Is President Tinubu becoming a renewed statesman?

I believe this would be a legit question to ask, considering some actions the president has taken in the last few days. Let’s start with how he threw cold water on the fires that engulfed the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) by the sudden dismissal of the Director General, Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos and his recall two weeks […]

I believe this would be a legit question to ask, considering some actions the president has taken in the last few days. Let’s start with how he threw cold water on the fires that engulfed the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) by the sudden dismissal of the Director General, Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos and his recall two weeks later. Readers may recall that a surreptitious announcement made its way into social media, purportedly coming from the State House, dismissing the DG, who was some two years into his tenure. The mainstream media was, at the time, cautious in making the announcement, as they could neither confirm the story with the president’s official spokesman nor with the minister of information.

Nevertheless, following days of uncertainty, an official announcement was made dismissing Salihu Dembos, the DG and appointing Rotimi Pedro,  from Lagos State, as his replacement. The statement gave no reason for the sudden dismissal other than to ‘reaffirm the President’s commitment to strengthening national broadcasting as a platform for unity, cohesion, and soft diplomacy’, whatever that means.

The dismissal of the DG and the appointment of the new one immediately sent disconcerting waves to all perspective observers. The new scenario appears to be the next stage of state capture by the Lagos acolytes of the president. Admittedly, they have successfully made all the key appointments, for their own kinsmen, into the top hierarchy of the financial sector (Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank, Accountant-General of the Federation, MD NDIC, Chairman FIRS, Comptroller-General of Customs, etc.) and the security apparatus (Chief of Army Staff, Inspector-General of Police, DG DSS, Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service, DG NIMASA, etc.), the next port of call would understandably be the information sector, starting with the most visible of all, NTA. This is all within the new dogma of it is now our turn.

Many of these appointments appeared to have been made arbitrarily, without regard for the federal balance. Similarly, disposing of the incumbents was done capriciously without regard to the worth of the persons and the passion they had put into the job. It must have surprised many that the NTA DG heard of his dismissal while busy at work as part of a federal government delegation, led by the Minister of Information, on a three-day citizens’ engagement tour of Enugu and Ebonyi States. The minister was totally unaware that a head of a parastatal within his purview was being sacked.

The sack was even contrary to the provisions of the NTA Act, whose section 4 provides that: “If it appears to the Minister that a member of the Authority should be removed from office on the ground of misconduct or inability to perform the functions of his office, the Minister shall after consultation with the interests, if any, represented by that member make a recommendation to that effect to the President, and if the President approves the recommendation, the Minister may declare, in writing, the office of that member vacant.”

I hear that Dembos is not just your run-of-the-mill broadcaster. Prior to his elevation to the post, Dembos had served NTA for decades in many capacities. He joined NTA in the lower rungs as an announcer. He served as General Manager, NTA Lokoja and Kano, before his elevation to Zonal Director, NTA Kaduna. When he retired in 2017, President Buhari appointed him to the NTA board as an Executive Director. Dembos was appointed the DG NTA in 2022. President Tinubu, on assuming office in 2023, reappointed Dembos as DG for a three-year tenure. I also understand that Dembos is a fervent unionist, having held many positions in the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) and served as its National President from 1998 to 2007.

I have been a keen follower of the NTA, and from my perspective, they are doing just as well as the privately owned television stations. In many respects, their public service programmes can be ranked higher than most other TV stations, which often kowtow to the wishes of their owners. Their visuals, as well as acoustics, are also of higher quality. Of course, as a government institution, they also engage in self-censorship, sometimes leading to a disconnect with their viewers.

Dembos’ return to the office, after the president recalled him, was celebrated by the workers in the NTA. The widely circulated videos of the welcome are an

indication that, at least within the NTA, the majority of the workers felt that he was wrongly dismissed.

Many were taken aback by the president’s change of mind to recall Dembos. Some opine that the president is at least taking the reins and is now ready to assume a more statesmanlike role. This may be due to the realities of the upcoming 2027 elections and the apparent fact that he has, for the most part of his tenure, kept large segments of the federation with significant voting strength at arm’s length. But does this U-turn make the president a renewed statesman? Many would give a positive answer when they see a more liberal recruitment into the top hierarchy of the financial sector and the security apparatus.