To be honest, I have not read this article, the headline is so ridiculous, I could not but scroll here and say Orisi ri si ( different flavors...)

I dey go dey come.

As an individual I am happy
- for Adeniyi, who has the opportunity of a paid trip and all the connect privileges
- for those business (hotel travel catering shops etc) that will benefit from his trip
As a citizen I am sorry for a country and a Government that
-cannot find and employ people that already have knowledge and experience
-has to appear like a learner after years of independence and many graduates, scholars and professionals serving the world in that field.
-is exposing its citizens to all these ridicule
Yes different flavors God help us.

Guest of State Dept to observe "the working of the US government in the area of communication both at the State Department and at the White House"

Mmmm - How do I put this mildly, Yankee INDOCTRINATION!

Do not be surprised if President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua embarks on a similar trip to understudy George W or Gordon Brown. That is what jesters (which the majority of us are) deserve.

Hey villagers,don't scoff this is progress for Nigeria...our leaders usually want to to learn the science of governance after they have left power. Look at Gowon and OBJ.

Honestly I understand and appreciate the viewpoints of those who have commented against this trip by Segun but I want to see it from another perspective.

Segun is a consummate journalist that we all know. He definitely has something to offer this nation in terms of exposure, experience etc. The impact that such attributes can have will be determined largely by the politics and impediments that will be thrown his way by the office that he occupies. Being the media man of Mr. President is definitely different from being the Editor of a successful national newspaper.

However, his new office will require certain skills which indeed he may have to get from places outside our shores; just as bankers, civil servants etc also go for oversea trainings.
With his background and wealth of experience such a training can only make him a better person as no one knows it all.
Such exchanges in the field of politics, medicine, business etc are also not unusual in today’s world

I must confess that I know him personally so my submission may be in some parts subjective but that is just my take on this matter.

I wish him all the best and safe journey.

taslim

Villagers,

Those of u in Yankeeland shld welcome our Bros, take him to a high mountain in US and show him the beauty of Yankeeland like the devil did to Our Lord and Saviour Jesus and ask him to repeat same in Nigeria if he does not want to fall down and worship devil. Indeed he must swear that he must persuade UMYA to do what he has seen in the US or else worship devil at the end of his tenure in office.
Learning is a life long process.

Perhaps he want lessons in the art of spin as a communication specialist?
...or estacode...but
He is a guest of the US State Dept...so therefore....(I shall shut up for you to complete it...)

folks, its not costing us anything but his time away from work.

i was on on these thingies way back in the day. its a holdover from the cold war when they tried to win hearts and minds of potential leaders from 3rd world countries. its up to the individual to buy in or keep his head. segun is not an infant. he know's the score.

I think we should not be too hard indeed on our brother. I personally wish him well and look forward to his 'understudy' visit to the UK. David Mark, perhaps the 'greatest icon of democracy' produced by Nigeria, has been here in the UK, to the Irish Republic, various off-shore havens, etc in the quest for 'knowledge'; so has Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State too many times to recount. Lest we forget, erstwhile Governor of Ekiti, Ayo Fayose, even came to the British House of Parliament (supposedly) with an entourage to learn about democracy! Madam speaker, sorry o, 'Honourable speaker' of the House of Representatives was in the US recently to learn the art of Birthday celebration, award of contracts, etc and had the likes of 'Honourable' Titi Oseni, Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly in attendance, spraying the people's Dollars - learning na ni gbo gbo e ('it is all learning'). I COULD GO ON AND ON but what is the point. To quote abdulmumin, with his kind permission: "That is what jesters (which the majority of us are) deserve".

When is the head of the Nigerian Police coming to the UK to understudy - abi na overstudy?
Head of Army nko?
Head of Navy nko?
Head of Airforce nko?
Head of Customs nko?
Not forgetting, of course, the head of the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers!

Nigeria, may God, Allah, Jesus, Eledumare, Ogun, Sango, nature itself, the spirits of our ancestors, whatever or whoever gave birth to the present world we inhabit, etc save you from within. Haba Nigeria......Haba!!!!!! Ha....o piteous sake!!!!!

Rubbish. Why not go to Ghana?

Uhn! If only Segun and his masters will not OVERPLAY whatever or whoever he UNDERSTUDIED in his 'V' as opposed to traditional triangular trips to Yankee and Jandon.

Nigerians (another word for the most gullible folks under the heavens) can justify just about anything. How can we really try to justify a cabinet appointee travelling to another country to understudy the operations of their operations with a view to learning how to perform his functions? What then was the basis of his appointment?

This brings to mind a 2nd Republic incident when several legislators in the then State Creation Committee travelled to Switzerland to understudy the Swiss in order to create states in Nigeria! I was a secondary school boy in those days but even my 14 year old brain found the entire exercise ludicous.

Nothing apparently has changed over the last almost 30 years! Tragic!!

@Adbulmumin

you wrote:


How you can refer to Nigerians as the most gullible people in the world beats me.
The issue under discussion is neither here nor there. Almost on a daily basis groups and individuals under the auspices of government go to countries other than theirs to study one thing or the other.

For instance a country (Malaysia or so) came here and went away with our palm kernels. Today they are exporters of palm oil.

The example you gave sounds ridiculous even in 2007 but can you provide more details about people who went to study states creation. I know that civil servants travel under one guise or the other but to now conclude that we are gullible is something else.


Did you gather from the article the country that is picking the bills. Where did we get the presidential system of government from? For how long have we practised it? Is there any cut-off point for learning, And the fact that you
are in pursuit of some knowledge implies that you are incompetent?

I concede to you that you are entitled to your opinions but to say that we are gullible is something i dont find funny.

taslim

Prior to his swearing in as the Vice President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan went to Harvard University to understudy Administration and Policy at an Ivy League for two weeks . Now Adeniyi is off to the USA and UK to "understudy the Americans" for a few days. I didn't realise Nigerians could learn so much in so little time.

Adeniyi would have better served the public and his boss by travelling by road to Port-Harcourt via Benin to "understudy" the highways. He would have gone to the Niger Delta Creeks to "understudy" the desperation Nigerians endure. He would have travelled by commercial airline to Plateau State to "understudy" the decrepit called air travel in Nigeria. He would have travelled to Sokoto and Kano to "understudy" a total collapse of our educational system. And then head back to Lagos and Abuja by road to "understudy" the hardships Nigerian face everyday.Then maybe, he can connect with Nigerians and be better equiped to communicate the policies of Yar-Adua to Nigerian and the realiites of Nigerians to Yar-Adua.

This "understudy" trip is an unmitigated disaster. I demand a refund.

Dear Villagers,

Please hold up one moment, before we destroy one of "our own"!

Mr Segun Adeniyi has a right to travel anywhere in the world in search of education that will enhance and perhaps improve productivity in his present occupation. (I do not think that in it's self to be a bad thing!).
....most of us will do the same if given a chance.

In our daily lives at work, we sometimes get the opportunity to attend in-house training courses locally or perhaps abroad. I am presently in the U.K. pursuing Post Graduate Medical training. The benefits, too numerous to mention; if I decide to make comparisons with local content in Nigeria.
To my mind, if I improve my knowledge base, and it helps me carry out my chosen career pursuit to the best of my ability, then most of my work is done!

Segun has an opportunuty to see first hand and learn from "people" who have a long tradition of Democracy and a number of "Villagers" may disagree with this, but these people also have done this "press man" busness longer and better than we have in Nigeria,I can see no problem with a bit of "humility" in wanting to learn from "he" who seems to know what he is talking about.

Let us encourage our brother, he has been with us all this time. The fact that he is in the present Government is entirely by his conviction and belief that he can make a difference. "Let him travel the world and see".............if it will make a positive impact to Nigeria, no matter how small the difference.

I am prepared to give him a chance,......"at last....a square peg in a square hole"!! What we have always prayed for...abi??


God speed, my brother.


N/B

....Let me also say for the avoidance of doubt, Oga Segun, we are also watching very keenly, and will not hold back if we perceive any deviation from accepted norms within the NVS. and from the majority of the Nigerian population.
......Our expectations are very great where you are concerned....(always remember that)!!

God Bless.

[QUOTE][/However, his new office will require certain skills which indeed he may have to get from places outside our shores; just as bankers, civil servants etc also go for oversea trainings.
With his background and wealth of experience such a training can only make him a better person as no one knows it all.
Such exchanges in the field of politics, medicine, business etc are also not unusual in today’s world
QUOTE]

How right you are. I am sure the estacode has nothing to do with the trip. We must all be dumb not to realise how vitally important to our national interest it is to understudy the way the white house communicates. Of course we also know that after the Americans have paid the bill, it will never miraculously show up again as an expense of the department that our travelling student employee heads. Very patriotic Nigerian, he must be.

Abdulmumin, I echo your thoughts. I hope William Shakespeare forgives me for carving out of a masterpiece to drive home my own feelings about the shenanigans of these politicians and their administrators, or mouthpieces. I cannot but hear a resonance of PUCK...

Shall we their fond pageant see?
Lord, what fools these mortals be!

(Taken from ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III, Scene II)

What I find odious is the brazen way our collective intelligence is consistently insulted by those who should know better. To quote, with kind permission from the author: The Special Adviser said in order to help communicate Yar'adua's message to Nigeria he recognises that he would benefit from an "adequate preparation since I have never been in the public arena before and I take my responsibility very seriously."

Whilst I would not categorize Nigerians as the most gullible, I would boldly say that we are so tolerant of hocus pocus usually disguised as, inter alia, in the interest of national unity (which is a euphemism for the marginalisation of others), moving the country forward (usually to deflect attention from electoral gerrymandeering), etc, etc,

Please, can those who know the ebullient and knowledgeable gentleman, Olusegun Adeniyi, help me ask some pertinent questions:

When is David Mark going to tell us how he came about the stupendous wealth attributable to him in the Court of Appeal decision relation to his divorce proceedings in the UK? The judge who gave the leading judgement questioned the source of David Mark's wealth, which he was trying to shield from his estranged wife. When is the Senate President coming to the UK to learn how to tell the truth?

When is Nuhu Ribadu going to tell us how a man that the EFCC officially indicted became the Vice President of Nigeria?

When are discredited politicians or government appointees, or those whose positions have become untenable, coming to the UK to learn how to tender their resignations? Does anyone remember one Atiku, yes the one who refused (I think he forgot) to resign to preserve his dignity and take on his so-called detractors?

When is Professor (Professor, beni o, top of the learning tree - well maybe...not when it comes to resigning when his position was publicly undermined) Charles Soludo going to Switzerland, USA, or the UK to learn how to politely tender a letter of resignation? I say tender a letter of resignation - not resign - even if it is to bluff his way past his detractors!

When is the Nigerian Police, the PDP, General Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar, etc going to travel to Russia to learn how to tell us who killed Bola Ige?

When is Ernest Shonekan going to learn how to say NO, after several decades of learning, to a 'left-over', Abasha in Yoruba (forgive my spelling, if it is wrong), another person's mandate given by a whole country? He also forgot to turn down what was not his to accept!

When is Professor (another one? be ni (Yes) - we have them aplenty in my country) 'abrakadabra' Maurice Iwu going to travel to Zimbabwe to learn how to tell us the magic behind the electoral victory of Andy Uba?

When is Andy Uba, erstwhile Personal Assistant to General Olusegun Obasanjo, (world's no.1 loan acquirer, farmer, educationist, statesman, captain of industry, Field Marshall of Do or Die affair election, friend of Alamala of Ibadan, father of Dr Iyabo Bello-Obasanjo ati beebeelo) going to travel to Canada and the UK to learn how to tell about obtaining Phd without a first degree?

When are all the bloody politicians going to travel abroad to learn how to stay home, in Nigeria, where their constituents live, so that they can provide basic necessities of life - food, shelter, education, health, qualitative education, disease-free water, etc

Lastly, for how long will it take our politicians to learn to steer clear of the public treasury in Nigeria? Does anyone need to travel abroad to learn how to do what is right and proper? Does anyone have to travel abroad to learn the basics of proper administration?

Ah Nigeria, you bleed from these ticks eating away at you! Ah Nigeria, your day of glory will come - someday - no matter how long it takes.

The difficulty I have with this "understudy" business is that he is going to "study" communication between the American Govt and its people. He is not going to "study" science and technology. He is not even going to "study" how the Government functions in the USA. He is going to America for the American Govt to tell him how to communicate with Nigerians!

Nigerian problems go beyond communication. We see the evidence everywhere we look and everywhere we turn. I second the motion that UMYA should undertake a bus tour of Nigeria, village to village, hamlet to hamlet. After that, he should visit America and undertake a bus tour as well. Not that that will change his behavior. After all, a few of them have private planes to "fly over" the stench underneath! Some of our worst "leaders" have also spent some time in the Good Ole USA

Ok, I just skimmed the article, and like dem Yankees say it sucks...

Now, the CIA cum FBI cum CouterTerrorism department of America has a 'live' & willing enough Aso Rock insider to plant a 'rootkit'.

Now, Mr. Segun Adeniyi will probably be given "modern & latest" communication tools - planted with the very best of intercontinental spying hardware - to assist him when he returns to his communication's job. Pray, this isn't a way of establishing a counter terrorism unit right inside the walls of Aso Rock.

Anyone with the slightest grasp of Queen's english, & some analytical skill to mix, will score an A on Oga Adeniyi's Yankee course, merely by watching Nick Robinson report from westminster on BBC1 at 10pm over the course of a week, without paying any extra than installing a good old DSTV dish....or showing so much immaturity on the global space.

Like I said, ori si risi sha. I am pissed

For those of us whose hearts were once lifted by their conscientious articles, the transmutations of our formerly ‘righteous’ pen warriors is increasingly painful to watch.For the now Hon. Eziuchi Ubani and the SAP Segun Adeniyi, the song has changed and the dance steps has changed accordingly. Not too long ago, an announcement like this –that a public official is travelling to ‘understudy’ government communication systems in the US and the UK would have generated a stormy and stinging rebuke from Mr. Adeniyi. Now the shoe is on the other foot and the flimsiest pretexts are being tossed before us. Just as Hon Ubani dubiously tried to defend and rationalize the self imposed tribulations of Madam Speaker a few days back, Mr. Adeniyi is now selling us a lemon.

For all that its worth, Mr. Adeniyi’s may choose to rationalize his foreign odyssey of indulgence by all means but he should not attempt to play with our intelligence. Being a government’s spokesperson is not rocket science and for all his editorial experience and antecedents, Mr. Adeniyi’s job is supposedly simple. With the banner of his hard-earned reputation, his was to go to Abuja and tell the truth to his boss then revert back to the Nigerian people, and where the system prevents him from walking along this path; make a dignified exit.

To satisfy the higher calling of his job, Mr Adeniyi needs to tread the path of honour by arming himself with selfless principles and humility. Not some dodgy, hypocritical doublespeak and spin. Those qualities are not sold in the US, the UK or anywhere for that matter. You either have it or you don’t.

Now, I have to agree with you on this. Umitigated disaster of indescribable proportion !

I was about to email and tell Mr Akande to stop reporting these kinds of nonesense as news. I held back on a second thought. Maybe these kinds of news informs us about the foolishness in Nigeria's Presidency.



Understudy who and for what purposes? So as to lie with straight face?

I don't blame una. I blame Niger Delta resources. Spend it as foolishly as you possibly can. ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!

I have strong reservation against this tutorial for Mr. Segun Adeniyi, a seasoned journalist of high ranking.

Is the training from US and UK to enable the west to teleguide the spokesman. Is it not worrisome that the special adviser or the presidency finds it hard to fish out single expert in this field of journalism (media and publicity) among the 140 million Nigerians at home not even considering those in diasporas.

Is it not faulty for somebody like Adeniyi to publicly declare that he was understudying some sets of people. Even if that is his mission, does he have to tell it to the world? Well, if training should start after the big assignment, I wish him good luck.

On a final note, I believe journalists know themselves as other professionals know those who has made indelible mark in different areas of their field. I wonder why no Nigerian could be appointed for such task rather than going for such short training whose impact can never be compared to a professional in that subject.

Guys, gals, lighten up. This more captures the mood


http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/gallery/September_2007/cartoon_sep06.gif

So, according to many of us here:

1) Nigerian officials should not travel to other countries
2) Nigerian officials have nothing to learn from other countries.
3) This is all part of some plot to co-opt Nigerian officials and turn them into "Yankee" spies and drones.

What rubbish!

Perhaps, the Americans would teach him how to speak my language, Igbo.
Perhaps they would teach him how Nigerians jump Molue
Or they would teach him how Nigerians go 0-0-1
Or that the only language Nigerians understand is the one that puts food on their table.



Well, going by his performance so far as Yar'Aduas chief spokesman, What Segun actually needs to learn is the art of spin (lying for his boss). That methinks is what he is in the US to perfect.

May I suggest he get his hands on Alastair Campbells', "The Blair Years".

HOW DID HE GET THE JOB , IF HE DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO?

Why Yar' Adua employe somebody who is not qulified to do his job?

There is no point crucifying the man for doing what many other Nigerians would do. Those who will not tow the line will not be appointed in the first instance. It is the system we operate in this country. It gives room for insensitivity like the one displayed by Madam Speaker recently.

Until we overhaul the structure that encourages profligacy, we will continue to have shameful scenes like this no matter who occupies which position. Some of us here condemning the man would even do worse in the same circumstance.

Do we then stop condemning the man? No. Let us do something that will make a repeat of such impossible. Nigerian government officials are damn too wasteful.

Folks, is this Udokaamah or another person?
Wonders shall never cease!

Is this comment merely a reputation-rehabilitation ploy or what?
Okay, I see .... This is not about Obasanjo, but Yar'Adua;
It is not about Remi Oyo, but Segun Adeniyi!
So, Udo is now realizing Nigeria is indeed a failed state,
BUT conveniently failed to realize
the situation was worsened by OBJ's fruitless groping for eight years

Udo, who left the Benin-Ore Road in such dilapidated state,
which you are now urging Adeniyi to understudy?
Why compunded the Niger-Delta crises by creating the
onshore/offshore dichotomy?
Who stole the oil money that
would have been used to develop the place and used
it to build his corrupt dynasty?
Is OBJ no longer the man who came into office having only N25,000, BUT left
as one of the wealthiest men in the black world.
He stole the nation blind
as its Oil Minister for eight years.
He made Abacha look every inch a saint.

Well, it is a refreshing change, any way.

But one more thing, Udo:
An Igbo reader is still grumbling about the meaning of your name.
He say its spelling makes it almost meaningless, any comment on this bros?
Could you tell us what it means.

Or should we rather leave the matter for Mathias.