On Tuesday, on a TV show hosted by Piers Morgan’s, a British journalist, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and a former Canadian lawmaker called Ms Goldie Ghamari, strongly disagreed over allegations that Christians in Nigeria are being persecuted.
A couple of people I know feel that Tuggar did well. But most of the people with whom I have discussed his performance were deeply unimpressed. And so was I.
Tuggar is a sophisticated older man who has a firm grasp of the English language and access to official facts and figures. But he floundered, hesitated, failed to deliver statistics, came across as shockingly ill-informed and allowed himself to be provoked into pettiness.
Long story short, a young woman who is not particularly intelligent or knowledgeable wound up beating him hands down, in my opinion.
Tuggar is not alone. I’ve seen quite a few normally intelligent Nigerian VIPs handle combative TV interactions very inadequately. Even when the programme host and other guests aren’t aggressive or hostile, the VIPs in question fail to shine because they suck at delivering eloquent and polished answers to questions when they are under pressure.
TV interviews are very stressful for almost everyone. Even I, a BBC-trained broadcaster with many years of experience under my belt, sometimes feel jittery and unsure of what to say when I am being publicly quizzed under studio spotlights about burning issues.
It’s normal to be nervous when you remember that thousands or even millions of viewers are watching and hanging onto your every word and getting ready to pounce and criticize you if you say the wrong thing!
And, believe me, there have been times when I HAVE stupidly said the wrong thing or simply made a point that is valid but not to the taste of folks who happen to have opposing perspectives.
If a professional communicator like me can worry about not coming across well and occasionally make mistakes, amateurs can be forgiven for being jumpy and inarticulate or inaccurate or unattractively belligerent when they are subjected to TV inquisitions and arguments.
Some Nigerian VIPs don’t need media training because they are naturally gifted on-screen performers – Osita Chidoka, a onetime Minister of Aviation, springs to mind as the best amateur performer I have seen on TV in this country.
And by the way, I barely know the guy and have absolutely nothing to gain from him, so I am not saying this to flatter a friend or potential benefactor!!! I am just making an objective observation.
But most Nigerian VIPs aren’t naturals like Chidoka and SHOULD put themselves through proper media training because, like Tuggar, they need it desperately in order to put their best feet forward.
However, most of our big shots are too vain to admit that they need to be coached before they face cameras, especially when appearing on international channels; so let’s leave it at that!!!
Mike speaks
And now a few words
from Mike, a resident of Mushin in Lagos and one of my favourite Vanguard readers…I like him because though I don’t always agree with him, he is refreshingly outspoken and takes the trouble to respond to my columns!!!
Dear Donu, all nations cannot be on the same pedestral level of development, because it takes different lenght of time for nations to overcome their teething problems in the practise of democracy. Nigeria is an engraced nation, not a disgraced nation.
Despite the malfeasance of our leaders, the sufficient grace of God is sustaining and keeping our unity irrespective of how weak it is. We remain unbroken. It is time for the sleeping giant to wake up from slumber and take its place amongst the comity of nations. The gluttonous habit of our leaders must be tamed at all cost. No to further embarassment.
From Trump, he is right about the nation, but let us see if the Tinubu government will sit up and up the game of security of all in the country. Tinubu desires that Nigeria be included as a member of the UN Security Council, yet, he can’t secure Nigeria. This should be used as the minimum entry requirement. Trump should allow the Tinubu government to enjoy a grace period of six months to monitor performance on this issue of Christian genocide. The world is watching now. Thanks to Trump for bringing the plight of Christians in Nigeria before the world. Verily, verily, he is the world’s President.
DONU’S WORLD
I have a YouTube channel. It’s called DONU’S WORLD.
https://youtube.com/@donukogbara?si=bBm_IPdFZ_wUyKYq
NIGERIA UNFILTERED – spicy commentaries on Naija issues – appears every Wednesday, while DONU’S WEEK appears on Fridays and is international as well as local and covers a mish-mash of soft and tough issues around my personal life, my work and my worldview.
Two days ago, on Nigeria Unfiltered, I blamed the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for the disgraceful scenes that took place outside the PDP Secretariat on Tuesday when rival factions clashed; and I urged President Tinubu to rein Wike in and give democracy a chance.
Please check out Donu’s World videos a week. I would love to hear your opinions and any constructive criticisms you may have to offer. And I will be very grateful if you “like”, subscribe and share!
Please listen to my podcast AfricaHere&NOW.
YouTube.com/@AfricaHereAndNOWPodcast
http://Www.africahereandnow.com
It can also be accessed via Spotify and Apple podcasts
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