During the week, a video emerged online of a media interaction by the governor of Abia state, Alex Otti, with some journalists in the Government House, Umuahia. In the video, it appears the governor was presenting and taking questions from journalists about his scorecard. But it was a probing question by Chika Nwabueze, a journalist with DON Media Group, that triggered an outburst by the governor. Nwabueze had asked Otti to provide verifiable data showing that his policies have actually impacted the lives and improved the economic fortunes of the people of Abia state.
That was when all hell was let loose.
Obviously irritated by what he may have considered the ‘effrontery’ of the journalist, and instead of answering with facts or figures, Alex Otti chose insults using words like ‘stupid’ and ‘irresponsible’ to describe both the question asked and the reporter for having the nerve to ask him for performance data. The governor’s response was revealing because it reflected how Nigerian leaders view accountability when confronted with hard questions. To them, it is not a duty, but a threat.
What happened in Abia state was not an isolated case. Nigerian leaders are not known for accountability to the citizens who elect them into office. They also do not want anybody, including journalists, to question them about stewardship. Nigerian politicians treat journalists as irritants.
Governor Otti has been praised for his performance in a state bereft of good leadership since 1999; providing data on his performance in key sectors would have made his case stronger at a press conference of that nature. In fact, presenting data to journalists during the conference would have cemented his acclaimed performance and strengthened his position as one of Nigeria’s serious governors who is delivering the dividends of democracy to the long-suffering people of Abia state.
But no, Alex Otti chose hubris typical of Nigerian politicians. As I have pointed out, Otti’s behaviour is not isolated. All over the country, there is a pattern of intimidation of journalists and activists who are committed to holding leaders accountable in office. Journalists have faced political violence, walked out of press conferences, been beaten and even killed. What Otti did not know was that he opened up that journalist to threats and harassment by his officials and supporters. Journalists should not face verbal assaults by political leaders for doing their jobs.
At the conference, Otti, fuming, told the journalist that “this media chat is a serious media chat. When we throw this open for people to ask questions, it doesn’t mean people should be stupid.” Was a press conference meant to be exclusive? But the governor was right when he said press conferences are for a few privileged journalists which he has been magnanimous to “throw open”. What he meant was that the journalist should consider himself lucky that he was invited. In Nigeria, high-level conferences like the one Otti had are always planned for friendly journalists who will never ask critical questions. In many cases, the questions are choreographed to make the politician look good and showcase questionable achievements. Alex Otti should be commended for throwing the conference open. That is what a transparent leader should do. But getting angry that a journalist asked hard questions portrays them as intolerant of all shades of perspective and opinion.
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The journalist’s job is to ask questions
Otti’s outburst was unwarranted.
There were many options he could have chosen. If a governor does not have key data on how his government has impacted his people, then what is the essence of governance?. Why hold a conference if you cannot provide facts and figures? It is not a difficult thing, and the journalist was right. For example, how many Abians have your economic policies lifted out of poverty? What was the poverty level when you assumed office, and what is the number today? How many Abians have benefited from the different government interventions since he assumed office? How many Abia indigenes have you lifted out of poverty?
How many roads have been constructed? Markets, schools constructed, primary healthcare built and how many out-of-children taken off the streets. These are matters of data and figures the journalist asked for, not just rhetoric, so why the pushback by Otti? When the journalist insisted that the governor provide hard data and evidence, Otti said that was not his job. He threw the responsibility to the journalist. Yes, the governor may be right in asking the journalist to have come prepared. But he also owes a responsibility to provide hard evidence. Facts do not lie. In my conversation with a journalist during the week, I asked if Alex Otti would have treated a foreign journalist the way he treated the Abia journalist. The answer would be a no. But that is a discussion for another day.
In recent times, journalists have continued to face assault in the course of doing their job. There have been threats. A former Nigerian minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, once angrily rebuked a reporter and threatened he would “hit you hard” for a question he considered inconvenient. In 2025, journalists across Nigeria were detained, beaten and harassed while covering protests, reporting on accidents, or documenting government activities. The Abia incident may appear non-threatening, but it sent a message that speaking truth to power or demanding accountability in Nigeria makes leaders uncomfortable.
This problem is not limited to Nigeria alone. Examples abound globally of how leaders have reacted poorly when asked hard questions by journalists. A former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, lashed out at a Hong Kong reporter, calling him “too young,” “too simple,” and “naive” for asking tough questions.
In the United States, President Trump has repeatedly insulted reporters at press conferences, calling some of them “obnoxious” or “fake news” when they asked hard questions about his actions as President. When Otti calls a question or reporter “stupid and irresponsible,” what he is actually saying is: “I don’t want to explain myself. Branding a journalist as “stupid” for asking for data should worry Nigerians because journalists should be free to ask questions. Leaders should be ready to answer, no matter how uncomfortable. Anything less is a disservice to the people.
Follow Bayo Olupohunda on X @BayoOlupohunda
