When an image maker marks his birthday, he as much as possible insists on low key outings. Yes, that is part of the trick that you must not compete for public space with the master.
Yet, we cannot but put it on records that Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, deserves a spotlight on his day, not because of the position he occupies but because of his decades of positive contributions to the journalism profession. especially in field of political communications and the highly misinterpreted art of spin.
Only very few media practitioners in Nigeria may not have encountered the Mallam in his unusual, unassuming mien and in his exemplary openness even to very junior cadre in the profession. The former President of Nigeria Guild of Editors is one of the few image makers most journalists happily describe as a “friend” and “great senior colleague”. His extraordinary capacity to attend and respond to all without arrogance and without irritation brightly stands him out in the field of policy and communications.
If such a figure now marks his birthday without fanfare, one cannot but be tempted to want to scribble a note, proclaiming that a jolly good fellow has just quietly added another year.
Many will immediately raise eyebrow, questioning what he has achieved, berating presidential communications and challenging the capacity of the celebrant and his colleagues to effectively manage President Muhammadu Buhari in this turbulent era. Yes, those holding those opinions are entitled to their views, especially in view of the many challenges facing the Buhari Presidency.
Yet, those who understand the nature of communication crisis management will agree that Nigeria is an unusual times, tasking the ingenuity of all stakeholders both within and outside the government. As a practitioner for some time now, I can say confidently that in Nigeria today, there is little an image maker can do in the current explosive situation the nation finds herself.
We have an ongoing power struggle where the defeated is fighting back and where the incumbent is battling to entrench his structures. The old establishment is been uprooted while a new one is emerging. A cut throat competition between the old and the new is taken its toll on governance and public policy process. The image maker is trusted in-between.
In the process of establishing a new order, mistakes are made, errors are committed and of course successes are recorded. In both cases of failures and successes, the reputation manager bears the brunt. He must make the best of the two scenarios, minimizing the damages and emphasizing the positives. Mallam Shehu ensures rare accessibility even when the situation is that bad, thus mitigating the consequences of total blackout.
The image maker is compelled to operate within a battle field that is outside his control. His task is to manage, defend and prop up the principal with a balance of objectivity and self-interest. His challenge is to justify his principal’s conduct even when he was not part of the decision making. More strategically, his message is directed at the greatest majority of the people, not the elite getting hurt by his principal’s policies and programmes. If he can get the grassroots to see his boss as defending their rights against the elites’ exploitative tendencies, he would have scored major goals.
Managing top elected officials is one of the toughest, thankless job in public life. Holders of such offices are loved and hated. In many cases they are loathed within and outside. A successful reputation manager is one that forges ahead, not missing the goal and avoiding attendant distractions. Among those very few rare breed in Nigeria is Mallam Shehu, an image maker loved and hated on both sides of the political divides.
To start with, the image maker is not and cannot be a saint; you hardly find such figure in the political process. He needs not be perfect as perfection belongs to God. He needs not be right all the time as crisis communication management is never an exact science. Essentially, a reputation manager just needs to be flexible, responsive, innovative and accessible. Arguably, very few image makers can claim to be an embodiment of such virtues as Mallam Shehu.
The SSA is an old war horse. Having managed a former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, who is still a top player in the ruling party, the Kano State born media guru enforces a delicate balance between loyalty to his new and old boss. So far most members of the president’s inner circle trusted him so well because there has not been a taint of disloyalty in his conduct. Insiders said the President enjoys and appreciates Shehu’s dexterity, loyalty and dedication to duty even within the most difficult of circumstances.
The reality though is that whatever presidential confidence he enjoys is borne out of an indisputable fact- he remains the most competent, tested and innovative reputation manager of northern extraction. That reality he combined with another factual fact- his entrenched link with media establishments in the West, East and the Middle Belt remains unrivalled. Thus Mallam Shehu is an asset rather than a liability to the President. When competency is matched with loyalty, the image maker cannot but be influential, trusted and respected by his principal.
Before wishing the Mallam happy birthday, I want to make this controversial assertion – a writer is not necessarily a spin master. A good journalist is also not necessarily a good reputation manager. That skills can be inborn or acquired. A spin master is also not necessarily a bad appellation. The task is simply to manage the bad news to a level of tolerable receptivity. In that business, no one mind being called the bad boy as long as the job is done. It is the nature of the job we are in.
Alastair Campbell, former Tony Blair’s Director of Communications, widely controversially regarded as father of modern British spin, is a loved and hated figure for those interested in crisis management in turbulent era. I am not saying Shehu is Nigeria’s Campbel. but who in Nigeria, in this our field, can lay claim to that extraordinarily wide network, uncommon humbleness and newsroom celebrated accessibility than Mallam Shehu.
Without the permission of Mallam, let me give you an insight into what I think are some of his tactics and strategies which master Campbell listed as follows: “know the difference between a genuine crisis (rare) and a media driven frenzy (common); Once you have decided it is a crisis situation, set clear Objectives, Define the Strategy and Only then think about Tactics.
“If the crisis needs new policy, structures or personnel to manage it, put them in place quickly. If it is a crisis playing out across the media, rebut with speed and aggression. Horses for courses but understand that sometimes the top person may be a dreadful communicator if not used to it. Agree basic messages and never tire of saying them.
“Organize your communications as far as they need to go. Take account of possible different audiences. Put extra effort into the big moments. Ensure proper internal comms. Don’t forget your own people may get most messages through media. Make sure they hear from you first. Throughout the crisis, have someone working on re-entry to normal strategy once the crisis is over.”
The birthday Mallam is a Barewa College product, a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, one time the Managing Director of Triumph newspaper, Kano and General Manager Corporate Affairs of Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria in Akwa Ibom State. He had also served as President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
Happy birthday, our own Campbell.
* Rasheed, Publisher of Sahel Standard newspaper, writes from Abuja.
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