Leadership is about Learning- Saidu Adamu
Zainab Tanimu
Kaduna, North-West, NIGERIA
Appeal has been made to the people of Kaduna state and Nigerians in general to exhibit patience and tolerance with the present administration as it is doing everything possible to see to the yearnings of the people.
This appeal was made by Councilor for Communication and Information Services to the Kaduna state governor, Hon. Saidu Adamu during an interactive session with journalists on Thursday, July 12, 2018 at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Kaduna.
Adamu who was a former Commissioner of Information in the immediate past regime said the interactive session was meant to strengthen collaboration with journalists as the government cannot work alone. He had described the media as a vital instrument in the sustainability of good governance.
Saidu described leadership as a process of learning. Learning he said is continuous and that perfection belongs to the Almighty God.
“We need you journalists more than you need us. Eighty percent of peace depends on God and on journalists. If you have bad press, you are in trouble because in most cases, it is the journalists that are doing the thinking of the electorate. We want us to collaborate so that we can work together as a team to move the state and the nation forward”.
He however stated that he is not against journalists reporting happenings. “Say what you see that is wrong. It would even ginger us as government to do the right thing but do not take side”. He cautioned.
Saidu lamented over wrong presentations of issues to the general public by those he termed as quacks which in most cases lead to crisis. An act some he said are guilty of either because of personal or political interest.
“Some of the reports being dished out cause problems due to the issue of quacks. If issues are not reported objectively, there is bound to be crisis. Some of these reports because of either personal or political interest, they are not reported well”.
He challenged journalists to live up to expectation by upholding the ethics of the profession as well as updating their knowledge as they are not only expected to be the mirror of the society but ‘jack of all trade’.
“Journalists are expected to be Jack of all trade, master of none. They should be broad minded as such needs to constantly update ones knowledge”.
It is a common knowledge that the ruling party came to power to bring about change he stressed. The change he said is a gradual process which needs a lot of political wheel to achieve as there are lots of challenges to be surmounted.
He charged the media to help in educating the public on activities of government saying, government is aware of agitations of the people and is trying all its best to make things work. Governor El-Rufai has a lot of vision for the state. He informed. Citing the sanitization exercise embarked upon by the governor in the Local Government and other sectors of the state which he said are presently yielding fruits.
“If you do not have the political wheel, there are things you would not be able to change. Mallam Nasirul El-Rufai is trying his best. People should be patient and try to understand the workings of the government. These reforms are necessary. The sanitization exercise is yielding fruitful results. Try as journalists to help educate the public”. He emphasized.
Speaking further,” Mohammadu Buhari and El-Rufai are human beings like any other person. They are bound to make mistakes. One should be judged according to intention. Mistakes are parts and parcels of us. Our challenges are enormous. Yesterday is gone and how do we make tomorrow better because we have made mistakes as human beings is what should be the issue”. Those were his appealing words.
Responding to the issue of uneven distribution of government projects across the state, particularly the southern part of Kaduna, Saidu pegged it on the budgetary issue. He however assured that their plight would be looked into as development is a continuous exercise.
