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A hashtag #SomeoneTellLevick has began trending in Nigeria in response to an image laundering deal between Washington, DC-based public relations firm, Levick, and President Goodluck Jonathan. Levick recently accepted a deal worth $1.2 million to help manage Mr. Jonathan’s image that has taken a beating in recent weeks over the Nigerian leader’s inept handling of the abduction of more than 250 high school girls in Chibok, Borno State.

Some of the hashtag critics of the deal accuse the American PR firm of accepting blood money to help burnish the image of a Nigerian ruler who appears absentminded and disconnected in the face of a deteriorating security situation in his country.

The widening condemnation of the image laundering deal echoes the sharp criticism of President Jonathan’s wretched approach to his country’s security crises. The Nigerian media, Nigerian political groups and numerous international groups continue to scold Mr. Jonathan for his nonchalant response to the terrible plight of the abducted girls. The critics have also charged the president with insensitivity to the trauma that has befallen the abducted girls’ parents, siblings and extended families.

In the aftermath of the abduction, associates of the Nigerian president, his wife, Patience Jonathan, and officials of the Peoples Democratic Party openly raised questions about the authenticity of the abductions. Such doubts raised by members of the president’s close circle informed a policy of indifference and apathy by the Jonathan team, handing the Islamist abductors of the schoolgirls a critical advantage of time to secure their victims in hideouts.

In the thick of the controversy, Mrs. Jonathan ordered agents of the State Security Services (SSS) to detain and interrogate Mrs. Asabe Kwambura, the principal of the Chibok Government Secondary School, because the First Lady believed that the principal was part of a conspiracy falsely proclaiming that the abductions had happened in order to portray Mr. Jonathan as incompetent.

An SSS official confirmed to SaharaReporters that Mrs. Kwambura was detained for hours and questioned at the orders of Mrs. Jonathan. The embattled principal was subsequently driven to Aso Rock where Mrs. Jonathan personally interrogated her in front of numerous spectators gathered by the First Lady. The interrogation culminated in Mrs. Jonathan’s televised hysterical outburst where she delivered the broken-English cry, “Diaris God oh” (“There’s God oh!”). The video of the First Lady’s theatrics has since gone viral, parodied and adapted by Nigerian as well as foreign performers.

Three months after the abductions, Mr. Jonathan is yet to visit the school where the girls were taken from. Last week, Mr. Jonathan met with Malala Youssef, the famous Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for her open advocacy of education for Islamic girls. Mr. Jonathan used the occasion of the meeting to assure the Nigerian public that he was still interested in finding the girls.

However, the role of Levick officials in the meeting in Abuja suggested that the firm may have played a role in arranging Ms. Malala’s visit to President Jonathan Abuja. Levick denies the firm had a hand in arranging the Pakistani girl’s visit, but admitted to leading Nigerian officials to the podium to address the media the day of Ms. Malala’s visit.

Levick’s PR gimmick hit a snag when the families of the abducted girls refused to meet President Jonathan on Tuesday, stating that they were not sure that the Nigerian ruler was genuinely committed to rescuing the girls. The aggrieved parents said Mr. Jonathan had done nothing substantial to attempt a rescue of the schoolgirls or to rehabilitate the school and the community.

A press statement reportedly drafted with the help of Levick in Abuja blamed the opposition political parties and members of the #BringBackOurGirls movement for the humiliation of President Jonathan.


http://saharareporters.com/2014/07/17/twitter-war-washington-based-pr-firm-taking-%E2%80%9Cblood-money%E2%80%9D-president-jonathan
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all i have to say is '' Chai!!!! Diaris God oh''......

Sometimes, one has to take a serious matter wif a lil flippancy

When things don't work out for the FG, the opposition would be blamed.

These people should get serious.

GEJ has lost every goodwill. He doesn't need to spend that much on image laundering if he is doing the right thing.

We don't have a president

First it was Abati speaking on behalf of the president and the people of Nigeria, but all he did was insult Nigerians with his utterances, then poor Jona hired Okupe to smooth over Abati, but he was equally disastrous, he created more enemy and did more damage than necessary, so since he couldn't find any sensible, intelligent and coherent spokesman around him to speak on behalf of the people of Nigeria, Jona decided to spend taxpayers money to hire foreigners to spin and lie on behalf of the people of Nigeria.

How low can we sink as a nation just because we have a very unintelligent, weak, lazy, incompetent and corrupt president?

MTCHWW.

LET ME FIGHT FOR MY IMAGE FIRST BEFORE LISTENING TO YOU.

I love the way they tagged it "Blood Money"!!

1.2 million dollars is like 200 million nair . It can't even buy a quarter slot in CNN not to talk about other media platforms.

Peeps should learn to get busy. At least read my latest article on Dangote.

5 million hashtags or twitter warriors could not save Fayemi of the APC in the last Ekiti election. Wetin concern my mum in the village or my neighbour, mama Dozie, with hashtag or twitter? Yeye dey smell

Nctrice: This write up and the twitter hashtag seem like the handy work of another PR firm paid, specifically to berate the Person of GEJ

Are you surprised , please see below . . . . . . . . .

Abuja – The All Progressives Congress (APC) said it has engaged the services of an international political consulting firm, AKPD Message and Media, “to boast its electoral chances in the upcoming elections’’.

The APC Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja that the U.S. firm has a strong reputation for supporting leading populist movements across the globe.“As a party destined to bring change and succour to all Nigerians, APC is proud and excited to work with one of the foremost exponents of change in the world,’’ the statement said.It said that the Chicago-based firm was best known for its leading role in President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

AKPD Message and Media has worked with key Democratic Party candidates throughout the U.S., with a reputation for supporting leading populist movements across the globe.

’’APC claimed it had been working with the firm for the past few months, adding: “we shall leverage on the firm’s skill, experience and expertise throughout the upcoming campaign cycle’’

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/2015-elections-apc-hires-foreign-consultant/

http://leadership.ng/news/346239/apc-hires-foreign-consultant-boost-electoral-chances-coming-elections

jmaine:

Are you surprised , please see below . . . . . . . . .



http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/02/2015-elections-apc-hires-foreign-consultant/

http://leadership.ng/news/346239/apc-hires-foreign-consultant-boost-electoral-chances-coming-elections

But the thing is they wern't using tax payers monies (blood money) wh means ther're nt responsible as d govt wh control everything on behalf of the state

tonyzaks:
But the thing is they wern't using tax payers monies (blood money) wh means ther're nt responsible as d govt wh control everything on behalf of the state

And the APC are not spending tax payers money despite having about 15 governors in the fold sponsoring party activities . Say somethine else please . . .

I'm sure GEJ an his team are regretting hiring the American PR firm, it has backfired against him.