The Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Dr Sam Amadi, and Akin Osuntokun, the Arise News Political Director, have said that Lere Olayinka, Spokesperson to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, missed the chance to stand by his principles as a public official over his display on TV.
DAILY POST reported that Arise TV, on Friday, abruptly ended its interview with the minister’s spokesperson, following a verbal attack on Rufai Oseni during an interview on The Morning Show.
The development occurred after Rufai, who has been at loggerheads with Olayinka, asked the minister’s aide to comment on Wike’s position on the controversy surrounding members of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign council.
Responding, Olayinka said he was not willing to answer questions from Rufai, insisting that he wanted the discussion to be between “reasonable human beings.”
However, Ayo Mairo, one of the Show’s anchors, took exception to Olayinka’s remarks, insisting that Oseni is a legitimate anchor on the show and that the minister’s aide should have expected to see him before agreeing to the interview.
Speaking on Arise News, Amadi reminded Olayinka that the reason he appeared before the media was to sell his message, to communicate, and to win the hearts and minds of the audience, not just the host.
He added, “You are speaking to a much larger audience, so missing the opportunity to communicate your message and instead using the platform to throw tantrums only exposes the weakness of the person speaking for the government.”
He further added that media persons should always respect the dignity of the persons they interview.
“Lere would have come with a sense of ‘I’m going to give it to him’, and that’s shameful because he lost the opportunity as a public official to defend his principle. The notion is that you have to understand clearly that the reason why you appear before the media is to sell, to communicate, to win and to shape minds, not just the host.
“But at any rate, we expect that media practitioners will also understand that, whereas they are going to be violent for truth, but also are not the persons who are making the news. They are basically people helping to push those conduits for the opinion. You don’t have to be the guy in the ring fighting. You have to be the guy who enables the public to understand and perhaps see the weakness or the falsity of the claim pushed.
“Yours is to tactically expose to the viewing public that this is correct or this is not correct. So caution on both sides. I think it was a disgraceful performance and could have been avoided.”
Also speaking, Osuntokun said that Olayinka is setting a bad precedent for himself.
“Lere Olayinka was under no compulsion to speak or answer. Whether he was invited or invited himself, he was still at liberty to say what he wanted to say. However, the manner in which he spoke was unfortunate and did little to strengthen his position. And it’s not good for his principle.”
Oseni vs Lere: ‘Missed opportunity, shameful – Sam Amadi, Osuntokun slams Wike’s aide