I can totally relate to Mr. Obogo’s challenging circumstances. If he has to support his family, he has a job to protect, which primarily entails attacking important citizens and reporting to the public that the governor is wearing exquisitely tailored white clothing—even if it’s obvious that he’s wearing all-black, for example! Therefore, it is not lost on me that representing a failing or ineffective elected official is a monumental burden for a political spokesperson.

I read the frantic, attempt to save face publication written by a man known only as “Linus Obogo,” who made a valiant effort to defend Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu in response to my open letter dated September 18 requesting accountability and transparency from the government the latter leads.

With all due respect, the so-called “rejoinder” was anchored in a way that is typical of most political spokespersons in Nigeria, who are essentially employed to function as attack dogs against those who have negative opinions about their leaders. That sloppy, faulty, and face-saving publishing is therefore nothing more than a red herring, and nothing remarkable at all. After blatantly failing to present a reasoned defence of his principal, as he is paid to do, the author of the cited publication took to attacking me personally in an attempt to deflect criticism away from the unsettling points I brought up in my open letter.

Not only is his use of the most vile language so soon after he accused me of being “ill mannered,” but it is also blatantly inconsistent and a clear example of his double standards, which betrays much about the current Cross River State government. The reason for this is not surprising, as I have already stated: political spokespersons in Nigeria are not always employed for traditional public relations purposes, but rather to launch a barrage of attacks against those who question their administrations or disagree with them. For example, when a party spokesman in Abuja called Nigerians “wailing wailers” because they dared to criticise his disastrous principal’s anti-people economic policies, we were all present.

In reality, back home in Cross River, Mr. Obogo’s predecessor once called me a “hack writer” for having the audacity to criticise the notorious policies of his crazily incompetent employer, in an attempt to keep his position like the incumbent spokesman. Thus, I don’t find it uncomfortable in the slightest that Obogo is making a tonne of insults while dressing up as a “rejoinder.”

In light of the foregoing, I can definitely relate to Mr. Obogo’s challenging circumstances. If he has to support his family, he has a job to protect, which mostly requires him to attack important persons and report that the governor is wearing exquisitely tailored white clothing, even though it is obvious that he is

for instance, in all-black! I therefore do not doubt that being a political spokesperson is an extremely difficult profession, particularly when defending an ineffective or outgoing elected official. Due to this, a so-called “rejoinder” had to be published, one so embarrassing that no legitimate government could have approved of its publishing.