first African president to ring the closing bell at Nasdaq.
While this misinformation quickly went viral and party members congratulated themselves, fact-checkers went to work and found out that the first African President to ring the bell was actually former President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, who rang the Nasdaq closing bell in September 2011, a whopping 12 years before Tinubu became President.
On 20th September 2023, President Tinubu rang the closing bell of Nasdaq at Times Square in New York as part of the ringing ceremony, which was aimed at attracting investors to promote Nigeria’s economic image on the global stage.
Ajuri also prematurely announced the decision of the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to lift the visa ban on Nigeria. The government was particularly embarrassed by the media backlash on each occasion. And for those who insist that he was not competent to handle the position/positions he was given, the blunders should have opened the exit door for him.
Those who wish to take the competency discourse to the next level say there is no way you can place Ngelale at par with Dr Reuben Abati and Femi Adeshina, who were Special Advisers to the President under Goodluck Ebere Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, respectively.
The media that should have been a soft landing for embattled Ajuri, was equally not there as he was accused of lacking contact with local and international media and commanded little respect from media owners, editors and leading journalists in Nigeria.
As if to highlight the mediocrity that has been brought to bear on the highly exalted position of being the President’s spokesman, some cited a day Ngelale dished out press releases from around 3pm to 11pm, and then went on Twitter to announce that he broke the State House record of the highest number of press releases in a single day. Was he aiming for Guinness Book of Record?
At that regularity, the Presidency will not be taking seriously. A press release from the Presidency should be apt, should be serious to convey the importance of issued being released.
Ajuri Ngelale was lucky to have been appointed to one of the most sort-after jobs at the Villa. Those who grumbled over his appointment had no choice than to protest within the four walls of their rooms. Those who packaged him for the job expected him to perform on one hand and be answerable to them on the other.
Know This And Know Peace
The problem with being handed a political post on a platter is that your loyalty must never be in doubt at any time, otherwise it will be assumed that you are biting the finger that fed you. And from the low tone fillers from the Villa, that was what Ajuri did and for doing that the free access he had to the President was systematically blocked by superiors who felt slighted by his modus operandi.
If he had offered 100% loyalty to all those who gave him the job on a platter, perhaps the issue of competence would have been ignored as he learns on the job, but once you show either in words or action that you know road better than your ogas in Aso Rock, you will be shown the door and nice explanation given for your exit.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
