President Muhammadu Buhari’s first multi-media interaction with Nigerians last week on sundry issues revealed him as a man working for the interest of Nigerian masses, one of the President’s spokesmen, Mallam Garba Shehu has said.
Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said Buhari’s showing meant he was in touch with the citizenry and they equally believe in him.
In Shehu’s words, “He was unpretentious throughout. This alone had the effect of reinforcing his reputation for candour. But he also showed a softer side of himself. He joked, he laughed and showed flashes of frustration and he was characteristically himself: calm, self-confident, composed and not for a moment did he try to be someone other than himself.
“The important take-away from my point of view is, beyond there being a “New Sheriff in Town” in the President as Commander-In-Chief, the President used the occasion to go over the heads of the editors to engage the millions of viewers, forcefully driving home his sometimes bitter points of view on a wide variety of issues. He put up a brave presence and a brave defence on key issues of the day – security, corruption, economy and the indivisibility of the country.
“Talking about candour, it is very rare that when asked a question, the leader of a country will say I don’t have the answer, I will seek explanation from so, so or that I will instruct the Central Bank to issue a statement on that. This is why when he speaks, the public believes him, because he does so with sincerity. This is something that helps public perception. A leader who knows it all by himself is not what a country needs,” Shehu stated.
The presidential aide also observed that Buhari used the occasion of the media-public interaction to call for the deepening of journalism in the country, reiterating the President’s resolve not to interfere with the media.
-Leadership
