Managing Government Information

RECENT development in Nigeria has portrayed how poorly and badly we are gifted on the basics of information management. Confusion was awash and Nigerians were perplexed at the cacophony of views and opinions expressed about the state of health of President Umaru Ya’Adua.

An age long aphorism that facts are sacred and opinion is free, is a succinct expression that best described the situation that gripped the nation over the recent visit to Saudi Arabia by President Umaru Ya’Adua.

THE Federal Government’s official position at the onset was that the President traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser Hajj or Umrah. However, serious concerns were raised by Nigerians that the President had been hospitalised to undergo surgery in a Saudi Arabian hospital.

THE Minister of Information and Communication, Mr. John Odey had said in a statement that “the Federal Government wishes to restate here that Mr. President is very well and healthy. He is in good health to steer the affairs of the state to bring about better livelihood for the generality of the people of Nigeria. We urge all Nigerians to continue to support this administration to fully realise the development goals of the country”.

THE fact is that until his return, many Nigerians did not know the true state of health of the President except through views and opinions expressed by prominent people in the media, putting a lie to government’s official reaction.

THE polity was so much heated up over the true state of the President’s health that different perspectives were read into it, to such an extent that it was regarded as political, prompting reactions from opposition parties.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER notes that the government’s posture over these rumours is deliberate insensitivity to the feelings of Nigerians who have a right to be informed properly of the situation whether the President traveled to Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj, (Umrah) or went there to treat a medical condition or both.

In a democratic government, proper information dissemination is vital to oiling the wheels of governance and misleading or false information, including being indifferent and letting Nigerians hold true, a state of affairs that existed or never existed, is robbing the people of the right to know and be properly informed.

WHERE this had been the case, all it goes to show is that the government information system is either deliberately badly managed or manipulated to suit the whims and caprices of those in government, otherwise we may ask what is to be gained by hiding the true state of affairs from Nigerians. The health of the President is a national issue and a front burner for which Nigerians reserve the right to know his true state of health.

WHETHER President Yar’Adua visited Saudi Arabia to treat a medical condition or for the lesser Hajj is also an issue of fact that can easily be ascertained. For instance, an official of the King Fahd Armed Forces hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah had told AFP (A foreign wire service) that President Yar’Adua had been in the hospital for several days, but did not specify his medical condition or the treatment he under went.

IT is unfortunate that many Nigerians overseas had proper information of the state of health of President Yar’Adua while those at home in Nigeria received distorted versions and were therefore in the dark about the President’s true state of health.

THE proper position is that correct information about the President’s state of health should be known to Nigerians first through the various media channels. It is unhealthy for Nigerians to learn about it from foreign media reports, whereas the Minister of Information and Communication presented a contrary position to Nigerians. It is an established procedure in the field of information and communication that correct and accurate information is best delivered when it is timely and on deadline, while any delay in timely presentation leads to misinformation and speculation.

THE period of deadline about Yar’Adua health is now over.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER remarks that the Federal Government has erred by not informing Nigerians promptly about the true state of health of the President and had allowed a reign of speculations and rumours to thrive. Nigerians were put completely in the dark. The nation will benefit more if government overhauls its information machinery properly and put delivery of timely and correct information in the front burner. It is a hallmark of good governance and to pretend as if nothing has happened has made mockery of government’s good intentions and puts its image in very bad light.

THE manner and system government delivers prompt information through the designated channels is a measure of performance. In as much as development information is a sine qua non to smooth running of government, the President’s state of health is part of this vitally important aspect of information, not hinged primarily on infrastructure schemes, the economy and its many other programmes.

WHILE the deadline about the true state of health of the President may be over, as the President has since returned to steer the ship of state, Nigerians still deserve clearer picture and better clarification about what transpired in Saudi Arabia, whether he went for the lesser Hajj, or medical treatment or both. This is most crucial, if the government should not be failing in its duty to all Nigerians. It is pertinent that facts should not be made to stand on their heads against the background of the constitutional principle of the right to know. We assert that Nigerians should be accorded their guaranteed right to be well informed of the health status of Nigeria’s first citizen.

Comment

Poll

Comment