Did Fani-Kayode put the kibosh on his own political career?

Yesterday, August 25, a former Minister of aviation in Nigeria, Femi Fani-Kayode made the rounds across various media. The Nigerian lawyer had been caught on the wrong side of the headlines following a verbal outburst during a press briefing where he poured unceasing invectives on a Daily Trust journalist, Eyo Charles, for asking him the source of his funding during his tour of some of the PDP states in the country.

In a viral video which was circulated on various social media platforms, Mr Fani-Kayode was seen verbally abusing Mr Eyo Charles and even calling him ‘stupid’ before petulantly charging out of the press briefing.

The aftermath of the incident which took place in Calabar has consequently gained currency on various news media, generating mixed reactions from Nigerians and journalists alike, with many condemning the former minister’s reaction to Mr. Eyo’s inquiry.

While Fani-Kayode has apologized for his abrasive comments and even retracted his vulgarities during the verbal outburst; and the dust of this imbroglio begins to settle down, Daily Times takes a look at why FFK’s verbal assails underscores as kamikaze against his own political career.

Everyday around the world journalists continue to make a living of asking probing questions to public functionaries who on their own part, have come to anticipate frequent media jabs and devised means to deal with it. In the freedom capital of the world, even the most powerful leader in the world in Potus has had to handle a fair share of media onslaught without necessarily reacting petulantly and heaping invectives on the gentlemen of the press.

Therefore, it comes as a huge surprise that a seasoned veteran like FFK who claims to have been in politics since 1990 could suddenly lose his calm and gone down on a verbal charge where he even barefacedly admitted to hurling vulgarities at Mr. Eyo for asking him what he felt was an insulting question. From a critical position based on the reactions of Nigerians on various threads, what Mr FFK has done may very well be a bullet to his own head vis-a-vis a shot at future political appointments, having also admitted the fact that he has a ‘short fuse’.

No sooner did the news of the ex-minister’s verbal tirade hit the media spaces did Nigerians shudder at the horrifying words which an ambassador of the State had uttered at a fellow Nigerian who was merely representing the interest of his own profession. In a reactionary statement, Daily Trust, Eyo’s employers held that

“Daily Trust reporters are responsible professionals, who uphold the tenets of journalism, as well as best practices.

“That Fani-Kayode attacks a reporter doing his job, is an indication of the chilling disregard he has towards the media, and its work in investigating and reporting on issues.

“As always, we stand in solidarity with our reporters, and will continue to fight for the rights of all journalists. After all, journalism is part of the bedrock of democracy; therefore practitioners must not be intimidated or threatened as they carry out their work,”

“We urge the Nigeria Police to take note, that if anything happens to Charles, Daily Trust will hold Fani-Kayode responsible, especially due to the intensity of the verbal threats he issued during the shocking incident

“The actions of Fani-Kayode are not only reprehensible, but also constitute a setback to press freedom, in a most dire form. This kind of assault raises major concerns over the safety of journalists in Nigeria” the statement said.

Mr Fani-Kayode has consequently apologized in the wake of the unceasing chastisements from all quarters of the society, but as evidenced by historical antecedents, Nigerians have a very long memory; just the kind of memory which could put the kibosh on FFK’s alleged 30-year old political fortune.

From a different dimension, there is also the negative optics emanating from another subtle undertone from the former minister’s melt-down, which suggests a condescending treatment by a public figure to a regular Nigerian. While this undesirable vice happens everyday in the society we live in, it isn’t often that it comes from a public official on live Television.

FFK in his verbal charge had said “I could see from your face before you got here, how stupid you are. Don’t ever talk to me like that,” Mr Fani-Kayode kept yelling at the reporter who was still offering profound apologies — “I am sorry, sir.”

In the end, the message seems very loud and clear, Mr Eyo Charles and Fani-Kayode are not equals, maybe not in terms of social status, but very much so in human value. Therefore, while it would be easy to retract the vulgar words hurled at an innocent reporter who was merely doing his job; which would possibly demand that we dismiss the fact that his apology seemed more like a backhanded one offered to ‘his friends in the media’ rather than the man he verbally abused, what has not been expunged from the record here is the huge dichotomy between public figures and the masses whom they represent which the ex-minister has duly reminded everyone of.