Washington Post, New York Times, others reject pro-Buhari propaganda sponsored by Malami

At least five media organisations in the United States have rejected an attempt to plant opinion articles that sought to launder the image of President Muhammadu Buhari, according to U.S. government documents.

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Attorney General Abubakar Malami sponsored the botched opinion aimed at dispelling harsh criticisms of Buhari’s human rights records and alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

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Malami wrote the opinion in 2018 through Mount Olives LLC, a U.S.-based public relations firm. However, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Hill, and The Washington Times rejected the opinion, documents uploaded by the U.S. Department of Justice in line with the Foreign Agents Registration Act, said.

About $8,000 was paid each for the opinion. But it was unclear whether or not Malami got a refund from the PR firm after the articles failed to scale through the media organisations’ rigorous editorial processes.

Malami’s attempt to whitewash President Buhari’s image came amidst series of allegations of gross violation of human rights levelled against the president.

Buhari has continued to show zero tolerance for freedom of speech and expression, intimidating and effecting the arrest of oppositions and activists that have been very critical of his administration, constantly kicking against demonstrations and protests against insecurity and bad governance.

Buhari has also not spared media organisations regularly imposing fines and sanctions on broadcast stations. As a result, journalists under Buhari’s six-year rule have continued to operate with fear in an atmosphere increasingly dangerous and toxic for media practitioners.

The attack came after The Gazette’s October 2020 story that cast a spotlight on Bolaji Gambari as the new head of a budding cabal of administration associates inside the Presidential Villa. The newspaper also detailed the exit of Farouk Gumel, another Aso Rock policy adviser and an influential part of the cabal that held sway under Abba Kyari.

Malami did not immediately return a request seeking comments about why his article was declined by the U.S. media.