Two Thumbs Up For Rufai Oseni

Editorial Opinion

By Tokunbo Peters

Those people attacking Rufai Oseni for standing up to David Umahi, the Minister of Works, clearly haven’t watched Mehdi Hasan on Head to Head or UpFront on Al Jazeera. They also haven't watched Christiane Amanpour on CNN. Rufai is cut from the same cloth like Mehdi Hasan and Christiane Amanpour. He is fearless, incisive, and unafraid to hold power to account.

A journalist’s job is not to pander to the whims and caprices of a powerful politician or tiptoe around tough questions. The duty of a true interviewer is to probe, challenge, and extract the truth, especially when the guest is evasive or uncomfortable.

Politicians thrive on deception and self-enrichment at the expense of the people. Without journalists like Rufai Oseni, these corrupt elites would continue to manipulate narratives unchecked and plunder the nation with impunity.

We would still like to know the cost per kilometre of the Lagos/Calabar Coastal Highway. Those who have suddenly become the emergency spokespersons of the Minister of Works should please provide us with the answer. It will no doubt put paid to the stories making the round that a kilometer of the road is being constructed at over Twenty One Billion Naira.