Gov. Lalong and The Wailers

The untamed obsession and hostile partisan mien of ‘The Will’ Newpaper and their Jos Correspondent, Ukandi Odey, throwing spanners in the epitomized works of Governor Simon Bako Lalong and the APC, has, sadly, continued to blush the ethics and avowed industry of Journalism with shame – A rejoinder by Hon. Sylvanus Namang, Plateau APC State Publicity Secretary.

Writing in the latest series of the hopelessly hatched analyses, ‘Plateau APC and the Lalong Burden’, for the umpteenth time, The Will Newspaper, through its Jos roving Correspondent, Ukandi Odey, embarked on another wild and untidy attempt to mislead the decent , responsible and sensible people of Plateau state over the genuine efforts and desire of their responsive governor, Rt.Hon. Simon Bako Lalong CON.

Hardly can anything be as frustrating and tasteless as, when a multi Media scripler like Ukandi Odey will risk the world to start an article with the wretched speculation that "the political body chemistry of the majority of Plateau people is not in favour of the ruling APC to continue in 2023".

That is because the party has since lost its fortune and favour owing to the disappointing and abysmal performance and failure of the Lalong Administration to lift the Plateau spirit’.

This is needlessly presumptuous! What a way to profane the sanctity of the journalism ethics, Truth, and Datum about Plateau political culture. Manners could be freer in the so-called new world, but even toddlers can begin to act querulous if they miss their nap! Obviously, the APC quiescent posture has encouraged this progressively hash, shrill, and noisier media thuggery against Lalong, his government, and, to a large extent truth. Thus, a culture of constant rebuttal and spurning these paid agents’ strident lies and misrepresentations is called, if 2023 truly matters to APC!

Clearly, until this, we didn’t understand the depth of the two most reprehensible and somber Public Communication practices; ‘Yellow and Armchair Journalism’. ‘’The Will Newspaper’’ and Odey, labeling the Plateau state APC, Governor Lalong and his imaginative efforts in governance as disappointingly abysmal in performance is impertinently, mustering every rhetorical and intellectual tricks in the books to demarket and stupefy APC and sadly, sustain the hedge hiding the extremely unpresentable opposing candidates and their unserviceable party.

For the asking, speaking Truth to Power truly and reviewing their activities are some of the honours and standards the public holds the press. But it is different when the motivation is superfluously political and threadbare swaggering.

Imagine a reporting Journalist postulating; ‘’ The Lalong era is one of retrogression and stagnation and arguably the worst bargain to befall the state since 1960’’. This is rather unarguably reckless and a failure of logic and appalling lack of knowledge of the history of Plateau politics and governance, which Rt.Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, CON and his Legacies occupy a unique portion of it. His Rescue Legacy governance sits pretty as the benchmark initiative in the state’s history.

This is so because, where politics of contents and values remain the desired paradigm to crystallize development and actualisation of our collective aspirations, it requires men of character and determination to initiate the ideas and purview the blueprint. Rt.Hon. Lalong is without doubt, one of such national treasures doing Plateau proud to the pain of the rudderless opposition.

 He has demonstrated capacity and heartwarming results. To refresh the writer’s deformed memory, APC was and remains the most robust and humbling reaction to the monumental abuse and sterile 16 years’ governance of the PDP. 

 It is neither Lalong nor Plateau people's making but the overwhelming rejection from Nigeria and Nigerians that the PDP is out of power. So, deal with it!

 While it is natural for the opposition to be at loose ends in moments like this, taking such sick option to gain some psychological therapy, will definitely expose them to sweating more bullets. 

 In Plateau state, Rt.Hon. Lalong desirably became the state Rescue Agent. It may interest them to know that Lalong, unlike others, didn’t ride on anybody’s back to power but on the divine will and sheer record unity of the Plateau people which came to be known as the ‘’Plateau Project’’. Rt.Hon. Lalong ran as a celebrity democrat with a verifiable history of defending democracy and the Rule of Law. With nothing as you know, Lalong won humbly big, and record breaking for Plateau in 2015. And thus, remains the only Plateau politician whose candidature undeniably brought Plateau people together and nothing has changed!

 Governor  Lalong is humbled to acknowledge that he hasn’t lost any election and Southern Plateau is an unlikely place to record a defeat for him in 2023! 

 In the 2015 buildup, Plateau was at the nadir of hope. Thus, Lalong had to campaign on the promise to restore peace, civility, Rule of Law and prosperity. And glaringly, he has done a great job of that social contract, to generate the endless national honors, projects, and recognition for Plateau. 

We cannot begin to imagine the political capital that went into this complex and expensive Peace enterprise, but Lalong’s innate humility and titanic popularity stood tall above all other considerations.

 Governor Lalong promised to prioritize the welfare of civil servants and pensioners, and you can take it to the roof tops that he accomplished that at the drop of a hat.It takes a genuine leader and great character to continue or complete the projects of a disproportionately resentful predecessor. 

 This is one irreplaceable policy that has done the trick for us in Plateau state. The imposing Lalong ‘Legacy Projects’ scattered across Plateau State  ready to house  the newly approved Jos Campus of the Nigerian Law School, Riyom LGA, is no doubt, the most generous effort by a single government in Plateau State history. The value chain of these world class infrastructures cannot be taken lightly, particularly this writer who bawls out at everything with the APC or Lalong’s signature. 

 The British American Flyover  Junction Overhead bridge, ultra-modern High Court Complex, the proposed rebuilding of the Jos Ultra Modern Main Market, Mararaba- British America dual carriage way, Secretariat  Roundabout Flyover Junction Bridge, Township Road network, etc. 

  As the Chairman, Northern Governors Forum, D.G, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, and Knight of Saint Gregory the Great, KSGG, Plateau has witnessed increased Federal presence, appointments, and high profile socio-political and economic activities. 

 With this rare feat, how can anyone be of the persuasion that Rt.Hon. Dr. Simon Bako Lalong has performed abysmally? 

 If not sentiment and propaganda, who has actually given Plateau State  any better?

  It is also a figment of Ukandi Odey’s imagination that “unfortunately for the handpicked Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, Lalong has not as much as bothered to convene a peace or fence mending parley with angry aspirants”.   Thus, Simon Lalong’s popularity has so waned that he is even a burden grating on the electoral fortune of Nentawe Yilwatda”.

 This is utter mischief and just using journalism as a cover to serve disgruntled politicians. If there is  anything that has preoccupied Governor Lalong’s time and resource is managing the post-primary election  crisis. 

It is common place that the entire APC leadership has given so much in resolving these normal political party differences. The presence of litigation isn’t necessarily the failure of Lalong but the choice of the litigants. And adjudging Lalong as a burden to the prospect of the State APC gubernatorial candidate is being most uncharitable and hateful of the Governor.

How can Odey deduce that” Barring rigging and other forms of electoral disorders, Lalong will not win next year’s Senatorial election in Plateau South. His opponent in the PDP has better and more verifiable chances to win”.

To address this miserable conjecture, Mr.Odey should probably take back to his pay masters that, winning the 2023 Plateau South Senate seat, will be as easy as taking coconut from a leper! Unlike what happened in 2015, where the PDP had to deploy their rigging squad to harvest votes to save their leader already disgraced by a stranger in the Northern Plateau polls.

 Make no mistake, there is nothing wrong absolutely, with criticizing political office holders, especially, exposing their deliberate wrongs. And it can be refreshing when it comes from either the Media or the Intelligentsia. However, everything is wrong when criticism is offered for the worst possible reason like that of Odey. 

 The wanton compendium of unprovoked, never ending venoms from Odey, sadly, portrays him and whatever he represents as desolately deplorable.Criticism, like going to equity, demands a measure of responsibility. We are guided never to yield or misconstrue this righteous enterprise as a thoroughfare for miscreants. 

 Critics must have ideological basis, through which issues are deeply digested, with a view to arriving at the most reasonable and productive conclusion. 

 That means, such inferences must be devoid of greed, sentiment, prejudice, avarice or vendetta. Such critics must be logical in their arguments and deeply concerned with their line of thoughts. 

 Critics like Odey must be eager to disclose the truth rather than cover up with such venoms, emotions or launch attacks just because he thinks he has a monopoly of the vocabulary of insults, falsehood and Media terrorism.

 We are actually worried that even the state Media Managers especially, the Plateau NUJ, seems not to be  bothered over Ukandi Odey transforming into a PDP attack dog without any sense of shame? Journalism with Ukandi Odey is terror on the loose.

  Hon. Sylvanus Namang, a Veteran Journalist is the Plateau State APC State Publicity Secretary.