When I played host to Lai Mohammed

As a reporter and journalism professor, I feel excited by any opportunity to interact with any newsmaker. How much more of a household name in publicity?  One who relentlessly held sway as spokesperson for opposition and deservingly transitioned into being the longest serving Nigeria’s information minister till date? Alhaji Lai ran the rather tiring publicity machine of a third place-holder party that AD was, till that party evolved to be the one to beat. He remains the most formidable publicity activist in party politics in the recent time.

Town and gown meet, you’re tempted to say. Yes it was, and really quite enriching. Following an earlier discussion with a mutual connection, the former minister had promised that he would reach me once he returned to Lagos from his trip to Abuja. However, Yoruba culture prescribes that you should reach out first if you had such a consensus with an elder.

Even as I was deeply steeped into thickets of the layers of fun programmed by my family and friends for my 60th birthday on that beautiful Sunday of April 20, 2025, I called Mohammed to reconfirm his return especially as I was also preparing for my immersion into the JAMB Situation Room in Abuja set up to coordinate UTME exams nationwide.

Shortly after the Asri prayer of around 4pm was over, Alhaji Mohammed’s arrival was announced to me. The former minister was not one person addicted to superfluous comfort in spite of his status. As at that afternoon, the retiling of my apartment, as part of the general renovation commenced days earlier, had just been concluded and to make the job easy for the workmen I had moved out the entire furniture and other accompaniments such that I had only one plastic chair complemented by multi-purpose mats. Alhaji Lai settled into the plastic chair and leisurely took water offered him as he took me through some masterclass session on the need to focus properly to achieve excellence in professionalism.

Over with the exchange of pleasantries with my son, a UNILORIN alumnus like me, Alhaji Lai recalled that he had taught in my department at UNILORIN before, as a graduate assistant. Formerly called Modern European Language Department, MEL, the bride of the entire Faculty of Arts of the university used to house both English and French programmes even as the two programmes were ultra-functional, giving as much room as desired for the performance of the constituent elements of the two programmes. It’s the reason you find the alumni of my department doing well in professional environments ranging from advertising to broadcasting, journalism, diplomacy, academia and so forth.

Alhaji Lai recounted his daunting professional journey of marketing a political party that began as a modest regional entity with a tall ambition though. According to him, his party, Alliance for Democracy (AD) started well with what could be described as a comfortable win in the southwestern states but only in the third place with ANPP coming second to PDP which was the party in power with former President Obasanjo in the saddle from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo, Alhaji Lai continued, wanted his entire south-west region captured by PDP and therefore forcibly pushed through ensuring his party took over the governorship positions in all of the southwestern states except Lagos, leaving Governor Bola Tinubu, as the last man standing.

But the last man standing defied loneliness and chose to fight on. He instilled courage and hope in the purportedly defeated candidates of his party and enjoined them to sustain judicial struggles against their opponents who had the benefit of the support of the ruling party at the centre. Support from the government headed by Obasanjo transcended the ordinary. Obasanjo threw decency to the wind and proclaimed electoral victory as a do or die matter. True to his stance, he was out to crush any factor that may constitute an obstacle to his goal. But Governor Tinubu neutralised this level of despair and pushed on with legal battles with unprecedented ingenuity.

All of these were efforts  given due publicity for the world to know and feel the plight of the party and the lot duly fell on Alhaji Lai Muhammed’s tirelessly grinding machine. Three states were eventually rescued back from PDP namely Edo, Osun and Ondo thus ushering the reigns of Adam Oshiomhole, Kayode Fayemi and Rauf Aregbesola respectively.

As I relished Alhaji Lai’s recall, he took time to explain further that what was particularly significant in their publicity efforts was that although ANPP had won more states than their party that had transformed into ACN, they had media visibility that was better and indeed towering. Theirs was an opposition you could not afford to ignore or you ignore it to your peril. It provided a formidable pedestal for the party to enter into a protracted coalition negotiation with ANPP.

“President Buhari had taken particular note of our persistent and timeous interventions and was obviously impressed. Prior to the consummation of the coalition, I had been Lagos based but with the coalition came my movement to Abuja to hype our decibel.

“What we cultivated as opposition was sustained and even carried over into government. For the purpose of clarity, these qualities were insistence on the truth from other parties even as we ensured that we ventilated nothing less” Alhaji Lai emphasised.

He continued: “Don’t forget that we inherited the unfortunate Chibok kidnap liability. Ironically, social campaigners including former minister Oby Ezekwesili stepped up their campaigns to the level of slapping some heavy blemish on the new government for which I had been appointed Information Minister.

“As a consistent professional, I felt the need to enable them verify the efforts of our government which had taken an early risk of visiting Maiduguri, the notorious launch pad of Boko Haram’s activities. We equally went as far as Kaure, Konduga and Bama, the short-lived capital of the BH caliphate.”

Alhaji Lai eventually flew Oby Ezekwesili and some others to the ‘war’ front and got them embedded with airforce officers to make them see, first hand, how the nation’s armed forces’ personnel had been prosecuting their campaigns against all visible and predictable odds and life threatening hazards.  By the time the tour was concluded, they could not hold back their commendation for the government. “I’d try show you their public statement in this regard someday”. Other seriously challenging episodes for him in government were those of P&ID and the alleged massacre at Lekki tollgate.

Indeed, the alleged massacre saga was the toughest. “My immediate family even felt I had done enough in that government and should yield my seat. Based on the facts available to me however, there was no truth in the massacre claim. Should the head of the government also resign as it was obvious that he was receiving far more intense heat than my family perceived for me?” I controverted the compassionate suggestion of my family.

Handing out to me an autographed copy of his book, Witness to History, Action Congress of Nigeria and the Struggle for Democracy, Liberty and Justice, he was emphatic in making me realise that scholars will surely find his efforts therein superlatively inspiring.  It’s the truth, really. What’s public relations without being a media activist of some sort? I have no doubt that those who, beyond being my regular students, are also my mentors are already anxious to have some bites of the book. Alhaji Lai, of course,  complemented the book for me with a designer, customised card and another precious gift.

Alhaji Lai was the second former federal official to adorn my special day, the first being the most outstanding chair of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria in the recent time, Ustaz Zikrullah Hassan. Together with my very precious neighbours, Ustaz Hassan, Haji Mumuni formerly of Tell Magazine; Professor Ismail Ibraheem of the University of Lagos;  Dr Oluremi Olaleye, formerly Rector,Lagos State Polytechnic; Guardian newspaper Editor, Dr Kabir Garba, as well as Mr. Kayode Ogunbunmi who crowned the day with the lovely tribute on me published by The Guardian of Sunday April 20, 2025.

Akanni is a professor of journalism and development communications at the Lagos State University. Follow him on X: @AkintundeAkanni