My Chat With Mr. President ~ Adesuwa Onyenokwe
Adesuwaaaaaa!!!! My sister screams in an email to me while I was hosting the media chat with president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, saying ‘why are you making it easy for Mr. President?’ And she wasn’t alone… Going by the tons of messages and tweets I have so far received since I hosted the media chat last night in Abuja.
These are interesting times! I am particularly pleased because we are more concerned and aware of our surroundings, the political climate, and how it affects us all making us more vocal and participatory. However there are down sides to this. One of them is the penchant for people to come to conclusions and expect everyone else to feel the same.
I am particularly miffed by the conclusions some people have drawn from the chat with Mr. President. The one which stands out is that which says I gave him a ‘soft landing’. These people are totally unaware of my interviewing style, that’s why I would like to set the records straight here, in my corner.
While interviewing ANYONE, I am never combative, and I always set out to summarize whatever point my subject has made to be sure we are communicating his/her viewpoint accurately. It’s not the first time I am being described as soft and it will not be the last, but as always I roll with the punches!
One thing will remain though… No one can debunk the fact that I, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, (with 30 years as a journalist under my belt), always get the best of any subject I am interviewing. And it’s all because I always remain neutral even as I give them a ‘soft landing’… And I am not about to change that for anything. It’s why people trust me with their stories. I may not get public acclaim for that, but at least I am certain no on is going to contravene with that.
As for Mr. President, we set out to address two issues: Security and the elections with the aim to get word from him on the sanctity of May 29 hand over, and I believe we did that. Given the time we had. I am glad I did it at no charge, as national service. But what’s most important to me right now is not argue or rant that I did a good job or not. Just go out there and get your PVC, then SPEAK with it by casting your VOTE. As led by your conscience of course! I have my PVC and I will certainly cast my vote for a better Nigeria.
Wouldn’t you want to know on which side my sentiments lie? All my friends know. Media chat or not…