So long, Garba Shehu

Abdullahi M. Gulloma

Until the last minute change of plan recently, President Muhammadu Buhari was scheduled to attend the South-east Economic and Security Summit in Enugu. Apparently, and for obvious reasons, curious eyes of many Nigerians were set on seeing the president stepping off the plane at Enugu, literally the home of MASSOB and IPOB.
Unfortunately, many if not all, were disappointed. The President shunned the event. No, he was asked not to attend in order not to complicate Christmas arrangements for the easterners.
Contrary to media reports alleging that the he had snubbed the summit, his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the president was presented with a request to attend the Economic and Security Summit by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu and he happily accepted.
“The visit to Enugu was scheduled for Thursday22nd as can be found on the weekly programme,” Garba said. “After this was done, some other stakeholders from the South-East came and advised him to not go in view of the closeness of the date to Christmas; that given the sensitivity of the period to the people, a presidential visit may come with overexertion and possibly, be disruptive of Christmas.

“In view of this, President Buhari requested that the event be pushed forward to January, 2017. Given his nature, he did not insist. He said if the change of date is not possible, then the event can go on without him. That is what the organizers chose to do. The President did not, and he absolutely has no reason to, snub anyone one.”
But then, what’s the fuss about president’s visit to the east, or otherwise, to declare open a summit which his views can hardly count? All that was entailed in the visit and his presence at the event was politics which, in this case, it can be argued was wrongly played by the president’s handlers.
Of course, the president’s handlers and those who schemed to have him invited, especially Onu and Rochas Okorocha, knew that his presence would have meant nothing to the seminar. Unfortunately, all in their exuberance to please the president forgot to cover his back. Now the impression is fuelled that he dislikes the Igbo people and, for no reason declined to attend one of their important events.

For his Igbo friends, getting the president invited to Enugu is one thing and, if for any reason, like in this particular case where he was asked not to attend by organisers of the event, that fact should be made known and quickly so to Nigerians by those responsible for the invitation.
In this latest episode, the Igbo people, who, in the first instance, the president’s friends wanted to change their impression about him, should be told by their leaders who asked him to stay away and why he failed to attend.
Where the organisers failed, the president’s media handlers should have informed us, ideally at the time when it was decided he was no longer attending the summit, not on the day of the event or after.