The former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has identified communication as a strategic tool in governance.
In a statement by Nnamdi Atupulazi, Head of Public Relations & Strategic Communications,,Media Office, the former minister said “Governance is not only about making and implementing decisions. It is about explaining the decisions and convincing the people about their implementation.”
He spoke in Lagos during the book reading and signing of his latest book, Headlines & Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration.
Alhaji Mohammed said that he leveraged on the power of communication to project the achievements of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government of Nigeria under the Muhammadu Buhari Administration, while also obtaining feedback from the public.
He listed some of the communication strategies he deployed to include town hall meetings, media tours of government projects, interactions with foreign media and global think tanks, the scorecard series, strategic stakeholder engagements, testimony series and regular briefings with the media.
The former Minister also said the scorecard series, in particular, was launched to counter the narrative ahead of the 2023 general elections that the APC government had nothing to campaign on, and to equip all candidates of the party with documented achievements of the Administration.
“In total, 26 ministers made presentations over a 17-week period,” he said, adding that the series, which he described as an unprecedented campaign strategy, concluded just 11 days before the 2023 presidential election and provided a treasure trove of campaign materials for all the party’s candidates.
Alhaji Mohammed said the recognition of the strategic power of communication informed both the title of the book and his decision to spotlight critical media moments that helped telegraph the achievements of the Administration.
Responding to a question, Alhaji Mohammed stressed that the government must always regard the media as a powerful partner rather than an adversary.
“The media, in playing its constitutionally-assigned role as watchdog, may be adversarial, but it is never the opposition; it is the amplifier.
“While the government may sometimes see the media as a difficult partner, it remains the most powerful partner it will ever have,” he said.
Asked about his most difficult decision in office, the former Minister cited the suspension of the microblogging platform Twitter, now known as X.
“I was concerned that suspending Twitter would adversely affect Nigerians who use the platform to advertise their goods and services. I was also concerned about the optics regarding government’s commitment to freedom of expression and the opening up of the democratic space.
“However, none of those considerations outweighed the threat to national security posed by the irresponsible use of the platform,” he said, adding: “In governance, public interest must always take precedence over individual interest.”
Alhaji Mohammed said his most difficult moment in office was the #EndSARS protest, because “it confirmed my worst fears about fake news and disinformation as a clear and present danger to our country.”
He attributed the widespread belief that there was a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate to the spread of fake news and disinformation, particularly on Twitter and by CNN.
“The government never said nobody died during #EndSARS. Of course, many people died across the country. But we have been consistent in stating that there was no massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate. Five years on, no one has come forward to say their children or wards left for the Lekki Toll Gate protest and never returned,” he said.
The former Minister said he wrote the book to document his experiences in office and urged others privileged to serve in government to also document their stewardship for posterity.
“I am a strong advocate of Africans telling their own stories from their own perspectives in order to avoid distortion. Having had the rare privilege of serving at the highest level of government, I believe I owe it to myself, my country and posterity to give an account of my stewardship,” he said.
