Basil Stag Hare

Alwan Hassan sat there in his light blue agbada, pointing and talking with so much confidence. He told Seun Okinbaloye to take his phone and call 112 right there on live TV. He said nobody really knows about it, compared it to America’s 911, and claimed it works even without network or internet. “Thanks to APC government,” he kept saying. He was explaining how if you’re in Abuja the Abuja center picks, if you’re in Kano the Kano one picks, and that they can send ambulance or police depending on the problem. He even said the president has done well with it. Then Seun dialed the number and nothing happened. It was not ringing. Hassan started saying maybe it’s network issue in the studio, or that it works when he tries it himself. Seun pointed out that other numbers were going through fine from the same place, and that people watching at home were also texting that the number was not connecting for them. The whole thing just became awkward. Hassan kept insisting it is real and has been working for years, even saying it was launched under Buhari. At some point the host was basically asking why the system was making him look like a liar on air. For Nigerians watching, this is the kind of thing that stays in your mind. Emergency services are not something you play with. When you’re in real trouble; accident, robbery, someone falling sick at night; you need that number to work. Seeing a government person hype it on national television and then watch it fail live makes you lose confidence. It feels like they are not serious about the things that actually matter to ordinary people. And this is the same Alwan Hassan who not long ago said some ministers pay billions to become ministers. So when he comes back on TV like this, people already remember that and the embarrassment just doubles. Outside the country, clips like this move very fast. Foreigners who see it on social media or YouTube will not dig deeper to know the full story. They will just see a Nigerian official confidently saying “call 112, it works without network” and then the number refusing to connect on live TV. It reinforces the old image that basic systems here are not reliable. At a time when the government is talking about progress and asking for more time, moments like this make the whole thing look unserious. You cannot be selling achievements when the simplest test fails right in front of the camera. It’s not a good look, and honestly, it is tiring. APC keeps disgracing us. End.