So I met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the #MediaForum yesterday…

by Isime Esene

Meeting with political office holders always present opportunities to relate at close quarters and get a feel of the policy direction of any government.

I’ve been lucky to engage with officials of the past administration and that of Pres. Muhammadu Buhari’s government so I believe I am well positioned to compare notes – but that’s not what this is about. This is about my meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa yesterday.

I got the invite to the media forum rather late. It came in a day before the said date so I seriously contemplated my options: to go or not to go?

Considering the fact that I had, prior to this invitation, committed to attend the New Media Conference taking place in Lagos on the same day.

But this is an opportunity to meet the Vice President – the government official who has direct responsibility over the economy. What journalist would pass up this opportunity?

My decision to attend became clearer only hours before the meeting. I hopped into an Abuja bound plane with my former YNaija colleague and Editor-in-Chief of The Scoop, Stanley Azuakola (I had called him earlier to know if he had also been invited and he answered in the affirmative so I planned my trip to align with his).

The mail inviting YNaija.com for the forum had details of what we should expect – a refund of travel expenses for those coming from outside Abuja and one night’s accommodation. Fair enough.

So it was obvious right from the start that these guys are not ready to incur unnecessary expenses.

We arrived at the Akinola Aguda residence of the Vice President and got the vibe that he had been waiting to receive us. Yes, the pick up vehicle from the hotel came over an hour late which was a big let down. I personally felt getting a vehicle to convey us to the Villa should be the least of our challenges but what do I know?

Prof. Osinbajo came to meet with us after his media aide, Laolu Akande introduced himself to us. The VP was scheduled to give a brief remark to set the ball rolling but he politely declined asking instead that we get straight into the business of the day – there is no ‘ceremony’ with this man.

Represented at the media forum were online platforms such as Premium Times, BellaNaija, TechCabal, TheScoopNG and more. We also had social media influencers like Japheth Omojuwa and a few other people I was meeting for the first time – including the ‘placard lady’.

VP Osinbajo media forum
VP Yemi Osinbajo answering questions from the media.

The questions came in torrents and the forum dragged late into the night but nobody seemed to mind – it was that engaging. Every effort made by the VP’s handlers to cut short the event “because it is getting late and there are bugs flying around” were met with soft resistance from him. He was clearly having the time of his life. He kept saying, “No, no, no, let’s go ahead. Later we can go inside. That’s if they don’t mind.”

He answered questions about the economy, insecurity, corruption, foreign exchange, the seeming sluggishness of this administration in taking action, and many more questions.

My question to him was supposed to be about the economy but he’d already said so much about it so I fired him questions about the Niger Delta Avengers – a group that appear to be holding the nation by the jugular. I wanted to know the position of the government on this issue and steps taken by the government (overtly or covertly) to engage them and come to some form of ‘agreement’. The VP was visibly agitated by the militants’ activities saying that it is “criminal” for anyone to hold the nation to ransom over agitations that are hardly genuine. I asked if this is the official position of the government towards militancy – regarding them as attention seeking criminals, and he rather rhetorically asked if I had another way to describe a gang of people who blow up national assets without any provocation. I do not have. So the VP won on that score.

He however struggled to answer a question on the number of airplanes in the president’s fleet, Pres. Buhari’s “seeming slowness to act”, and reluctance to “defer to superior opinions” on issues that he is clearly not versed in. He explained how frugal the president is, and why the devaluation of the Naira (which was one of the examples made) can “sometimes be an ideological argument, sometimes an economic argument, and sometimes both.” I wasn’t satisfied.

Prof. Osinbajo was a good spot. He was honest with his answers and looked completely comfortable in the gathering. He also had no qualms letting us know issues he’s “yet to really look into”. He promised to find out more about the high cost of drone use registration in Nigeria and the potential impact of Facebook’s Free Basics initiative on ‘open internet’.

On the whole the media forum gave us an opportunity to engage directly with the main actors handling the affairs of the country – especially the economy. And it gave the administration a platform to reiterate its core vision, agenda and plans for the country. I expect the VP’s handlers to organise more of these forums to allow young people place public officials on the hot seat and ask the tough questions. That’s what happened yesterday. That’s the only way to build this democracy – being part of the conversation.

I can’t wait to meet him again to compare notes on how far the administration has gone in keeping its promises. We can’t wait.

Isime Esene is the Managing Editor of YNaija.com.

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