Amaechi should stop behaving like a market woman

monjola sotubo

June 15, 2016 12:04 PM

Amaechi was, on Monday, June 13, 2016, put in his place by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu after he displayed court jester behaviour at a town hall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Minister of Transportation,

Amaechi was, on Monday, June 13, 2016, put in his place by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu after he displayed court jester behaviour at a town hall meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The transport minister, in a very unministerial manner, stated that the government would not be able to complete the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, Delta State because the property on which it was to be built was bought for N13 billion, a sum which he said could buy half of Lagos.

“I am not against the University. I hope you people appreciate that. My argument about Okerenkoko is that the land alone is N13 billion. If you give me N13 billion I will buy half of Lagos,” Amaechi said.

“That N13 billion has built the university already so there is no need to spend more money. Let EFCC retrieve the money from them and then release them and we would build the University. I believe the Federal government has no money to continue,” he added.

Kachikwu swiftly corrected the situation by saying that the university project would definitely be completed by the government.

“First let me say on Maritime University, I disagree with the minister of transport. Any facility that is placed in the South-South, we should work towards developing it,” he said.

“I don’t care the circumstances under which we are placed…It is not my position to determine whether land was valued at N19 billion or N10 billion or N3 billion. If he doesn't want it in maritime, I will take it to petroleum,” he added.

The problem with Amaechi’s comment is that the suspension of the Maritime University project is one of the groundson which militants in the Niger Delta are threatening to launch attacks so his carelessness could have caused a fresh crisis in the already volatile region.

Amaechi’s comments were careless and were also presented carelessly with hand gestures that only market women and village gossips should be allowed to use.

The minister has always prided himself on being a frank person who says exactly what he wants, when he wants and how he wants it. He has been known to make comments like “Goodluck Jonathan abused the hell out of my life”, “I will celebrate Nyesom Wike’s defeat in a nightclub” and “Only God knows that if there is one thing I don’t like, I don’t like money” among others.

This kind of talk is okay if the person involved is a comedian or a local musician, but a minister, in this era of change? No way. It’s unacceptable.

Rotimi Amaechi needs to enrol himself in an etiquette school and hire a communications expert who will tell him what to say and how to say it so that he can be worthy of the position in which he has found himself.

Dear Amaechi, you’re not a market woman, you’re a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it’s time for you to start acting like it.

monjola sotubo