allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Doyin Okupe and the Rest of Us

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Doyin Okupe and the Rest of Us

This is a very very very balanced opinion. The Presidency and the administration need a voice. They should be able to tell their own side of the story. Dr. Abati , by himself, will not be able to withstand the daily media  onslaught on President Jonathan and his administration. That concern prompted us to "Where are the President’s Men?" fee months ago. The articles is available at "http://hamiltonatlarge.blogspot.com/2012/05/where-are-presidents-men.html".

President Jonathan is our President and we want him to succeed as a President. But one cannot separate the President from his party. Majority of the members of his party are dubious and corrupt. For instance, the son of the former Chair of the party as well as one of the children of the present Chair of the same party are some of the marketers that duped Nigerian of millions of dollars on bogus accounts. Indeed, the President' party is an embodiment of scam, fraud, and corruption and it is very difficult for an objective critic to separate the President form his own party, especially when he is not seen to be taking measures to stem the time of corruption being perpetuated by his party folks. Thus, it is very problematic for me to come to his defense, even when I want to do so sometimes.

Yes, I support the incorporation of Doyin Okupe to the communication team. It could be another person, I don't care much. They need a voice. They need to tell their story, without sounding antagonistic or defensive. Let Nigerians at home and abroad know what the administration is doing. In addition, they also need another voice to substitute for Dr. Abati sometimes.

Finally, his personal advisers should be firm of purpose and remember that they are fiduciaries - a master servant relationship with Nigerians. They are not serving the President per se. They are serving Nigerians by proxy, via the counselling job they provide to the President.  If they cannot tell the President how they feel on specific issues from their professional judgment, they have no need remaining at Aso Rock collecting salaries. Allowing the President's wife to accept the post of a Permanent Secretary was a monumental failure on the part of the President close advisers - it should not have happened. I hope Dr Okupe do a professional job, keeping the President and his administration out of avoidable errors.

Editorial Review - this short piece was written before it was reported by the news media that Dr. Doyin Okupe is indebted to two state governments. According to the story, he allegedly collected some money from some government officials for construction work, which he did not complete as contracted.