A former Vice-President of the World Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has denied hiring an American public relations and communications firm, Burson Marsteller , for the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
A top United States political news portal, The Hill, had reported that the All Progressives Congress, and an unnamed co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement in Nigeria, hired the public relations giant to arrange a one-off visit to Washington D.C.
The allegations were levelled against the former World Bank VP, few days after she lambasted President Goodluck Jonathan for also hiring a Washington-based PR firm, Levick, for $1.2m to launder his administration’s image in the aftermath of the fallout of the Chibok girls saga.
In similar development, May Ubeku, daughter of the late former Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria, Dr. Abel Ubeku, led the pack of Nigerians who took on Ezekwesili for allegedly being hypocritical with her involvement in the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
Ubeku stated that Ezekwesili was guilty of the allegations she accused the government of, adding that she would stop at nothing to expose what he called her (Ezekwesili’s) hypocrisy.
“Hypocrisy must be exposed! People should learn to be sincere when dealing with the public! They accuse the government of what they are guilty of! Someone should tell Ezekwesili not to trade with the #BringBackOurGirls campaign,” May wrote on Twitter.
But in a swift reaction, Ezekwesili refuted the allegations, describing it as the “latest fiction” aimed at bringing her down for lifting her voice for the abducted Chibok girls.
She stated that the #BringBackOurGirls coalition, which she co-leads, does not need a public relations firm, adding that the “falsehood” of linking her with the APC was also “factually childish.”
Her public and private values of primacy of dignity and integrity, she argued, forbade her from profiting in any way from the tragedy that had befallen the family of the missing girls.
“Now I am absolutely convinced that our country is overtaken by filthiness. What is with this latest fiction that I am in need of a PR firm? How dull can these fellows be? My official work place and residence is New York, USA and I need no PR firm to organise a visit to US?
“My question to sensible folks: Please, help me understand why #BringBackOurGirls would ever need a public relations firm? Yet, another of their many tissues of lies! For simply lifting my voice for endangered Chibok girls the Federal Government unleashed all possible resources to attack me. What’s that?” the former education minister stated in a series of tweets.
She lamented that it was “terrible” that the Federal Government chose to adopt “a gutter strategy of slandering” against her for not being silent to the cause of the Chibok girls.
According to her, rather than launch attacks at key members of the coalition, the Federal Government should focus on the rescue operations to bring back the girls before July 23, when it would be 100 days since their abduction.
“God forbid the daughters of all those attacking us should be in the circumstance of our Chibok girls, the #BringBackOurGirls group would not be the enemy. I’m not the issue. The rescue of our chibok girls is the issue. We are resolute in demanding that the Federal Government #BringBackOurGirls now and alive!” Ezekwesili added.
Prominent online activists rallied round Ezekwesili amidst the weighty allegations levelled against her. Many of them asked her not to give up on the schoolgirls amidst the purported attacks on her person by agents of the Federal Government.
Ezekwesili, you are too cheap my dear. Who do you think you are dribbling with your simple sympathetic argument? How many times have you carried your campaign to Chibok? What are you doing in New York if Nigeria is your beloved country? If all of us should travel out and brag about that, who will keep our country? We dont want noise makers like you who shout from outside, come and live with us and feel with us what we are feeling and then be in a good position to make objective contributions. As an educational minister, where you able to solve all the problems faceing the Nigerian girls then? With all the draconian laws you and your boss inficted on Nigerians, you couldnt solve the Nigerian problems, what do expect from pure civilians? You never accused those on ground in Boronu and you are here calling on and harrasing GEJ. If you are informed as you claim, you should have sought responsible audience with the FGN and that could have yielded a better result than coming out here to play your boss(OBJ) script. STOP DISGRACING THE IGBOS
Please address the issues raised by Ezekwesili and stop being personal. Has the government brought the girls back?