Opinion: Our Governor Knows Everything, It's Money And Recognition We're After - Special Assistant

By Adamu Muhammad Dodo 

The population of special assessments to the governor is giving a critical thinking consideration to dissect for a dissertation; whether or not the office(s) is/are necessary; considering also the credibility, capacity, capability, confidence and competency of the so-called politically? appointed. 

A Special Assistant to a state governor, he could even be a senior, discloses that their roles aren't advisory and there's nothing to assist the governor, however special is the occasion, because "the Boss, as an end in himself, seems to strongly know everything, hence self-sufficient".

Given example with the media and communication, there are more than ten senior and junior special assistants or should we say media aides? without consideration of bureaucratic hierarchy though. Most of the appointed in the category have no theoretical and/or professional backgrounds with the practice of conventional media and communication other than what Wole Soyinka could consider as "corrupt cooption of what should serve as the enhancement of social culture - sometimes called the social network or - Internet".  

The more ten media advisers or aides so appointed, who for the most part, could not even observe the media than offer meaningful advice are addition to the press secretaries, the commissioner of information, the permanent secretary and the directors among the management with the ministry of information, not excluding the management of the public media corporations in the state.

What is lacking however is the presence of the public relations experts as aides. The survey will show that less than two percent of those employed to man the public relations departments and/or units in the state MDAs are unprofessional, unregistered, untrained, unguided, unguarded and without guarantee for efficiency and effectiveness. What publicity policy will succeed!

The appointed, are for the most part, candidates of political warlords who contributed genuinely and/or hypocritically in the campaign and manipulations that produce the governor, with a view to please and appease them, there's nothing qualification so attached, a political pundit once remarked. 

Is the population of the appointed producing worthy results other than the dry, ethnocentric propaganda obnoxiously propagated by the few among the appointed, which eventually result in demeaning and disfiguring their very principal who is meant to politically protect and promote, currently begging for damage control?

One of the appointed aides is bold to admit that it is not the functions of the office, which they have neither prior knowledge nor the skills nor orientation that count, it is their personal benefits that the appointment can get to offer; the money coming monthly, the recognition and the upgraded CV.

"You see, the governor is enriching his electorate's capture and coverage with the appointments for which we as beneficiaries he showcases. The population of the appointed is itself a publicity on his part. It is better for him when we are reduced to only salary recipients than for us to be active or the offices to be functional considering the cost to be involved," the SA would say.

He will not respond to the issue of added experience to be contained in the updated CV, should the chief executive fail to deliver good governance, consider vendetta without a cause for collective punishment other than the suspension of entrusting him with a weighty mandate, empty of empathy than wear the face of humanity and tolerance.  

Who comes in peace!