Nigeria’s finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, slipped up Friday in a rare media gaffe, telling a reporter for American television, ABC, she was tired speaking about the abduction of more than 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State.
“I’m tired of the same stories,” the minister said after being cornered by the reporter for an unplanned interview at the World Economic Forum meeting in Abuja.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala explained she was not competent to speak on the issue since she was not the government spokesperson.
But it seemed the minister soon realized her mistake and promptly agreed to make some explanations on the government’s effort at dealing with the abductions.
The reporter had asked about Amnesty International’s report that the Nigerian military received advance warning and yet failed to stop Boko Haram from taking the girls April 14 from their dormitories.
“I cannot answer those questions. I am the minister of finance. I can only tell you about the full commitment of the government and the pledge of the international community as demonstrated by this conference,” she responded.
Asked what the government was doing about rescuing the girls, the minister said “everything” was being done. “The government has sent out additional troops, the government is doing aerial surveillance, the government is working with companies that have satellite, the government is working with the U; is waiting for the promised help from all the sources that have pledged,” she said.
“The government, with the private sector, has supported the initiatives lunched here for Safe Schools for our children. So, the government is doing the maximum it can, it has opened the crises centre so that they can provide up-to-date information. Everything is being done, like I said terror will win when we divide.” The minister said the objective of Boko Haram, the extremist group responsible for the abductions, was to stop the world community from coming to Nigeria. “That’s why they did that; and the world community said, ‘No, we will come to support our girls.’ And they’ve come in solidarity. This is the largest ever world economic forum conference ever after Davos,” she added.
The minister then broke off from the interview as the ABC reporter pressed for specific details of the government’s engagement with Boko Haram, advising him instead to speak to Nigerian military authorities.
That explanation appeared of little help as hours later, ABC News published its story headlined, “Nigeria official says she’s tired of talking about the kidnapped girls”.
Apparently to pre-empt a backlash, the minister released a transcript of the interview on her Facebook page late Saturday; but the transcript excluded the initial exchange with the journalist.
The Nigerian government has come under intense scrutiny over its handling of the kidnapping after it took more than two weeks for President Goodluck Jonathan to respond to the raid.
A day after the incident, Mr. Jonathan was photographed singing and dancing at a political rally in Kano State, despite at least 75 people having been killed in a car bomb in Abuja on the same day the kidnapping occurred.
Mr. Jonathan has said the abduction of the school girls is the “beginning of end” of Boko Haram.
I do feel for her in the sense that she is not used to this type of journalism. Western journalism will question and demand answers at any time without notice and that’s the way it should be done. This is the type of journalism that we need in Nigeria and not a “wishy-washy” kind of journalists.
Obviously she is upset and overwhelmed but not withstanding accountability is required from everyone in the government regardless if you are the spokeswoman/man or not.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala it is now a different type of political game now that the whole world is watching.
Posted: at 12-05-2014 01:21 AM (11 years ago) | Gistmaniac
odprince at 12-05-2014 09:10 AM (10 years ago) (m)
I AM ALSO TIRED BEING A NIGERIA WHEN WE HAVE OUR OWN COUNTRY BIAFRA.......IT IS A SHAMEFUL THING HAUSA ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IN NIGERIA AND IGBO POLITICIANS ARE AFTER ABOKI MONEY.USELESS IGBO LEADERS THAT IS NOT PROTECT ANY IGBO INTEREST,BUT THEIR OWN POCKET...WHAT CONCERN BIAFRANS WITH THE CHIBOK GIRLS?HOW MANY BIAFRAN WOMAN WAS RAPED DURING THE WAR?HOW MANY WAS KIILED BY THE HAUSA AND BRITIAN?DID ANYBODY ASK QUESTION TILL TODAY?IF IT WAS HAUSA'S...YOU WILL SEE SOMETHING,BUT LOOK AT OUR IGBO GOVERNORS,JUST DACING IN THE MUSIC THAT HAUSA'S PLAY FOR THEM...SHAMELESS GROUP OF PEOPLE....TODAY THE WHOLE KNOWS ABOUT HAUSA BOKO HARAM,BUT BIAFRA,WHICH IS AND MUST BE,EVERY ONE IS SILENT FOR THAT,,,,,,SHAME ON YOU EASTERN POLITICIAN THAT OPEN MOUTH TO COLLECT MONEY FROM ABOKI PEOPLE AND BECOME SLAVES IN NIGERIA
Posted: at 12-05-2014 09:10 AM (10 years ago) | Gistmaniac
E2power3 at 12-05-2014 09:17 AM (10 years ago) (m)
That was not a gaffe as ABC News and others want it to appear!
By that statement, she simply said and meant that she would prefer to be talking about positive things than that sad incidence and these could include the rescue of the girls, Nigerians economy becoming the best in the whole world, Nigerians now enjoying economic boom, etc?!
So, ABC should stop their perverted ambush journalism solely aimed at achieving negative reportage and Nigerians need to think outside the box of gangster journalists self-aggrandizement!
Posted: at 12-05-2014 09:17 AM (10 years ago) | Newbie
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