YAShuaib

Category: Media/PR

  • VIDEO: Sambo Dasuki is alive and hearty in Custody-YAShuaib

    VIDEO: Sambo Dasuki is alive and hearty in Custody-YAShuaib

    VIDEOSambo Dasuki is alive and hearty in Custody by Yushau A. Shuaib

    NTA Video on Visit to Sambo Dasuki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uhmtbqTfNs

    Surprisingly, seven days after his family denied the rumours that he was dead, some people are still calling to confirm the true story on the plight of Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd).

    Early in the morning of February 23, 2019, when Nigerians go to the poll for Presidential and National Assembly Elections, I received several calls and messages from mostly Editors trying to confirm a rumour on purported death in security custody of the former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki.

    Dasuki has been in the custody for more than three years despite being granted bails by more than five high courts while the ECOWAS Court of Justice also ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to release him immediately from illegal detention.

    He had recently berated the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari over his continued detention and disobedience to various court orders that admitted him on bails since December 2015. In a strongly worded letter dated November 12, 2018, which he personally signed and addressed to the Registrar of the Federal High Court Abuja, Dasuki had vowed to boycott any proceeding for his trial since the Federal Government had proved beyond reasonable doubt that it would not obey any order of the court even if it is in his favour.

    Alarmed by some audios being spread on the social media on the rumoured death of the spymaster on the election day, I quickly called his family members including his wife and sibling for enquiry.

    They expressed similar shock and that they had even received condolence messages from people on the same speculation. One of the family members also told me of their visit to Sambo Dasuki the previous night at the Department of Security Services (DSS) where he is being detained.

    I put a call to the spokesperson of DSS, Mr. Peter Afunanya who told me that the ex-NSA is alive.

    I was later granted approval to visit the ex-NSA that morning for confirmation.

    On arrival at the DSS reception, I was a bit worried seeing a media crew from the government-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), led by Talatu Ezurike at the premises of the secret service.

    We were later ushered into the office of DSS spokesperson who described the news of Dasuki’s demise as fake, callous and inciting, saying: “There is no iota of truth or credibility about the rumoured death of Col. Sambo Dasuki. We make bold to state that the former NSA is very much in good health and not dead. Therefore, it behooves the general public to disbelief and condemns the atrocious online story that Dasuki has died in DSS’ custody.”

    He later led us (this writer and NTA Crew) to meet the former National Security Adviser in a modest room, that looks like an office.

    With a cup of tea before him, Dasuki looked relaxed and unperturbed as he welcomed us. He cracked jokes on his rumoured death.

    When he noticed a Camera from NTA crew, he quickly warned against video recording of the encounter. He also said he would not grant an interview to the Television station, even though he cheerfully exchanged pleasantries and threw banters.

    We chatted for a while as he expressed himself freely and courageously on how he felt about being unjustly detained after sacrifices to his fatherland.

    Before we left, I suggested he should allow his photograph to be taken while he was sitting. He reluctantly agreed.

    I pray that sooner than later he would be vindicated and freed from the baseless and malicious allegations against him.

    We left afterward.

    Since I have an agreement with DSS Spokesperson not to report our discussion, I can only confirm that Sambo Dasuki is alive, hale and hearty when we met him on that Saturday, February 23, 2019.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
    [email protected]

  • Memo to General Buratai on Military-Media Relations- Yushau A. Shuaib

    Memo to General Buratai on Military-Media Relations- Yushau A. Shuaib

    Memo to General Buratai on Military-Media Relations

    Dear General Buratai,

    I thank you for inviting media executives and public relations practitioners, through the Deputy President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mallam Suleiman Gaya for the interactive dialogue held in Maiduguri last December, 2018. The event was friendly, frank and sincere, towards evolving stakeholders’ engagement and enhancing military-media relations.

    However, a few days after the well-attended engagement, the Nigeria Army declared an activist, Dr. Perry Brimah wanted over alleged fundraising for troops. The military also subsequently invaded the offices of leading national newspaper, Daily Trust and arrested some of its journalists over an ‘exclusive’ report it had recently published on the counter-insurgency strategy of the Nigerian Army.

    I must tell you frankly that these incidences were worrisome and portend a huge minus to the desired mutual military-media relations being striven towards.

    It might interest the Army, Sir, to note that similar media indiscretions during the previous administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan were well-managed when news editors were inundated with confidential information in the name of exclusive reports.

    For instance, on the evening of Friday, February 13, 2015, almost four years ago, there was intelligence about a sensitive news story that had been filed to the headquarters of Daily Trust in Abuja by Hamza Idris, a war reporter who doubled as the Bureau Chief of the paper in Borno State, and is currently a political editor.

    The filed story coincided with the commencement of ruthless military operations in which many Boko Haram terrorists attempting to over-run Maiduguri were eliminated. The Nigerian Air Force had then intensified aerial bombardments of the dreaded Sambisa Forest, leading to the recovery of the towns of Monguno, Marte and others from the terrorists. President Goodluck Jonathan was billed to fly in an airforce helicopter to the liberated towns of Baga, Mubi and others.

    At the time, I was assigned by the Security Service to ensure that a sensitive aspect of the filed story concerning special forces was not published. For several hours and into the midnight of that Friday, I was in touch with the Defence Correspondent, Ronald Mutum; the North-East Bureau Chief, Hamza Idris; Daily Editor, Nasir Lawal; and Saturday Editor, Abdulkarim Baba-Aminu appealing to and finally convincing them of the implications of disclosing such sensitive part of the story to the public.

    Lucky enough, in the newspaper published the following day, the sensitive portion of the cover story, which was subject of concern, had been expunged. Dozens of towns were later recovered and President Jonathan flew into Baga, Mubi and other liberated towns to felicitate with the gallant troops. That was when Jonathan honoured the late Lt Col. Abu Ali for his military prowess and valour.

    General Buratai, sir, there were several instances in which the Nigerian media demonstrated excessive patriotism in protecting national security. During that period, Femi Adesina, who was President of Nigerian Guild of Editors and General Chris Olukolade, the Defence Spokesperson ensured that the security services put news editors in confidence about major operations and the media were very supportive treating highly classified information with the delicateness it required. And, those editorial gestures were at NO COST to the government.

    Sir, you may be surprised to note that some of the harshest critics of the military during the Jonathan administration were mostly strong supporters of General Buhari’s candidacy for president. They included media practitioner, Omoyele Sowore of Sahara Reporters, civil society actors like Dr. Ahmed Idris of Citizens United for Peace and Stability (CUPS) and Dr. Issa Perry Brimah of Every Nigerian Do Something (ENDS), among others. Then, the security services tolerated the excesses of critics of the administration to some extent, as some of their outbursts were borne of genuine concerns, which also influenced positive social change and the upgrading of security tactics and strategies.

    Meanwhile, on your assumption of office, critics gave the service chiefs breathing space for sometime before resuming their ‘constructive engagements’, not necessarily of the military per se but of you as Chief of Army Staff, after the Zaria Shi’ite massacre and the Dubai property imbroglio.

    Surprisingly, some of these persons, who are my good friends, bore me bitter for founding PRNigeria as a platform for alternative narratives on the performance of the military as an institution. Although public relations is a legitimate and profitable communications business, they fail to realise that since the appointment of the current National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno and service chiefs, the Media/PR outfit has never been paid a kobo for managing the reputation of the security agencies and promoting their activities. Yets, PRNigeria takes solace in the fact that we have unfettered access to very top officers and security spokespersons for credible, reliable and timely information in its work.

    General sir, you need to establish a better rapport and engage with the media and other critical stakeholders closely, for them to appreciate your efforts as the Chief of Army Staff. Some of them even lack basic information about much of your past accomplishments in commanding troops and in the communities you served. They may have forgotten that as JTF Commander, you stabilised the Niger Delta region, having wrested it from the scourge of armed militancy; that as the Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, not only did you train cadets on guerrilla war tactics and counter-insurgency manoeuvres, you also endeared yourself to the troops before their eventual deployment as the first special forces to fight Boko Haram in the North-East. Your brief stint as the first Force Commander of the rejuvenated Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), after the recovery of over two-dozen towns from the terrorists, further consolidated our military gains and sustained relationship with neighbours. Your hardline stance and no-nonsense approach to acts of terrorism, even while sustaining the personal losses of your country home in Buratai being burnt and security guard killed by Boko Haram.

    The recent altercation of the Nigeria Army and the media is not the first in your tenure as Chief of Army Staff (COAS). You may recall that after the arrest of the publishers of Sahara Reporters and Premium Times in February 2017, I wrote an article titled, “Self-censorship and Security Report”, through which I cautioned that as a service chief you should be wary of busy-body consultants and lawyers who may wish to profit from the misunderstanding between the military and the media by instigating the taking of irrational steps. Like I pointed out there, “No one fights the press publicly, especially the credible media, in attempt to enforce censorship, not self-censorship, and gets away with it unscathed.”

    In a nutshell, my dear General, the most recent military siege on the media could be well-managed if we consider the sacrifice and risk being taken by editors who have unfettered access to citizens and troops in embattled communities, with information at their disposal on some unpleasant developments in the North-East. They nevertheless remain steadfast and supportive, with fair and occasional self-imposed censorship in their reportage to protect the integrity of the Nigerian security system.

    Much of the security challenges that have come up are associated with misinformation, disinformation and the lack of credible intelligence. While the military can claim to have strong weapons, with their guns and bombs, the media actually possesses stronger weapons, with their pens and keyboards, in changing mindsets, engaging in psychological warfare, strengthening the fighting spirit of troops, boosting the confidence of citizens and weakening the morale of terrorists.

    Sir, I dare urge that constructive engagement in information management is very essential at this crucial period our dear General, and the soldiers’ soldier.

    Once again, I thank you for the last invitation as I wish you a more rewarding New Year and better-managed relationship with all the critical stakeholders in the Nigerian security system, and its administration.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
    Recipient of SABRE African Public Relations Award
    and International Public Relations Award (IPRA) on Crisis Management

  • Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders- YAShuaib

    Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders- YAShuaib

    Memo to Lai Mohammed on Disobedience to Court Orders
    Dear Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    I write this in respect to your Ministry’s apparent disobedience to a straightforward court order for my reinstatement and payment of remuneration after the illegal letter of retirement I received in 2013.

    As you may be aware, Justice David Isele of the National Industrial Court, NIC, had on November 22, 2017, ruled and ordered the immediate reinstatement and the payment after I was forcefully retired over an opinion article I wrote on former finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in March 2013.

    The court had declared that the letter retiring me from service has no force of law and is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever being in flagrant violation of the civil service rules.

    Meanwhile, I am equally too aware of the fact that the Federal Ministry of Information which you supervise as the Minister had in March this year reported to have rejected the judgement. In its appeal, the Ministry urged the Court to set aside the judgement of NIC and to dismiss the suit. Joined as a defendant is the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) which had signified its readiness to obey the order and recall me back into the service.

    While your Ministry has neither complied with the court order nor responded to the series of letters from my lawyers over the legal issues, I least expect that as the Minister of Information, a lawyer by qualification and a former spokesperson of the then opposition party who was publicly defending my right to freedom of expression would now sit on a fair judgement on the same issue since last year.

    You may recall that when you were the spokesperson of the then opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), you issued an official statement in the noon of Sunday, May 5, 2013 extoling my courage for the constructive criticisms in my writings as you berated the administration of Goodluck Jonathan for harassing and penalizing me over the same issue.

    In your statement where you also condemned Jonathan’s regime for attacking Rotimi Amaechi and Oby Ezekwesili, you wrote thus: “The fate that befell NEMA spokesman Yushau Shuaib for daring to criticize the lopsided appointments in parastatals under the Ministry of Finance, are glaring actions of an administration (Goodluck Jonathan) that is bent on stifling Freedom of Expression.

    “These anti-democratic measures will worsen as the 2015 elections approach. Therefore, all lovers of democracy must join us in speaking out against the Jonathan Administration’s descent into despotism.

    “This is the only way to prevent a President’s desperation for power from torpedoing our country’s democracy. After all, a critical benchmark of a democratic society is the existence of a vibrant, free and independent media that will give the citizenry a platform to freely and vigorously debate current issues”.

    Though I am quite surprised that you now keep mum after a judgement that favoured your advocacy in the past. I refused to believe that as the then spokesperson of the opposition party you were merely pretending or lying when you were defending my right to freedom of expression in 2013. I now wonder if you are aware, as the Minister, of the notice of appeal from your Ministry rejecting the entire judgement of a competent court for my reinstatement and compensations.

    Like I had stated previously, I don’t believe you could be lying with your public support for the freedom of expression in 2013 by tolerating the unfathomable decision of your Ministry on the same issue in 2018.

    Honourable Minister sir, I urge you to be wary of fraudulent antics of petty civil servants who could mislead you. It may interest you to note that in a deliberate effort to nail me at all cost after my article on Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in 2013, the directors in the Ministry of Information ignored my various initiatives and efforts in promoting the image of the government while in the service. I had issued countless press releases and articles as well as received awards and commendations even from government agencies in 20 years’ career in the service.

    The directors met and insisted on my dismissal over the same article ignoring my written defence. They even made a mockery of the Automatic Employment the government offered me as a recipient of Presidential National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award for meritorious service in 1994.

    In page 6 of the minutes of their meeting of June 11, 2013, the Directors of the Ministry indicated their disdain for merit and demonstrated their jealousy when they stated that “the officer (Yushau Shuaib) came into the service by accident and it was advisable that he should go the same way.”

    It was after I was forcefully retired that I sued the government for the unlawful retirement over the opinion article. In my statement of defence before the Court, I stated that I was not given fair hearing by the ministry and that the Public Service Rule 030421 gave me the right to write an article. The section states that “Nothing in this rule shall be deemed to prevent an officer from publishing in his own name, by writing, speech or broadcast matters relating to a subject of general interest which does not contain a critic of any officer.”

    I also cited Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution which states that “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

    Since you, as the Minister of Information, have refused to respond to the court judgement and series of letters from my solicitors since last year, I have no other alternative than to instruct my lawyer to take an immediate and appropriate legal action against you.
    Yushau Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com, Wuye District, Abuja

  • CBN on Fire, WhatsApp to the Rescue- Yushau A. Shuaib

    CBN on Fire, WhatsApp to the Rescue- Yushau A. Shuaib

    Opinion: CBN on Fire, WhatsApp to the Rescue
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    On May 1, 2018, while Nigerians were observing a work-free day for workers, a Staff Writer of an emerging media platform, the News Digest, spotted smoke rising from the Headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Abuja.

    The young journalist parked his car and started taking pictures and video of the incident. As an Editorial Adviser of the new media outlet which consists mainly of campus journalists, youth corpers and young graduates on internship, I was contacted for an appropriate caption and editorial angle for the story. I have mentored some of the young journalists and observed that they enjoy scooping fresh angles from reports on social media as they develop and convert trending issues into the news by engaging celebrities and newsmakers in interviews. With their handy smartphones, the major tools of their job, they take pictures, conduct interviews, record videos, edit stories and publish the reports at the click of the button.

    I closely looked at the images of heavy smoke emanating from the CBN’s tallest complex in the District. Though I didn’t doubt the sincerity of the young journalist, I nevertheless nursed the fear that the photos and the videos could have been doctored and manipulated.

    The young journalist insisted that he was still at the scene. I asked that we should engage in a live WhatsApp video chat to verify the authenticity of the claim. Behold, I watched the live transmitted video of heavy and thick smoke enveloping the building.

    While it is conventional by social media standard to just post and publish the pictures without contacting relevant authorities, I volunteered to speak to the ever vibrant and responsive spokesperson of CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor on the incident. Several calls to his phone weren’t going while the young journalist was on my neck to get clearance to break the news with the pictures.

    The pictures were immediately published with a story captioned: CBN Headquarters on Fire. The story went thus: “There was a fire outbreak at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters in Central Business District in Abuja. The News Digest reporter who was at the scene reports that Fire-fighters have controlled and quenched the fire from engulfing the tallest building in the area.”

    Immediately after the news break, CBN unleashed one of the most exciting, timely and effective crisis communication strategies to counter negative narratives of the fire incident at its headquarters premises in Abuja.

    Less than an hour after the news break, Okorofar who was outside the country then reached out to the media on the phone, especially through the WhatsApp (which is cheaper for foreign calls) to deny the fire-outbreak and insisted that it was smoke from a malfunctioned generating plant.

    For a tactical reason and after realising the major platform used to share the fire incident story was WhatsApp, he dispatched an urgent press release using the same channel to reach the media contacts and relevant stakeholders. He continued to provide WhatsApp updates including pictures and video while maintaining other means of communication like email through his aides.

    The spokesperson’s WhatsApp press release, which he rushed with few spelling mistakes, indicating that he typed it on phone and sent, read thus: “There Is No Fire at CBN Head Office. Reports that the Cenyral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) head office building is on fire are false. Passers-by who saw a pall of exhaust from the generator house far away from the building apparently mistook the exhaust for fire smoke.

    “The CBN maintains a total security system that triggers safety alarms in the presence of smoke and so all fire engines and personnel received the alert only to discover that it was an unusual pall of exhaust. The affected generator has been rested and normal work has been uninterrupted, while the engineers are working to rectify the issues with the generator. We hereby assure the general public that there has been no fire at our building,” he concluded.

    The release was widely shared on WhatsApp and other social media. By the following morning, most of the conventional and traditional media avoided the use of “FIRE” to describe the CBN’s incident in their publications and broadcast while other social and online media dropped their initial reports and updated their stories accordingly.

    Isaac Okorafor as the CBN spokesperson was not only accessible for media enquiry through the period, his response was timely, and he demonstrated crisis communications tactics through effective coordination of his team, the sincerity of purpose, consistency and clarity of message that was terse and unambiguous.

    Apart from having existing cordial media relationship, in crisis management, an experienced spokesperson can work with minimal supervision in taking critical and timely decisions when bureaucratic red-tapism could be dangerous.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    www.yashuaib.com
    Award-winning crisis communicator and Author of “An Encounter with the Spymaster”

  • Sowore of Sahara Reporters for President? YAShuaib

    Sowore of Sahara Reporters for President? YAShuaib

    Sowore of SaharaReporter for President?
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    I received a strange call one night from a foreign telephone number requesting a confirmation over distributions of relief materials at a residence of a top politician. The caller said he had pictures to buttress the incident.

    As the spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), I confirmed the story but insisted that the beneficiaries of the relief items were internally displaced persons (IDPs) and poor Nigerians at a residence of a community leader.

    Since the story could be wrongly interpreted over the genuine humanitarian efforts, I appealed to the caller to consider the plight of the beneficiaries rather than the person whose facility was used for the distribution. He magnanimously dropped the story.

    The caller was the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore who now wants to throw his hat into the ring of presidency come 2019.

    During my dilemma with Dr, Ngozi Onkonjo-Iweala, before I was forced out of the public service in 2013, Sowore was out in full force in my defence through regular coverage of my plights and strong editorials in SaharaReporters. When I crossed over to the other side as the Media Consultant to Nigeria’s security apparatuses, we balanced our relationship, and in fact, Sowore has been one of the great pillars of support in managing security reports.

    It was during my engagement with the security system that I discovered that Sowore has credible informants from virtually every sensitive unit of government. The system as at that time tolerated some of his excesses and never threatened his businesses. Most influential media personalities including reporters were closely monitored for their safety and protection. Meanwhile, on few occasions, the system interfered ‘intelligently’ with his platforms to prove its technical capability. In fact, his media outfit and few others were used as guinea-pigs to test-run latest acquired intelligence facilities against stubborn online and social media. Surprisingly, Sowore would never make noise about those secret interferences, even though I personally intervened when his platforms, in few instances were compromised.

    The system was aware that Sowore has large volumes of sensitive and sometimes classified information on virtually every who-is-who in security and political circles. He has been very considerate in managing the information in his disposal especially on privacy and national security.

    While he doesn’t spare top political and security top shots for wrongdoings, he is always careful in not attacking the institutions and innocent operators within the structures.

    I could mention several instances where Sowore had protected the reputation of Nigeria’s security from public ridicule and embarrassment. His occasional private warnings and technical advice on issues towards safeguarding national security were heeded while his medium too deliberately self-censored information leakages that could be injurious to Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

    The renowned Defence Spokesperson, General Chris Olukolade (Rtd), could testify to some of the amazing support from Sahara Reporters that he once told me “This Sowore of Sahara Reporters is an interesting enigma in every sense.”

    Because I was involved, he has turned down invitations and snubbed the receptions from many top public functionaries because of his radical disposition. He neither visited public offices nor sought help from public officers at least as at May 2015. Surprisingly, he never made noise about the calibre of personalities that he rejected their hands of fellowship. He is also choosy and reluctant to accept legitimate business patronages and advert placements from politicians, public officers and suspicious businessmen.

    My relationship with him was never rosy. We have the occasional cat-and-mouse game since I am neither an activist nor a full-term journalist that could damn the consequence of contentious media reports. I am a public relations person that believe some information are not publishable for stability, especially on privacy and national security. PR as a profession, unlike citizen journalism, has ethical standards and regulations. Our mutual friends, especially Musikilu Mojeed of Premium Times, do intervene occasionally when we (this writer and Sowore) engaged in hot exchanges of words privately on burning issues.

    I am aware that he has damning dossiers on many top public officers, he has been conscious of releasing information that could compromise national security. In fact, till date, some system officials seek his intervention on self-censorship and other strategic support.

    In my interaction with Sowore, one could see his sincerity and passion for a better Nigeria where there will be economic stability, political progress and social harmony where the rich and the powerful cannot intimidate and harass the poor and the weak. He means what he says even though he is too radical and naughty in his views.

    Sahara Reporters online media does not attack the poor and the weak. The medium merely exposes the powerful and the rich for their dirty antics and deals. It uses its influence to hold public officers accountable through investigative reports and editorial contents. His true friends remain the like minds in activism, the oppressed masses and the voiceless.

    On a personal note, I am highly indebted to Sowore of Sahara Reporters for being part of the few individuals who stood by us when it really mattered and ensured he gave us a platform free of charge for PR stuffs. I will definitely donate to his campaign funding since he never accepted a kobo for the services he has so far rendered to us.

    Meanwhile, I won’t know if I can vote for a very blunt and an extremely radical activist as Nigeria’s President at this very critical time even though Sowore has demonstrated fine PR skills in his exchange of words with Communication Minister, Barrister Adebayo Shittu recently.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Author “An Encounter with the Spymaster”
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]

  • Celebrating Quintessential Shuaib- Jaafar Jaafar

    Celebrating Quintessential Shuaib- Jaafar Jaafar

    Yushau A. Shuaib at African Excellence Award in South-Africa
    Yushau A. Shuaib at African Excellence Award in South-Africa

    Celebrating Quintessential Shuaib
    Jaafar Jaafar
    Publisher DailyNigerian

    Yushau Abdulhameed Shuaib is a household name in Nigerian media and public relations industry. And if kindness was an industry, Shuaib could be one of the famous players.

    My relationship with him started some 15 years ago during the golden days of Yahoogroups, gamji.com, amanaonline.com, Hi5, and a few other cyber social fora. Since then, he considered me as a rother.

    Sometime in November last year, I went to see Shuaib in his office with a business proposal. “Sir, I wonder if you can give me an office space for a share in DAILY NIGERIAN,” I proposed nervously, clearing my throat.

    Shuaib’s office (PRNigeria/Economic Confidential office) is big, with spacious offices, conference room, workstations, etc.

    Unexpectedly, he cut in, saying: “Haba Jaafar! Stop this! Just because of a space here, you are proposing that I take a stake in your business? The best way to support you grow your business is to give you space free of charge.”

    I sat there speechless, staring at him as he continued: “Come on Monday, the space will be created for you and your staff.”
    At that time I was almost working alone – reporting, writing, proof-reading, copy-editing and editing – from a studio apartment in Maitama.

    By the time I reported back, Shuaib had divided his editor’s office into two with glass cubicle, bought a new desk and chairs for me! “You can use here,” he said as he ushered me into the new office, “your staff can take seats at the workstation.”

    I was again speechless, battling tears. “There is also free Wi-Fi, so don’t bother to waste your money on data. I will deploy a corps member to assist you. And don’t worry I will take care of his allowances,” he added.

    Shuaib did not stop there. He asked if DAILY NIGERIAN had International Standard Serial Number (ISSN number), and I replied in the negative. He called Kenneth Ahonsi at the National Library and asked me to meet him. “And don’t pay. I will settle it,” Shuaib declared with refined finality.

    At that time I couldn’t hold back tears. I then wondered inwardly who, if not exceptional human beings, could give you this exceptional support? I wondered again: Although this man is not a high net worth individual, but he did what the billionaires could not do to support someone grow.

    Sometimes he would come to my cubicle to sound me out on some issues or “reprimand” me for allowing DAILY NIGERIAN ranking to slump or why I was absent for a few days.

    With a business address, clients began to patronise our services and the business soon picked up.

    Less than a year after Shuaib incubated us, he came up with an idea of hatching DAILY NIGERIAN in a new environment “over-befitting” our status.

    “There is a vacant space nearby,” he said, “Let’s go and see it.” Off we went, chatting and throwing banters.

    The new office space is as big as his, with even larger courtyard. To cut the story short, Shuaib encouraged and supported me to get the new office DAILY NIGERIAN is proudly situated at today.

    In Nigerian setting, Shuaib is truly a rare breed. Shouldn’t a ‘Nobel Prize in Kindness’ be instituted by the Swedish Academy to honour this man?

    As you add a year today, I wish you long life, good health and prosperity. Happy Birthday, Sir!

  • PRNigeria Publisher Petitions Police Boss Over Harassment, Intimidation of Family in Abuja

    PRNigeria Publisher Petitions Police Boss Over Harassment, Intimidation of Family in Abuja

    PRNigeria Publisher Petitions Police Boss Over Harassment, Intimidation of Family in Abuja

    The Publisher of PRNigeria, a press release platform for critical institutions, Yushau Shuaib has petitioned the Inspector General of Police(IGP) Mr. Ibrahim Idris over harassment and intimidation of his family members living in Abuja, especially the Gestapo style his family members were subjected to by a team of Policemen and woman from Lagos.

    In a 30-paragraph letter addressed to the IGP dated September 11, 2017, the petitioner noted that the team from Lagos had claimed that Governor Ambode of Lagos state was aware of an alleged massive fraud committed in Lagos involving his Son, Gidado Shuaib.

    The Police Team, led by one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099) who claimed to have arrived from the Office of the Lagos state Governor had initially informed the wife of the petitioner by telephone that they were from an MTN Team to deliver a seasonal gift to her, which raised suspicions from the wife before her eventual alarm, suspecting them to be a kidnap gang before nearby residents came to her rescue.

    The petitioner also resisted the attempt to be taken to Lagos for questioning by the team stressing that he was not the suspect, a move also supported by the Divisional Police Officer of Wuye Police station, CSP Solome Hardy (Mrs.) who categorically told them she would never allow them to take him to Lagos because he was not the suspect of their investigation.

    The Petitioner, Yushau Shuaib in the petition to the IGP is demanding the reason and justification for the harassment of himself and especially his wife who has been traumatized since then and undergoing medication and counselling.

    Shuaib wrote: “The ridiculous treatment of myself and my wife with the detention in Wuye Police Station before our eventual release is not only appalling and scandalous but a calculated attempt to rubbish our hard-earned reputation, having used the last five years protecting and promoting the activities of security agencies in Nigeria.

    “In fact, through PRNigeria Platform alone, we have syndicated and published over 300 official Press Releases from the Police in the last two years of the current administration as part of our social responsibility to our fatherland.

    “While we have been threatened by terrorists and their sympathisers in the cause of our services, it is rather unfortunate that the police are now our tormentors.

    “My fear, currently is not about me, my family or my son who will surely confront the Police with his lawyers over the reckless allegation on his return. My fear is: what may be happening to other ordinary Nigerians who do not have people in police or security agencies to put words on their behalf?

    “Only God knows how many lives could have been lost with the kind of recklessness exhibited by the Lagos Police Team that engages in the gestapo-like operation of picking up people without providing the information on their alleged offences.”

    The petitioner, therefore, urged the Police boss to provide clear information of the alleged offences purportedly committed by his son; to Direct one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099) to stop threatening them with phone calls insisting they must be in Lagos in the absence of their son. He also urged the police to tender unreserved apology for treating his family like a common criminal without adequate proof of the allegations.

    Shuaib further disclosed that his ordeal contravenes a clear provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which prohibits the arrest of another person in place of a suspect. He also pointed out that with the unprofessional and questionable manner of the Lagos Police Team, he urged the Police boss to transfer the case to any of your Special Investigation Units in the Force Headquarters or to the FCT Police Command

    Shuaib said that with his strict monitoring and parental guidance over his children, he should also be held liable if his son is found guilty of the alleged offence. “I am not only a guardian but a Father in every sense of the word,” he concluded.

    See below, the copy of the letter
    By PRNigeria
    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

    September 11, 2017

    Inspector General of Police
    Nigeria Police Headquarters
    Abuja

    Sir,

    LAGOS POLICE’S HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION OF FAMILY OF YUSHAU SHUAIB IN ABUJA
    I write to report the harassment and intimidation of my family by a Police Team from Lagos who claimed to be from the Governor’s Office, Alausa Ikeja.

    2. On August 21, 2017, my wife received a phone call purported to be from an MTN Team coming to deliver a seasonal gift to her. Suspicious of such gifts at a period of insecurity, their calls were ignored. With persistent calls, she told them she was going towards Wuye Market with her sister where they were accosted by four hefty men and a woman claiming to be from the Police.

    3. When they attempted to bundle her into their white saloon car, she resisted by raising her voice, shouting for help. She learnt the trick of ‘shouting’ to evade abductions by suspected kidnappers who use names of security agencies to whisk away innocent victims.

    4. Realising the implication of her “shout” that could attract a mob action, they accepted her request to trek together to a nearby Wuye Divisional Police Station for fear of abduction.

    5. When I was alerted to the incident, I rushed to the police station on a pyjamas and bathroom slippers only to be detained by the policemen who now seized our telephones and were dialling different telephone numbers from them.

    6. When I insisted on what offences we committed for our detention and search on our phones, they claimed that Governor Ambode of Lagos was aware of an alleged massive fraud committed in Lagos involving my Son, Gidado Shuaib.

    7. Though shocked and traumatised by the experience and the so-called massive fraud in Lagos, I can conveniently without an iota of doubt, vouch and defend the integrity of all my children, who were not only trained to be of good character but were groomed to imbibe value of simplicity, humility, hard-work and sacrifice.

    8. Gidado had travelled the previous day as Member of MediaTeam for the coverage of Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

    9. The police team insisted we should write official statements about our son and some of his friends who are mostly university students. They further insisted that my wife could be granted a bail, while I must follow them to Lagos that day in my pyjamas.

    10. Intervention from well-meaning senior security officers, whom I have worked with over the years by virtue of my professional callings saved me from being taken to Lagos that morning. The DPO of Wuye Police Station, CSP Solome Hardy (Mrs.) was very categorical when she told them point-blank that she would never allow them to take me to Lagos because I was not the suspect of their investigation.

    11. The police Team reluctantly accepted DPO’s position, especially on health ground and that I should bring my son to Lagos upon his return from the foreign trip.

    12. Gidado, my first son and his siblings are not only well-brought up, they are exceptionally humble, simple and very obedient that they hardly go out to seek for favours.

    13. On the police allegation of fraud in Lagos, Gidado has never spent a night in Lagos in the last five years. In fact, he was only in Lagos on a transit to connect with a foreign airline on a trip to New York to attend the annual United Nations Youths Assembly where he was invited as a delegate in 2015. He didn’t even return through Lagos but through Abuja Airport. He has therefore never spent a single night in Lagos in the last five years.

    14. Since September 2016 to May 2017, Gidado had been in the United Kingdom pursuing a Master Degree Programme on Communication at the University of Westminster. He started the programme immediately after his graduation from the Baze University Abuja.

    15. Apart from the fact that I opened Bank Accounts for my Children, I closely monitor their transactions which give me ideas on their spending.

    16. I deliberately arranged for Gidado to be staying with a very humble guardian in London who guarded and guided him throughout his stay. Most of his expenses were routed through the same guardian.

    17. As a father, I subjected him to live an austere life in London so that he could imbibe the spirit of endurance, piety and independence rather than develop an ostentatious lifestyle.

    18. As the Publisher of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential and other media outlets, I ensure Gidado earns extra allowances by writings, proofreading, editing and publishing.

    19. While at the Baze University Abuja, Gidado introduced a magazine, YouthsDigest which focuses on students, education and youths engagements. He doesn’t engage in any other business apart from that.

    20. In recognition of his entrepreneurship skills, Gidado was recently voted and honoured by SME100 as one of the 25 Young Nigerians under the age of 25 who have inspired others to greatness.

    21. It is painful, however, that I have to write this letter over supposedly unproven allegations against an innocent young Nigerian for an offence in an environment he was not used to.

    22. It is also shocking that in this age of technological advancement with affordable tools for intelligence gathering, the police in Lagos have to waste human and material resources to identify and locate a young man that can be simply and easily identified and traced through the common ID Caller App and the social media Platforms. This is terribly embarrassing.

    23. The ridiculous treatment of myself and my wife with the detention in Wuye Police Station, before our eventual release, is not only appalling and scandalous but a calculated attempt to rubbish our hard-earned reputation, having used the last five years protecting and promoting the activities of security agencies in Nigeria.

    24. In fact, through PRNigeria Platform alone, we have syndicated and published over 300 official Press Releases from the Police in the last two years of the current administration as part of our social responsibility to our fatherland.

    25. While we have been threatened by terrorists and their sympathisers in the cause of our services, it is rather unfortunate that the police are now our tormentors.

    26. My fear, currently is not about me, my family or my son who will surely confront the Police with his lawyers over the reckless allegation on his return. My fear is: what may be happening to other ordinary Nigerians who do not have people in police or security agencies to put words on their behalf.

    27. Only God knows how many lives could have been lost with the kind of recklessness exhibited by the Lagos Police Team that engages in the gestapo-like operation of picking up people without providing the information on their alleged offences.

    28. I am writing this letter to request the Office of the Inspector General of Police over the unnecessary harassment and unjust intimidation from Police Team from Lagos.

    29. I wish to, therefore, request your office to:
    a. Demand the reason and justification for the harassment of myself and especially my wife who has been traumatised since then and undergoing medication and counselling
    b. Provide clear information of the alleged offences purported committed by my son
    c. Direct one Inspector Babatunde (08056506863, 08081700099) to stop threatening me with phone calls insisting I must be in Lagos in the absence of my son
    d. Tender unreserved apology for treating my family like a common criminal without adequate proof of the allegations.
    e. Note that my ordeal contravenes a clear provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which prohibits the arrest of another person in place of a suspect.
    f. Note that with the unprofessional and questionable manner of the Lagos Police Team, I wish you would transfer the case to any of your Special Investigation Units or to the FCT Police Command
    g. With my strict monitoring and parental guidance over my children, I should also be held liable if my son is found guilty of the alleged offence. I am not only a guardian but a Father in every sense of the word.

    30. I, therefore, submit this for your prompt intervention, as the Gestapo-police team insists on my presence in Lagos this week which I will not honour in the absence of my son who is yet to return from Hajj.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    Publisher PRNigeria, Economic Confidential

    Copy:
    Governor Ambode of Lagos State
    Commissioner of Police Lagos State
    Commissioner of Police Federal Capital Territory
    Force Police Public Relations Officer
    Divisional Police Officer, Wuye District
    Executive Secretary Centre for Crisis Communication
    Chief Press Secretary to Governor of Lagos State

  • Rule of Law: Garba Shehu Goofs on Sambo Dasuki- YAShuaib

    Rule of Law: Garba Shehu Goofs on Sambo Dasuki- YAShuaib

    Garba Shehu, Yushau Shuaib and Children at presentation of a book A Dozen Tips for Media Relations by YAShuaib in Abuja 2005
    Garba Shehu, Yushau Shuaib and Children at presentation of a book A Dozen Tips for Media Relations by YAShuaib in Abuja 2005

    Rule of Law: Garba Shehu Goofs on Sambo Dasuki
    By Yushau Shuaib

    The most painful and mind boggling dilemma in issuing rebuttals is the attempt to challenge respected professional colleagues who should know the truth from fallacy. Wrong actions of current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari have compelled some of us to take the pain and risk of disproving false allegations and reckless insinuations on innocent people by those in the corridors of power.

    Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President on Media and Publicity is one of senior professional colleagues who positively impacted in my career by benefitting from their guidance and benevolence (https://goo.gl/RZV6j3).

    Meanwhile, with due respect to my elder, I have been thoroughly embarrassed and even shocked that Mallam Garba has been misled in joining the bandwagon of those attacking former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki blindly and baselessly.

    While Dasuki has remained in unlawful incarceration since 2015, the system has refused to give him the opportunity to clear his name on frivolous charges against him and occasionally prevented him from appearing in court.

    In an attempt to defend the flagrant disobedience to court orders by the Buhari regime, Mallam Garba recently said that the government of Buhari is not ready to release Dasuki because according to him there “were many cases against Dasuki for which he had not been granted bail.”

    Mallam Garba was further quoted to have said that “The ex-NSA’s problem is not with President Buhari who I must say has the highest regard for the rule of law. If five courts of the land are trying different cases in which a man is involved and one or two of those courts let the accused persons go home on bail, what happens with the other three cases?”

    Mallam Garba should know that Sambo Dasuki was arraigned and charged on bailable offences which all the courts of competent jurisdiction have granted him bail. Since 2015, when Dasuki was arraigned before different high courts, he was granted bail by Justice Adeniyi Ademola and Justice Ahmed Rahmat Mohamed of the Federal High Court as well as Justice Peter Affen and Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the FCT High Courts. The ECOWAS Court had also ordered the Federal Government to release him immediately from the unlawful custody and imposed a fine of N15,000,000 on the government but up till now, all the judgments have not been obeyed. There is currently no single court order or a legal warrant for his detention. Rule of Law indeed!

    This is not the first time the respected political communicator, Mallam Garba would play to the gallery. On his assumption of office, Garba raised a similar erroneous insinuation against Sambo Dasuki on October 15, 2015, when he told the world at The Red Media Summit in Lagos on how he and others plotted to accuse Sambo Dasuki of coup plotting (Link: https://goo.gl/qqu7r9). He was quoted to have stated thus: “We agreed we were going to run a story announcing that the National Security Adviser at that time, Mr. Sambo Dasuki, was staging a second coup d’etat against Muhammadu Buhari.” As alarming as that statement was, Mallam Garba did not retract the offensive and offending statement. As a respected communicator, he should know better.

    Meanwhile few year before then, Malam Garba predicted the challenges Dasuki would face as Fulani man from North-West against Kanuri people of North-East who would frustrate him. He made the assertion immediately after the appointment of Dasuki as NSA by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012. In his weekly article in Premium Times with the title “Dasuki as NSA: Issues below the Surface,” (Link: https://goo.gl/Hi3Vib) Shehu even recommended and listed some Kanuri people that should have been considered for the appointment.

    Mallam Garba claimed that the appointment of Dasuki as a Northerner might produce the direct opposite result of appeasement of the region. According to him “the Boko Haram terror movement is dominated by Kanuri boys, despite the recruitment of volunteers from areas outside Borno and Yobe States. Dasuki’s appointment ignored the historical rivalries between the Kanuris and the North-west or more directly, the Fulani hegemony.”

    Buhari’s spokesperson therefore asked “Can a scion of the Fulani royalty, even though a Northerner cultivate the trust and confidence of the Kanuri boys against the background of these historical rivalries? Can a Fulani Northern National Security Adviser conduct negotiations for disarmament with Boko Haram in the face of these historical rivalries? This may be Sambo Dasuki’s biggest challenge.

    “Whatever theories may have developed around Sambo’s appointment, the Kanuri factor in the appeasement policy should not be ignored. No confidence building strategy can succeed which ignores the undercurrents of historical rivalries between the Kanuris and the Hausa/Fulani of the north. It is doubtful if the North-East or Borno State in particular, lacks credible retired army officers who can do the job.”

    Even though, those fear of my senior brother, Mallam Garba could not be ignored, especially when Dasuki came in at a period Boko Haram members were not only terrorising the North-East but the North-Central and North-West with weekly attacks on worship centres. Nevertheless, the ex-NSA succeeded in restricting terrorists’ notoriety to the North-East before recovering more than 25 towns from the Boko Haram. In fact, the excesses of Boko Haram were curtailed to the effect that 2015 elections were peacefully held throughout the federation, including North-East where governors and legislators were elected without any hitches.

    I request my senior brother, Mallam Garba to read my “Open Letter to Femi Adesina” (Link: https://goo.gl/TFdNmP) on some of the achievements of Dasuki in office and the list of over 20 towns recovered during the previous administration. I appeal to professional colleagues in government to avoid playing politics with sensitive security issues that could be misleading.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    www.YAShuaib.com
    [email protected]
    Abuja

  • General Enenche: An Engineer in PR Turf? Haba

    General Enenche: An Engineer in PR Turf? Haba

    General John Enenche
    General John Enenche

    General Enenche: An Engineer in PR Turf?
    By Yushau A. Shuaib

    The founding fathers of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) fought for the enactment of Decree No. 16 of 1990 (now an Act of the National Assembly) to regulate and monitor conformity to the ethical standards of Public Relations (PR) practice in Nigeria.

    The law bars non-members from practicing public communication in the country. The regulation also empowers the Institute to prosecute offenders. They feared then, that the profession was being infiltrated by all-comers who knew little or nothing about the PR practice.

    Today, their fears have been confirmed as the PR profession in Nigeria is saturated by quacks apart from the ill-equipped, unqualified and inexperience persons assigned to handle public relations jobs.

    There is a need for sanity in the profession because PR strives on sustaining mutual relationship through reputation management, crisis communication, media relations among other strategies in projecting positive image of individuals and organisations. It therefore requires qualifications, skills and experiences to practice.

    While the existing law empowers the Institute to sanction and prohibit non-registered members from public relations practice, NIPR is weak in enforcing compliance. Other professional bodies have aggressively advocated and ensured only qualified members hold top positions in credible institutions in the public and private sectors. It is impossible and would sound absurd to appoint non-professionals who lack requisite qualifications and experiences in Medicine, Law, Accountancy and Engineering among others to head respective departments in reputable organisations. The professional bodies ensure that only their qualified members, such as lawyers, Doctors, Accountants and Engineers oversee such offices.

    It is rather disturbing the recent appointment of an Engineer, Major General John Enenche as the Director of Defence Information (DDI) which invariably makes him the spokesperson for the entire military sector in Nigeria that include the Army, Airforce, Navy and intelligence agencies.

    A qualified Engineer with Advance Diploma in Military Engineering, Enenche attended Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME), Makurdi for various engineering courses and qualifications while his areas of Interest is Civil Engineering Project Supervision. Though his hobbies include listening to gospel music and monitoring news and current affairs, General Enenche does not have the mandatory requirement to practice Public Relations in Nigeria.

    Undoubtedly, General Enenche, from his profile, is a man who has received several prestigious honours and commendation awards in the military. We have no reason to fault this humble and hardworking officer for accepting military posting. The Defence Headquarters should nevertheless know that by Nigerian law it is an aberration to assign non-qualified and non-registered professional to practice public relations in Nigeria.

    At a Regional Media Seminar organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) for security spokespersons in July 2016 in Rivers State, the former Director Defence Information, retired Major General Chris Olukolade said that “It is illegal to practice Public Relations in Nigeria without certification.”

    General Olukolade, a Fellow of NIPR and Chairman of Enforcement Committee of the Institute added that the Institute was undertaking membership certification and re-certification to weed out quackery in the profession. He therefore enjoined all Security agencies to comply with the law.

    The recent appointment of an Army Engineer for a PR job is therefore clearly a deviation from established norms and practices by the military. PR practice should not be undermined by portraying it as a profession that doesn’t require any qualification or skills. It was in recognition of importance of capacity building and promotion of professionalism that the military established Nigerian Army School of Public Relations, and Information (Naspri). Some of those that passed through the training centre including their tutors are some of the highly qualified, competent and finest serving military officers, among them ‘Generals’ in rank and grounded in public relations practice.

    As a regulatory body for image makers and reputation managers, NIPR has a lot to do in its advocacy and engagement with respective institutions to abide by the law guiding appointments into top positions in PR and Communication jobs in Nigeria. It should also emulate other bodies that jealously guard the integrity of their members and proudly protect the dignity of their professions.

    The NIPR should therefore use its powers appropriately in sanctioning individuals or organisations that abuse the regulations as regards appointment, promotion, discipline and other sundry requirement of public communication.

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    [email protected]
    www.YAShuaib.com

  • My ‘Ordeal’ Inside Kirikiri Prison- Yushau Shuaib

    My ‘Ordeal’ Inside Kirikiri Prison- Yushau Shuaib

    Kirikiri prison computer centre
    Kirikiri prison computer centre

    My ‘Ordeal’ Inside Kirikiri Prison- Yushau Shuaib
    By Yushau Shuaib

    This is not a joke, but a real-life story. I still wonder how my family members, friends and well-wishers would feel about my ‘ordeal’ inside the Kirikiri Medium Security Prison in Apapa, Lagos.

    In fact, this write-up commenced in the Prison. All my life I have tried to avoid any act or behaviour that would warrant me being sent to any solitary confinement whether cell, house-arrest, guard-room, or prison not to talk of the most popular (or is it notorious) Kirikiri Prison in Nigeria.

    In the past and up till now, I deliberately try to avoid visiting offices of friends whose mandates are to detain people even when, professionally, I engage in crisis communication which involved relating with security agencies.

    Meanwhile, I have also realised that the only person that could be sure of not going to be detained either in cell, house-arrest or prison must surely be the dead person in the grave. Influential leaders have been detained and incarcerated at various times; some went to detentions straight from highly powerful positions while others moved from detention centres to privileged posts. Nelson Mandela, Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Obafemi Awolowo, Wole Soyinka and even Sambo Dasuki who had been granted multiple bails are very few of personalities that have tasted state confinement and imprisonment, where their movement and freedom were not only restricted but denied.

    Sometimes last year, I received an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an investigation of a company involved in crisis management for the security sector. I felt embarrassed by the reckless and baseless indictment of the firm by the controversial and unceremoniously disbanded AVM Jon-Ode arms probe panel. I was nevertheless treated with dignity by the anti-corruption agency without being detained after providing necessary information on the issues at stake. Meanwhile, as a man, I have always prepared for the worst scenario in case of untoward eventualities.

    Before I give the reason for my journey into Kirikiri prison, I know for sure that the right of prisoners in relations to physical integrity must have freedom from arbitrary arrest. No matter the situation, I know that potential detainees, by right, should be informed of the fact and grounds of any arrest. In fact, victims of emerging professional whistle-blowing enterprises deserve some respect because they are innocent until proven guilty in competent courts.

    I must state that I had no hesitation when the Prison officials in Abuja, insisted that I must be conveyed to Kirikiri Prison. I was flown to Lagos and transported by a bus to the Prison in Apapa. I must also be very sincere to state that I was neither maltreated nor harassed from Abuja to Lagos even though we had flight delay.

    At the entrance to the Prison I became scared to the marrow when I read a notice which stated that the Kirikiri Medium Security Prison was overcrowded. On that day, March 1, 2017, it accommodated 3051 prisoners instead of 1700 of its official capacity. More shocking was the fact that 2627 detainees were not convicted by any court but they were awaiting trial. Some awaiting trial inmates were immorally detained for frivolous offence of fighting, walking at odd hours and petition writings.

    Rather than conveying me straight to the cell, the officials at the Kirikiri Prison took me to a barbing saloon where imprisoned barbers and trainees provide the services. Next to the barbing saloon were tailoring and shoemaking workshops where inmates were trained in the production of clothes, shoes, bags among others. I learnt some religious bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations purchase the items for sale outside the prison yards.

    At another corner of the Kirikiri prison was a Library and a Computer Centre where some inmates study for examinations. Some even graduated with flying colours from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), I learnt. By conventions, further education is to be provided to all prisoners while schooling of illiterates and young inmates are made compulsory. Even though Prison is not a place for recreation and relaxation, in this prison, there is a playground, a volleyball court and table tennis facilities. Such recreational activities like sports, music and other hobbies are by the same conventions required to be made available in prisons.

    Strange enough, I noticed that most of the inmates were not malnourished but looked healthier than I had thought. I suspect that they are probably offered better medical examinations and treatments than it is imagined or believed.

    While being led towards the prison accommodation, the official said that by law cells for individuals should not be used to accommodate more than one person while communal cells should only house prisoners who had been selected to share them. He added that all facilities should meet the requirement regarding health, heating, ventilation, floor space, sanitary facilities and lighting.

    My ‘real ordeal’ inside the prison was how to convincingly inform my family members and well-wishers that I was never arrested but was actually on an official assignment and Special Tour of prison facilities in Lagos with some media executives including editors, columnists, broadcasters and journalists. We were being led and guided by the spokesperson of Nigerian Prison Service (NPS), Francis Enobore and the officer in charge of the Prison, Emmanuel Oluwaniyi.

    As a proof of the tour of the prison, I requested the spokesperson of NPS to take my picture while standing at the Window of the Computer Centre. He obliged. After the tour, we returned to our hotel for buffet and attended a three-day workshop on prison reform organised by Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA).

    After spending nights in the hotel, I returned to Abuja without spending a night in the Prison.

    More pictures on the tour of Kirikiri Prisons here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/yashuaib/albums/72157679140013481

    Yushau A. Shuaib
    www.yashuaib.com
    [email protected]