Former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Thursday pulled back the curtain on some of the most controversial moments of the Buhari administration, declaring that “headlines can be more powerful than facts” in shaping public perception of governance in Nigeria.
Speaking at Rovingheights Bookshop in Abuja during a reading of his recently released memoir, “Media Moments That Define An Administration”, the former spokesman reflected on what he described as the “complexities of governing Nigeria in the age of instant headlines and social media hysteria.”
Before a packed audience of media professionals, political associates and curious readers, Mohammed said three major episodes defined his experience as government’s chief communicator: changing the narrative on Boko Haram, countering opposition claims through the administration’s scorecard strategy, and managing the communication crisis during the #EndSARS protests and the eventual suspension of Twitter.
Recounting his early days in office in November 2015, Mohammed said he was stunned by what he termed the disconnect between military gains against Boko Haram and the dominant narrative suggesting government inaction.
“Despite the efforts of the military to reclaim territories, the narrative,both locally and internationally,was that the government was doing nothing,” he said.
Determined to counter what he called misinformation with firsthand evidence, Mohammed led a delegation of 40 local and international journalists to Maiduguri and subsequently to Konduga, Kaori and Bama,areas recently reclaimed from insurgents.
“When I entered Bama on December 5, 2015, I thought I was in Afghanistan. Road signs were in Arabic. Boko Haram had deposed emirs and were collecting taxes. That visit brought me face-to-face with the reality of war and the sacrifices of our soldiers,” he recalled.
Though journalists independently reported the military’s successes, Mohammed said skepticism persisted, with some critics accusing the government of “packaging” the story.
“I told one governor who challenged me: ‘I have been there. You go too. Come back and tell Nigerians what you saw.’ That ended the debate,” he said.
He also narrated how he had to secure presidential approval,while President Muhammadu Buhari was abroad,before embarking on the trip, a moment he described as his “first lesson in how complex governance can be.”
