Akwa Ibom: How to Silence Guerrilla Propagandists

...Why They Fought So Hard
...How To dominate them
...Expelling Omojuwa  
They have no respect for rules of engagement; professionalism is the least item never on their list. They soil their hands working dirt into opponent images; manufacturing fabrications and vanity. They even borrow foreign mercenaries and unleash underage ‘fighters’. They were accustomed to leading the fight, but that was until Akwa Ibom became their trophy. They are the APC band of guerrilla propagandists.

In the ethical vocation of Public Relations, Propaganda is simply message spread strategically to promote a particular cause. Contrary to popular political understanding, Propaganda is not originally false information, though it is free to ‘over-reveal’ in order to challenge the assertions of political antagonists. That I call ‘Proper-ganda’; and it is not the same thing as the vile smear campaigns, blackwash and calumniation we have seen ever since the All Progressives Congress, APC made out to seize power from the People’s Democratic Party.

At the national level, under Goodluck Jonathan (GEJ), they had a field day, battering the president’s image unrestrained. That man did not seem to believe in publicity and its tools. The APC band capitalized on that shortcoming turning on the propaganda heat, hitting on the president and his party, PDP with every tactic they could muster up – un-replied. The APC system, having conquered Nigeria and PDP, from May 2015, turned their attention to oil rich, news hungry, peace loving Akwa Ibom; and they did step up aggression for a small state like that. But that became their nemesis. I tell you how shortly.

Why the APC Propaganda
You cannot blame the APC too much for the stepped up assault in Akwa Ibom. It had to be that intensive because they had a severely questionable personality to defend in Mr Umana Okon Umana, their governorship candidate. Since you cannot adequately defend a man whose fingerprints are all over several multibillion naira shady deals in high places, you had to step up attacks at the people who could expose him. Unfortunately, they were up against a dreadful network of astute media professionals who, unknown to them, had amassed on the rival side.

UGE's Platoon

Udom Emmanuel, the Governor of Akwa Ibom, who is not a loud-mouthed man, is easily an admirable gentleman. Highly venerable, he is well known for decency, humility, morality, family, and peacefulness; added to his widely documented expertise in Macro Economics and Fiscal management; it was easy for professional media practitioners to join his ranks against the dark army, the APC band. I conscripted.

My motivations were as follows;

1.      A research I did in 2014 into the successes of the GEJ administration. I found that for every 10 achievements of GEJ, there was 1 that the world knew about, and 100 false accusations brought against him by APC propagandists.

2.      A trip to 3 West African countries that were being touted as destinations by international media. The global economic meltdown was even physically skin-felt in those countries, while the story in Nigeria was that of an emerging middle class. About that time, Nigeria was announced as Africa’s number one economy – thanks to GEJ economic policies that made it attractive for capitalists to invest in the country. What Nigerians feel today under Muhammadu Buhari, was already the situation in Ghana for instance, 15 months ago.

3.      My deep distaste for the crucifixion of an innocent man by people who know nothing about his challenges – people who just want to get the most out of on an uncomplicated man’s imperfections. Example, the exaggerated attacks on GEJ and the attempt to replicate the same against Udom Emmanuel in Akwa Ibom.

This squad of researchers, writers, editors, scholars, broadcasters, publicists, copy writers and fierce professional-members of a polity-defending-commentariat meant business in Akwa Ibom. They took the people to heart; they kept doors open for public opinion; they applied a proficient public relations model, taking feedback from the bottom line and communicating to the governor, who, in turn took steps to address the people’s concerns like a servant-leader.

This is the platoon that refused to ignore the fishy records of Umana Umana as the APC boys were working hard to achieve. They kept the ulterior intentions of UOU in plain view by keeping his reports of blatant, brazen heist of state funds, on the public board.  While, for example, the APC fought hard they kept the question in everybody’s face: WHAT IS UOU’s SOURCE OF WEALTH? 

Taming Omojuwa

It was this subdivision that contained ‘almighty’ J J Omojuwa. He is comfortably believed to have collected N5,000,000 from UOU to join the APC band. He began with supplying updates on the Akwa Ibom governorship election petition tribunal sittings on Twitter. He used a hashtag #AkwaIbom for this mission. Before you knew it, millions from around the world were swept along by his manipulative and wily messages. He sold out the image of Akwa Ibom as a cocoon of executive treasury looting; a cesspool of thieves and associates – but he was paid by the man widely understood to be the sole figure behind the alleged campaign of pillage.

Omojuwa could not be allowed to keep running the show. The UGE designated New Media unit of the Government House Press simply strategized and jumped in the hashtag. In one month, the narrative led by Omojuwa was diluted. His followers began to complain against the infiltration of a bad news information community with inputs of too much good news. 

Omojuwa fought back immediately. He replied with fire at any consistent online influencer that spoke for Udom. Then he selected Cavil Inwang to blackmail. He put out the young man’s picture tagging him an internet advanced fee fraudster, and pedestrian online influencers joined in the fight. The publicity was a severe act of character assassination by one who touts himself as an activist and was already enjoying gratitude from some of his followers; a new record low. Anyways, his frustration was not pitied by infuriated fellows – they blasted him into muteness in defence of Cavil. 

Jon Champion would say; “You could almost question the commitment of the defense, but the attack was as good as it comes”. Although he fought on hard, this wasn’t looking good for J.J. Omojuwa knowing how dreadful his demanding ‘pay-master’ could be.

In about 2 months, the UGE team claimed the hashtag and Omojuwa had to create another forum he called #OurAkwaIbom. It did not even come close to working. He lost his teeming online multitude of gullibles whom he had enslaved with propaganda feed.

Destiny Young of the APC team began to promote Track Akwa Ibom with the hope to grab disoriented Omojuwa followers. It became a sorry loss for them. Disillusioned, Omojuwa lost interest in the Akwa Ibom discourse and pulled out completely.

For such a famously unpopular Twitter celebrity, what could have been his wrong doing, to fail so woefully in a combat he had good head start in? Certitude and condescension. Overconfidence is his attitude normally; combined with the other, his influence in the affair knew quick suicide. He had not taken time to understand how social media trending works, obviously belittling anticipated reactions. Hence it was somewhat unfair to him, that he made #AkwaIbom trend, but his sway in the hashtag was neutralized far too easily.

Attempting A Bounce Back
What was left of the APC propagandists began to regroup, with Ita Awak taking a more prominent role on broadcast media. If the Tribunal ruling that followed encouraged them, the Appeal Court judgment put fire in their belly. With all zest and gusto they churned out all manner of blasphemous names at a meek and focused Governor. The Governor’s team ignored those child pokes, and concentrated on their strategy.

As is the habit of guerrilla dissidents, APC did dare to recruit under-age ‘fighters’. A particular under-25 law school try-out stood out among them. And, you know, if you radicalize kids, their infantile heads generate far too under-reasonable ideas; and they lack both the ability to reason dispassionately and the brains to engage logic. They became mince-meat for mature minds across the combat line. One can only pray they had not become too famous for their own future career prospects.

The APC band were always on the defensive, never able to lead the debate from when they arrived the Akwa Ibom topic. Other than a spell of attacks on the Governor’s policies and associates, they did find the itch to put up a last fight at the Supreme Court with some mischievous post of Essien Ndueso’s I-pad being seized by Court officials. Beginning with Mr Essien, a media consultant and aide to the Governor, the UGE team simply realized hilarity from the mischief.

If the Supreme Court judgment had been in favour of Umana, then the citizenry would have been taken aback, to say the least. Delivered from the claws of the APC propaganda machinery, the public had been successfully conscripted to the side of truth. A simple proof has to be the mass turnout of people on social media and physically to celebrate the victory of Udom Emmanuel at the Supreme Court.

Well, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has been confirmed on all fronts as the right Governor of Akwa Ibom State. He will now settle into undistracted governance.

The tussle between media professionals may not seem like much of a worry to the public. But since the media more or less control public opinion, it is in the interest of the polity for development media to overpower satanic propaganda.

Uduak Umo
Writes in from Uyo