UAE Visa Ban and NYSE Bell: Image Making is tough Business…
By Fred Chukwuelobe, FNIPR
If in doubt, ask President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale.
Within two weeks, he has issued two press statements that turned out to be false and further created image challenges and brought to the front burner the credibility challenges of the administration.
Firstly, he claimed the UAE had lifted a visa and a travel ban on Nigeria “with immediate effect.”
He added that UAE’s flag carriers, Emirates and Etihad, were to resume “immediate flights in and out of Nigeria.”
The man said that despite Nigeria owing the Airlines hundreds of millions in USD, no immediate payment was to be made by the debtor.
Secondly, he claimed just yesterday that President Tinubu rang the bell at the prestigious New York Stock Excange (NYSE) and thus became “the first African leader” to be accorded such privilege. The Bell, “One of the most familiar images of the NYSE on the evening news is the loud ringing of a bell, signalling the opening or closing of the day’s trading.”
As it turned out, both statements were outrightly false.
The UAE issued their own statement on the meeting between President Tinubu and their leader, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Nothing was said of Ngelale’s “immediate effect” pronouncement.
Again, it turned out that President Tinubu wasn’t the first African leader to ring the symbolic NYSE bell; former president Goodluck Jonathan rang it, too. And so have other African leaders.
The government admitted that error and apologised. But the damage, especially coming on the heels of the UAE false statement, had been done.
But, let us examine the two statements.
1. Why was Ngelale in a hurry to tell Nigerians that a decision on an issue that wasn’t reached was reached?
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2. Did he clear that statement with his principal before releasing it? If he did, why would our president or whoever that cleared it authorise such ‘misleading statement’ or ‘falsehood?’
3. How on earth will a spokesman of his level or whoever approved the release of that statement believe the two Airlines will resume operations they suspended months ago “with immediate effect?” Even if their aircraft are molue parked at Oshodi bus stop. There are many steps to be taken before the aircraft will take to the skies and fly in and out of Abuja and Lagos.
4. Why in a hurry to make claims about President Tinubu being the first African leader to ring a bell that had existed since and seen hundreds of leaders and business executives ring it?
5. What is the big deal in ringing ordinary bell that makes momentary noise? What privilege does it confer on anybody?
6. Is our friend aware that leaders in politics and business can lobby to ring that bell just that the show will go on and television cameras have something to fill air time with?
You see, this is a very big minus for the man and the administration he serves. It gives an impression that they are desperate to claim some popularity in the face of credibility problems facing it. Going this route will worsen things rather than create that positive image they so desire.
Finally, I feel for Chief Ngelale. I hope he does not lose his job sooner than he had started.
I hope, too, that he clears his statements from his principal before releasing them. Besides, with AI and Google at his fingertips, a quick check could help him avoid such gaffes. If somebody insists on going that “lie” route, he should insist that it shouldn’t be so. After all, he’s an adviser in that area.
I hope he learns before further damage is done to the image and credibility of Nigeria, which, by the way, is currently very low and poor.
Fred Chukwuelobe is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (FNIPR)
