Dave Umahi, Nigeria’s Minister of Works, ignited a flurry of online reactions following an exchange with Arise TV correspondent, Laila Johnson, during a media session on Wednesday, May 1.
The focus of the discussion was the construction progress of the Calabar-Lagos coastal highway.
Johnson directed a query to Umahi regarding the approval status of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project. However, the Minister’s response took an unexpected turn when he interjected with, “Sister, I was raised in the village, me I no dey hear ‘phoné’,” indicating a preference for straightforward communication over phonetics.
In rebuttal, Johnson defended her manner of speech, prompting Umahi to request interpreters for clarification. Undeterred, Johnson pointed out the ample resources available to the Minister for understanding diverse forms of communication.
Despite the verbal exchange, Umahi assured that all necessary approvals had been secured to commence the coastal highway project, bringing the focus back to the infrastructure development agenda.
Umahi’s remarks, influenced by his rural upbringing, inadvertently sparked a discourse on linguistic diversity and communication accessibility in public discourse.
