[OPINION] Buhari's Government Needs The Monkey Pox Vaccine And Inoculation Not Nigerians

By Ross Alabo-George

Propaganda is a mighty weapon of war. During the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf repeatedly claimed Iraqi forces were decisively winning every battle.


Even up to the overthrow of the Iraqi government at Baghdad, he maintained that the United States would soon be defeated, in contradiction with all other media. The Iraqis, misled by his propaganda, were shocked when instead Iraq was defeated.

The President Buhari administration has still not realized that they have lost the ''information war''. The lack of structured and strategic communication has weakened, and in fact, damaged the public perception of the Buhari administration in most of Southern Nigeria. His choice of Lai Mohammed, a super-propagandist as minister of information., and Mohammed's decision to be recklessly dishonest and unmindful of the sensitivity of people has made a caricature of his very sensitive portfolio. No one believes Lai Mohammed anymore, but he needs to keep lying to Nigeria to make a very bad leadership look manageable.

The Monkey Pox vaccination hoax has showed one thing: that the ''well educated south'' is not immune to the power of propaganda, and that once the  ''G-narrative '' or ''soft spot of the masses has been discovered, you can send their brains to sleep. It happened in the North in 2015, when the APC drove negative propaganda to the extreme, and rode on its waves to victory.


In 2019, Monkey Pox may become the virus that may deal APC a death blow in the South. The ruling party must thoroughly inoculate itself by strategically engaging the people and reassuring them  of the president's ''love'' [even if they aren't sure].

Forget the grandstanding and political correctness of opposition politicians now ... next year, the APC will understand how much damage this propaganda has done.. Because Monkey Pox will be on the ballot.