By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly condemned what it described as the \u201cuncivil, reckless and disgraceful conduct\u201d of Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, following his recent outburst during a television programme.
\nIn a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, the association said Olayinka\u2019s conduct fell far below the standards expected of anyone occupying a sensitive public communication office funded by Nigerian taxpayers.
\nHURIWA stated that the deployment of gutter language and uncouth expressions by a spokesperson attached to a cabinet-level public official was \u201cabsolutely reprehensible and unacceptable in any decent democratic society.\u201d
\nThe group particularly condemned what it described as the \u201cunprintable and disrespectful remarks\u201d directed at former Minister of Special Duties and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Tanimu Turaki, stressing that such verbal attacks against a respected elder statesman and legal luminary were \u201ctotally outrageous, shameful and despicable.\u201d
\nAccording to HURIWA:
\n\u201cThis spokesman of Wike appears unfit for public office. His comments consistently lack decorum, civility, respect for elder statesmen, and the maturity expected of someone occupying a public communication role. His combative and uncouth disposition reflects poorly on the office he represents.\u201d
\nThe association further stated:
\n\u201cHis deployment of gutter language unbecoming of someone being paid with taxpayers\u2019 money is absolutely reprehensible. The unprintable words he used against the person of former Minister of Special Duties and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, are totally outrageous and despicable. The so-called spokesperson to the FCT Minister should first be enrolled in a short course on media relations and public communication before he can be considered qualified to speak for a cabinet-level appointee. He comes across as garrulous, illogical, cantankerous, and unsound in his arguments. This is deeply unfortunate.\u201d
\nHURIWA faulted Olayinka\u2019s remarks while reacting to discussions surrounding the Supreme Court judgment on the Peoples Democratic Party\u2019s national secretary position, noting that instead of engaging issues constructively, he resorted to personal attacks and inflammatory rhetoric.<\/p>\n
We in HURIWA agree with the erudite opinion by a communications strategist who says that in politics and public communication, the responsibility placed on spokespersons is enormous. A careless statement, a reckless allegation, or a deliberate attempt to sensationalize issues for partisan gain can unnecessarily inflame tensions, damage reputations, and distort facts already before competent courts. This appears to be the situation arising from comments made on national TV by a spokesperson for the FCT Minister regarding the issues between Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, and his former close friend and we in the organised civil society community are shocked that such a person is holding such a high profile office serviced by Nigerian taxpayers.<\/p>\n
Contrary to the impression allegedly created during the TV appearance, the matter before the High Court of the FCT, Abuja, does not contain any allegation that the learned SAN had an immoral relationship with the wife of his former associate.
\nThe rights group warned that the increasing trend of verbal hostility, insults, and reckless public commentary by political spokespersons poses a serious threat to democratic culture, political tolerance, and healthy national discourse.
\nThe association urged political appointees and their media aides to embrace responsible communication, civility, and issue-based engagement capable of promoting unity and strengthening democratic values rather than deepening divisions through needless verbal attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly condemned what it described as the \u201cuncivil, reckless and disgraceful conduct\u201d of Lere Olayinka, spokesperson to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, following his recent outburst during a television programme. In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13605,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions\/13605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}