The veteran journalist implied that the President may be exhausted judging from his recent pronouncements.
Nigerian journalist and Chief Executive Officer of RadioNow, Kadaria Ahmed, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to embark on an extended sick leave to pave the way for somebody else to pilot the affairs of the country amid deteriorating security situation.
Ahmed made this suggestion during an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday August 2, 2022.
The genesis: Recall that the veteran journalist has been in the news of recent following her strong opposition against a BBC documentary on Zamfara banditry which she described as “irresponsible reporting.”
In an opinion article she penned last week, Ahmed condemned the BBC documentary for falling short of the best practices of journalism and also against public interest.
She hinted that the BBC Africa Eye can be held culpable for aiding terrorism because it “glamorises” it by rendering its platform to terrorists to freely propagate their extreme views, which is insensitive to the plight of their victims.
Ahmed doubles down: During the Arise TV interview, the journalist explained that her opinion about the BBC documentary should not be misconstrued as an excuse for the government’s inability to safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians.
She said, “I think Nigerians ought to tell their politicians that it is time to have a bipartisan approach to insecurity, because it is something that is going to consume us. Even now as it is consuming us, we are not asking who is PDP or who is APC. And this continuous politicisation of insecurity, for me, portends a serious danger to Nigeria.
“The grandstanding doesn’t make sense to me, because we are dealing with an existential threat, something that could actually wreck us all. I am not too sure we could get to elections, which is what people are holding onto, and saying, ‘if we get there maybe the new people coming in…’ but what happens between now and elections is a long period.
“So, our politicians need to become a little more aware, and even if it is behind the scenes. I am not even sure if we need to be seeing them on TV working things out, no. Please go behind the scenes, sit down, and reach a bipartisan agreement about how you’re going to deal with the crises that Nigeria is facing. We have never had it so bad. And if we are not careful, under their watch, we are losing this country. APC, PDP, all of them, so go behind the scenes.”
Buhari needs a break: Ahmed then suggested that the president should step aside and allow somebody else to take over the mantle as it appears he’s sick and incapable to bear the biting effect of the office.
“Even if it is a question of persuading the president. I don’t know, he has not been well, may be he can go on sick leave for an extended period and allow somebody else to have a go. Because by his own admission, he said something like ‘no country on its own can defeat terrorism.’
“What I am hearing is, ‘I am not too sure there is anything more I can do.’ That is what I hear when I hear that. So, may be it is time to look at other options,” she said.
Pulse reports that the Federal Government has sanctioned Trust Television Network (Trust TV) over the broadcast of a controversial documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story.”
In a statement released by the Trust TV management on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, the firm confirmed that the NBC had imposed a fine of N5 million on it, as contained in a letter signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.
Illela stated that Trust TV was penalised because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.
