BY CHUWANG DUNGS
The Taraba state commissioner of information and orientation, Zainab Usman, keeps dominating public discussion lately in the state. Newspapers in the state recently are awash with stories of her acts and other issues that affect her official duty.
Usman, who is one of the youngest commissioners in the governor Agbu Kefas administration holds a master’s degree in Business and Commercial Law (MBCL), from Bayero University Kano.
She has continued to garner attention not because she is excelling in playing her role of informing the public about government policies and accomplishments.
Mrs Usman is not gaining attention for promoting the program of the Kefas administration or improving the souring relationship between the administration with the media. At least not much of those noble deeds anyone could recall and relish.
Rather, Usman is going into the news more for lacking the political will and experience to pilot the affairs of her ministry.
Her critics easily point to her inability to handle her “responsibilities, as a coordinator and regulator of the state’s media architecture.”
Analysts are still wondering why Kefas is still keeping her to serve in that position. However, some sources hinted that Kefas action was at the behest of some influential leaders of the state, including a traditional ruler who wanted her to remain in the position.
All Progressive Congress (APC), chieftain in the state, Zubairu Aliyu, recently said that “It is unfortunate that the set of commissioners we have now under this present government have exhibited a high level of incompetence, especially the information commissioner.”
Journalists in the state are among the prominent voices that have continued to lament over Usman’s attitude.
The state correspondents’ chapel during its Congress meeting last month, expressed dismay over her poor relationship with Journalists in the state.
Differently, members of the chapel accused the commissioner of being the major reason why the relationship between the government and Journalists is not cordial.
To worsen issues she doesn’t pick calls or reply to text messages when contacted to respond to issues.
They said her actions on several occasions have denied Journalists the opportunity of balancing their reports. This reporter can testify to this fact.
Chairman of the Correspondents chapel, Gabriel Yough lamented how on several occasions had made efforts to convince the commissioner to buy the idea of ministerial briefing without yielding results.
“For the past one year, I have made series of attempts to see If we can engaged government through monthly or quarterly ministerial briefing but failed
“If the commissioner is not picking calls or responding to text messages you give the journalist room for suspicion. There is a need for the media and government to work together; there should be trust and cordiality between the two.” Yough noted.
A leading Taraba state based private media outfit, Worldview Magazine in a recent publication highlighted the professional shortcomings of the commissioner.
In the publication the magazine publisher, Williams Ayooso, noted that “Appointing a Commissioner of Information, or any Commissioner is the exclusive preserve of a Governor, if in his judgement, the interest of his administration would better be served.
“But for the office of commissioner of information, basic knowledge of media operations, its administrative structures, as well as refined public relation’s attitudes are a sine qua non.
“For an Information Commissioner to function well and serve the desired interest of his or her governor, such a person must possess basic knowledge on operations of journalism professional structures like NUJ Chapels, difference between government and private media outfits.
“Above all, the person must be accommodating, with a good form of social resilience.
“Unfortunately, Zainab, it appears, did not possess any of these attributes. It is high time that the Commissioner rejigs her attitude to blend with the tide that conforms to public relations culture, else she has no business hanging on to the ministry.
“This is not a piece to castigate Governor Agbu Kefas’ Honourable Commissioner for Information, or cast her in the state of public odium. It is a wakeup call for the right thing to be done so that the media-friendly environment, which Governor Agbu Kefas toiled to build, would not be ruined.
“After all, one has no business with Zainab’s private life, but the attitude she deploys to the services of the state is of public interest.
“What Zainab needs at this moment, as a commissioner of information, is to excoriate the veil of monarchy mentality, a super commissioner mind set, as well as an arrogant disposition that she weaves around her attitudes in dealing with the media and media related issues.” Mr Ayooso wrote.
We left this to mumuye youth groups to defend one them.