Impact, blackmail or noise-making: ENetSuD must make a choice — Rafiu Ajakaye

Rafiu Ajakaye

There are three types of conversations: ‘what is this really about?’ conversation; ‘how we feel?’ conversation; and ‘who are we?’ conversation. 

While the last two are not useless as they serve different purposes, anyone interested in impactful talks around governance should only focus on the ‘what’s this really about’ conversation. 

Enetsud has become overwhelmed by some social media praise-singing that I’m afraid it has now lost focus. All it does now are ‘who we are’ and ‘how we feel’ conversations. Its engagements are becoming puerile! It is feeling good with social media dragging with no impacts with resultant waning respect among serious minded people. Forget the back-patting here and there. The reality is different.

You ask yourself: why is a civic group that wants to make impacts or influence public policy engaged in the use of foul language or social media dragging? To what end? Words are too expensive to be wasted on unproductive conversation, which is what its engagements are turning out to be. Sad. 

In its craze for clouts, in place of impacts, Enetsud is becoming uncouth, disrespectful, and political in language. That calls to question its sincerity and apolitical stance. I read the statements issued by the PDP and ENETSUD, and I struggled to distinguish their languages. It is fine and legitimate for a civic group to state its points without getting petty and overtly theatrical. But baseless name-calling, as Dr Abdullateef Alagbonsi and Lanrey Osho⁩ are now doing? Tah!

There is a limit to sanctimonious attitude, which is becoming its trademark. 

I don’t think any civic group should enjoy such the reputation it is giving itself. The group, without knowing it, is already having perception crises within important circles. Whoever governs Kwara in the future will be careful with them. And my fear about the future of the group remains. Time will tell.

It is one thing to come across as wanting a partnership for progress or making sure that govts do not derail, which is fine and necessary; it is another to want to be seen as a band of all-correct saints and champions with the silver bullets to whatever issues it raises. It is a case of an afi fila p’erin….Of course, the ‘road to hellfire is paved with good intentions’. 

May God guide them and all of us. No one is perfect after all.

Ajakaye is the chief press secretary to Kwara Governor