WRITTEN BY: Chioma Madonna Ndukwu
The Tinubu-led administration has been criticized for sending comedians and skit makers, such as “Ola of Lagos” and “Basketmouth,” to India for safety assessments of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for use in Nigerian buses, instead of engineers and safety experts. Social media reactions have been overwhelmingly negative, with many questioning the choice of entertainers over qualified professionals.
One user remarked, “They didn’t send professors of engineering… They sent Ola of Lagos who will come back just to roll on the floor and scream ‘put CNG in your car you will love it.’ What a shame.” Another commenter lamented, “This is what happens when we let touts handle the affairs of this nation.”
While CNG as a fuel alternative has its merits, the decision to involve comedians in a technical assessment has sparked concerns about the government’s prioritization of entertainment over expert input. The situation raises questions about the competence and logic behind such decisions, emphasizing political optics over technical expertise.
The choice to send comedians for a serious safety evaluation seems both impractical and tone-deaf, highlighting a troubling trend of sidelining professionals in favor of entertainment-driven decisions.
