PR SHOTS: Of Maishanu, her bullies and their raving rage
By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id
When media theorists shifted attention to observe that audiences were gaining greater influence over the media than the media held over them, the full significance of this shift may not have been widely felt, until the rise of social media made it unmistakable.
Today, the boldness with which commentators shape, frame, and amplify social judgment within these digital spaces is palpable, and deeply concerning.
BBC Senior, but apparently young journalist Aisha Madina Maishanu, has quite suddenly, become a recurring presence on social media timelines, particularly on Facebook. Her recent surge in attention follows a series of frank and fiery interviews notably, with Niger’s governor Bago, Defence Minister, C.G. Musa, and most recently, Kano ‘s political ‘tower’ Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, under her sharp scrutiny with ‘uncanny mien’.
In each encounter, Maishanu’s stern demeanor has itself become a subject of public debate.
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Of these major three, the Kwankwaso interview stands out, resonating within a charged political climate and stirring clear agitation among his supporters, many of whom have expressed clear dissatisfaction with the young professional. It is apparently a growing pattern of feedback that has followed these interviews, with the criticisms clearly getting more vehement. She has been labeled unfriendly, rude, discourteous, and even accused of asking the wrong questions.
Yet for every critic, there is likely a corresponding admirer.
Maishanu’s rising, award-winning profile, from her early days as an intern at NTA, through her work at VOA, to her current role at the BBC, speaks to her professional caliber. Even a non-professional follower or observer should acknowledge that, her globally respected employers would not retain her if they were dissatisfied with her style or substance. To the discerning many, it is only the ignorant, uncouth, or impervious detractors who are picking holes in her delivery.
But Maishanu’s challenge is not new. It lies at the intersection of identity, misogyny, self-esteem, and the hard cost of career ascension in a complex field like broadcasting, especially for a woman whose origins and society often invite more questions than they provide answers.
Nevertheless, this remains an exciting moment in her career. She has been thrust, almost at random, into the forefront of public discourse. So, while the noise we have been drowned with today may be loud, this same energy will likely translate into new connections, heightened visibility, and greater traffic to her professional profiles, ultimately raising her stature and accelerating her career prospects.
It’s more wins, after all.
Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id is a PR professional in Kaduna
