THE Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) surely sounds “sorrying” and worrying, defending the missing luggage of entertainment sweethearts, Tiwa Savage and Wizkid in Lagos. How can you in the same statement rule their claims false and still assure of ongoing investigation? What is there to investigate again if Henrietta Yakubu, FAAN spokesperson and her “ogas at the top” had concluded Tiwa and Wizkid were only scare-mongering? If any so-called investigation was truly being conducted, would FAAN be humble enough to eat its word and apologise for calling the duo liars?
Henrietta’s rebuttal is a heap of self-righteous rubbish, devoid of professionalism in public communication. But no one should hang her. The public service is full of her kind; where the qualification to “speak” for the public, is anything but the requisite background, professionalism and training. That is why anytime such image-makers open their mouths to “speak” for the public, they end up embarrassing the public. My take; conscious efforts should be made to get tested professionals to “speak” in public service.
If I had a choice to make on which side isn’t saying the truth, personal experience and believable stories told by numerous victims, would make it an easy call. Nigerian airports are filled with professional beggars, system manipulators, drunk gun-totting officers, nauseating touts, petty thieves and daytime robbers! And I’m ready to defend these profiling anywhere. If the usual cocky ways of government agencies in dealing with “voiceless” Nigerians will come to play here, FAAN’s hare-brained and self-contradicting statement is definitely a humble-pie. And the reason needs no rocket science. FAAN is possibly taking itself too seriously by scampering to protect the integrity it thinks it’s got, with the public that “worships” their stars. If in doubt, check the public adoration of the agency through its social media status and consider same with the “following” numbers of those it tried to take on. I am not really into the follow-follow “business” on the social media, but the devastating effect to which Candidate Donald Trump put such “following” numbers in becoming the most powerful man on the planet, has got everybody sitting up with the social media, popularity rating and the numbers.
Yes, some people may follow to troll but there is a kind of surplus you get that “enemies” would be easily accommodated and overtime they become friends-within. That is the scenario late billionaire president-elect M.K.O Abiola explained as “owo to to owo ti agbana nje to nku si” (extreme wealth that devourer gets into, eats and dies inside). It is likely FAAN is aware of these statistics. A few months back, Deji Adeleke’s controversial musician-son, Davido, was declared the most followed celebrity on Instagram with 5 million followers. Wizkid, the same Starboy called a liar by FAAN was second with 4 million followers, beloved “Jennifer” Funke Akindele-Bello was third with 3.8 million followers, closely followed by who, the same Tiwa Savage who is the main target of the agency’s attack, with 3.7 million followers while Don Jazzy came fifth with 3.4 million followers. Genevieve Nnaji came sixth with 3.1 million followers while P-Square’s Peter Okoye had 3 million followers.
The first implication of the saga is that immediately Tiwa decided to go public with it despite the initial plea of the Lagos airport authorities which would mean an admission of an infraction; she told it to 3.7 million Nigerians and in the Diaspora. Add the admirers of the second victim to the equation and you have 7.7 million ears, connecting to their complaints, minus other members of the public like Gibbers not doing “follow-follow”, but still getting to hear about the theft. Without doubts, all the seven highest-grossers on Instagram are friends who are likely to always bond in adversity and likely “following” one another. If all upvoted Tiwa’s complaint, then 26 million persons would have heard of FAAN’s apparent incompetence at a go, through just an avenue, with nearly all the “followers” tending to believe their “idols” without questioning or hearing from the other side in the “conflict. You may want to condemn those “agbejo eni kan da” (subjective arbiters), but is it not the same everywhere with hero-worship? The “gods” are never to blame. A goddess by name Kate Henshaw recently allegedly assaulted photo-journalists at a book launch in Lagos as a co-compere. The Nation guy who told the story on Linda Ikeji’s blog, was viciously attacked by readers, without waiting for any form of defence from the alleged aggressor.
It would be suicidal for an agency, brand or government, not to try standing up to such massive information onslaught. But it shouldn’t be the kind of mumbo-jumbo release from FAAN. How can you say the theft was made-up because scarred victims refused to heed your call to testify? What is there to testify beyond the incontestable reality that the duo got into the flight from Uyo with their luggage and didn’t leave with them in Lagos. With the usual arrogance of we-are-doing-you-a-favour, which victim would cooperate with FAAN? And to add salt to injury, you declared the victims of your incompetence liars. I love the heat the “megastar” status of Tiwa and Wizkid, is putting on FAAN, even if the luggage are never recovered. At least, future voiceless victims may be beneficiaries of the forced reforms expected to be the fallout of this saga. Instead of dissipating negative energy on the matter, Tiwa, Wizkid and other members of the mega X-generation should be thinking the future. The projections should be more of the next generation and not the next election, though 2019 should also be deliberately structured by the huge social media-influencers to get their “own” properly into the mix. Imagine the seven galaxies of the Nigerian entertainment, deliberately getting their 26 million “fans” into sealing an unprecedented political deal of having a 30-year-old as a vice-presidential candidate to a probable president.
and then