Suleiman Bashar Aliyu’s article fails for one basic reason. It avoids evidence and substitutes suspicion. It attacks motives while ignoring processes. It pretends to defend accountability while excusing clear breaches of governance.
This response adds facts his article deliberately omits.
On the real origin of the media crisis
The current crisis did not begin with public commentary. It began with misconduct by members of the NAHCON board. Board members authored a letter addressed to the President. The letter was not an open letter. It was meant to be confidential. Yet the same document appeared in the media within hours. That act alone shows intent.
This was not an accident. It was a calculated leak. By bypassing internal mechanisms and leaking an official petition to journalists, the board members disrespected the office of the President and abused confidentiality. No serious institution operates this way.
The result is predictable. Sensitive internal documents now circulate freely in the media. Reputations are dragged through headlines. Facts are replaced with speculation. This is not transparency. It is a media trial.
On greed, sabotage, and internal moles
The scale and consistency of leaks point to one conclusion. The board members are the source.
Internal memos. Drafts. Correspondence. None of these reach the press by coincidence. They are released deliberately to create pressure, confusion, and public outrage.
This is not whistleblowing. It is sabotage driven by personal interest.
The objective is clear. Create noise. Damage trust. Force an outcome outside due process. In doing so, they are dragging the institution into disrepute and weakening Nigeria’s Hajj administration at a critical time.
Some of the signatories to the petition are individuals whose records are already known to EFCC and investigations have led to recoveries from them. To be specific, all three commissioners and unresolved questions that remain on file. Yet these same individuals now present themselves as arbiters of integrity, publicly accusing a sitting chairman being investigated, my question is are they not under investigation?
This contradiction speaks volumes about the credibility crisis surrounding the petition and raises serious questions about motive rather than morality.
On contempt for lawful supervision
The article ignores another serious breach.
NAHCON falls under executive supervision. The Vice President has an established oversight role. The board members ignored this structure. They jumped it. They wrote directly to the President. They even attempted to impose timelines.
That conduct reflects impatience with governance and contempt for procedure. Institutions do not run on ultimatums. They run on law.
Any board that cannot respect reporting lines cannot credibly lecture others on accountability.
On public voices and false framing
The writer dismisses public support as manufactured. This claim collapses under scrutiny.
The voices speaking are observers. They are stakeholders. They are Nigerians who have watched the blackmail, the selective leaks, and the use of the media as a weapon.
Calling this manufactured support is an insult to public intelligence.
This is a familiar tactic. Discredit the accusers. Repeat allegations until perception hardens. Give a dog a bad name and hang it.
This time it has not worked.
Public scrutiny has exposed the leaks. It has exposed the rush to the press. It has exposed the refusal to allow investigation to run its course.
On what this response is and is not
This is not a defense of any individual. It is a defense of truth and justice.
If there are allegations, investigate them. Fully. Independently. With documents and records.
But that investigation must include the petitioners. Their conduct. Their leaks. Their breach of confidentiality. Their disregard for procedure.
Accountability cannot be selective.
The truth will not emerge from opinion pieces or media noise. It will emerge from facts, timelines, records, and lawful inquiry.
Nigeria deserves institutions governed by law, not by press ambushes.
Gaffar Ayodele Sheriff.
Media analyst
from Ajara in Badagry, Lagos State