Ganduje suspends media aide, Yakasai for criticizing Buhari

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has suspended his Special Adviser on Media, Salihu Tanko Yakasai over some unguarded utterances on the person of President Muhammadu Buhari on the social media platform.
The state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who conveyed the governor’s directive in a statement on yesterday, said the suspension is with immediate effect.
He said that though the media aide has owned up the indiscreet comment as his personal opinion, but that as a public figure, it will be difficult to differentiate between personal opinion and official stand on matters of public concern.
Yakasai, who tweeted through his handle, @dawisu, was reacting to the President’s inability to address Nigerians amid the national outrage as well as the ongoing online and offline protests against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force in general.
The tweet read, “I have never seen a government with zero empathy like that of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“So many times when his people are going through a difficult time and expect some sort of tap on the shoulder to reassure them that he is in charge, but he failed to do so.
“The ‘I don’t care attitude’ is on another level.
“To speak to your own people over issues that are bedevilling them has become something like a favour you are doing to them.
“Over and over again, you cannot spare five minutes to address the nation to calm them down, the same people you went to the 36 states to beg for their votes, it is heartbreaking.”
Ganduje therefore warned political appointees and public servants to guard against making statements capable of drawing unnecessary controversy and heating up the polity.
The statement reaffirmed the commitment of Governor Ganduje to the policies and programmes of President Buhari’s administration.