By Omole Ibukun
Recently, Bayo Onanuga responded to a Guardian lead story about how the economic frustrations of Nigerians in the hands of the Tinubu government are increasing sentiments in favor of the return of military dictatorship. Bayo Onanuga himself quoted a part of the Guardian story that said “And while the political elite splurge on fine wines and exotic automobiles amid poor service delivery, calls for regime change could become more strident in the days ahead even though military insurrection holds no solution to the country’s woes,” but went ahead to accuse Guardian for using the same report to “present an argument for military intervention”. This cognitive dissonance is not strange with apologetics of authoritarianism who will do anything, including the twisting of logic, to undermine the democratic principles of free press in their attempt to silence critical voices in the country.
The only people more opposed to logic than Bayo Onanuga and his response to the Guardian story, are those people who expect any objective thought from the controversial politician who works as a spokesperson for the Tinubu administration. It is impossible to expect any genuine concern for Nigeria’s democracy from someone whose motivation is to show loyalty to the administration so that they can keep the job they were appointed into. In fact, to those leading this administration, any criticism of this administration translates to a call for military takeover – a line of thought that has been echoed within the ruling APC circles since Nigerians questioned the last general elections results till during the recent #EndBadGovernance protests. That protest, which was violently repressed by the Tinubu government, alongside the military who killed protesters in some locations, showed that Nigeria’s democracy is only on paper, and the Tinubu regime is in fact a military dictatorship. Till now, some of the protesters are still in jail. It is therefore another master class in gaslighting to read Bayo Onanuga lecture us on how we can hold on to this democracy on paper by relinquishing true democracy and its essential component of press freedom. Like the Yorubas will often say, Bayo Onanuga wants to ‘collect an eventful Owambe Saturday from us and give us a silent, holy and event-less Sunday’.
As usual, rather than engage the substance of the Guardian article, Bayo Onanuga dismissed all the legitimate criticisms and concerns and focused on the abstract and inaccurate economic indicators of progress by this administration. Even if we assume without conceding that the economic indicators were accurate, is the amount of human rights violations and suppression of dissent by this government not enough to push the masses into misery and frustration that would make them want to prefer an open military regime over this secret military regime of President Tinubu.
Critical journalism like the content of that Guardian article is essential for accountability and democratic growth, and this vituperation by a representative of the administration shows that Nigerian democratic institutions like the media are in dire need of protection from the authoritarian tendencies of the Tinubu government. Critical discourse that examines public life like this have become very necessary because of the poor governance that has driven a mass majority of Nigerians into endless economic struggles. The conversation sparked by that article was very necessary. The frustration of Nigerians with the Tinubu regime is on the other edge of desperation, and any sensible administration will understand that the only way to ensure that a military takeover does not become something that will be longed for and celebrated is to actually start reversing all of the austerity policies of this government that has impoverished the people. If that is not done, it is only a matter of time!
Finally, we must talk about the intention of Bayo Onanuga’s response to the Guardian. The job of the press is to inform and generate necessary discussions about important social issues. Bayo Onanuga’s stance makes it easy to see that this administration does not want anything in the interest of the masses discussed in the media. The intention is to ensure press reports no longer capture the side of the masses but only express the views of those in power. No news platforms worth their salt should ever want to be reduced to that. Even PR agencies try to give the illusion of objectivity. No news agency should take lessons about avoiding military lessons for someone as dictatorial as Bayo Onanuga. Guardian should continue its work and ignore this executive rant. The best answer for Bayo Onanuga is silence, and that is enough to define who he is.
