“Ajuri Ngelale’s Exit: A Call for Synergy and Reform in Tinubu’s Media Team” – Olawale Olaleye

President Bola Tinubu’s media team has since inception suffered a lack of synergy and teamwork. That fault is entirely the president’s. Not only has the communication approach been unstructured, but the organogram, too, was untidy and perhaps still is.

Unfortunately, the former presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, was imposing at the centre of this administrative disruption. With needless, unhealthy, and avoidable in-house rivalry, they functioned at cross-purposes, often to the embarrassment of the presidency and the nation at large.

But now that Ajuri is gone, not only should things be done properly, and decently, communication should also be purposeful with clarity and effective messaging. Although Ajuri has not been replaced yet, if and when that is done, designation should be clearly assigned and their work synced with direction.

They should operate without undermining one another or any office under the presidency. Otherwise, the joke will always be on them. This is instructive because when veterans fail to show experience, efficiency, and maturity on the job, there is cause for worry.

For instance, yesterday, the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, was in Maiduguri, Borno State, to represent the president and sympathise with the people following Saturday’s flood disaster. He even had a beautiful speech delivered on behalf of the president.

This, nonetheless, Mr. Bayo Onanuga still went ahead to issue another statement in the name of the president on the same matter after Shettima had spoken in the capacity of the president. Of course, his terse statement would naturally supercede whatever Shettima had gone to do in the name of the president in Maiduguri, and it’s not just nice. His efforts were unavoidably played down.

All that the presidential media team (including those with the VP) needed to do was work together, push out positive optics of the visit and curate their narrative in such a way that exudes empathy and compassion. It is one presidency, after all.

But it will be shameful and disappointing if after the exit of Ajuri, and all that was said about him in the guise of sources, nothing changes in the modus operandi of the media team. #my10kobo