MEDIA POWER AND THE NIGERIAN PRESS: STATE OF THE GAME

                                                            I

The media is powerful, no doubt. Their power does not just stem from the constitution but from the work reporters do in the field to solve festering problems facing the society. From information to entertainment and education, journalists across the world wake up each day to solve problems confronting the society.

The level of development inherent in a particular geographical location, to a large extent determines the basic roles of the media. During my undergraduate days as a communication student, I was taught that the media system inherent in developed or advanced countries play key roles as public watchdogs. This is why newspapers, broadcast stations and freelance journalists go the extra mile to unearth the truth for public good. This is why it is commonplace for a media house or freelance journalist to pay as much as $250, 000 for a particular picture of a public figure or a public official. It is still the same reason many undertake very dangerous undercover missions. From USA to Germany, France etc the role of the media is the same; and that is why they are where they are today.

Another concept that has overtime rang a bell, considering the fact that Nigeria is still a developing country is communication for development. The concept has been elaborately defined and explained by scholars across the globe. I will be doing grave injustice to these revered scholars if I attempt to embark on an intellectual exercise, explaining the concept. But to say the least, communication for development is that type of communication or information that drives or fast tracks change for development to take place.

Even at 100 years and with the level of development in the country, this is the type of communication we need in Nigeria; communication that solves the problem rather sensationalizing it.

                                                            II

From the windows of their homes, in front of the television or at any public place, people say Goodluck Jonathan is not a performing president. The group shouting the loudest claim his lackadaisical style of leadership has delivered no concrete democracy dividends to the people. They also maintain that the precarious security situation in the country is as a result of his inability to plan adequately for the security of lives and property in critical times. It is no news that members of the boko haram sect, a terrorist organisation have waged war against the Nigerian government; making government buildings and innocent civilians targets; killing, burning and bombing at will.

A particular lady guest at a radio station kept ranting about the president’s inefficiency in handling the insecurity challenges in the North East region of the country. She even quoted the president as saying that journalists know the location of the insurgents (in his presidential chat), arguing that this is the height of hopelessness.

The offshoot of her rage was the reaction of president’s Special Adviser on media, Dr Reuben Abati to the alleged presidential visit to Chibok. She insisted that it ought not to take Dr Abati 24 hours to clear the air. Even in her naivety, it didn’t occur to her that knowing the itinerary of the president was more of a security issue. It didn’t occur to her that this might be a drill to fish out the moles in the presidency.

The blame is not hers at all. Being a mediocre in the media industry and maybe not the type that appreciates seeing espionage movies, she could be excused.

The buck however stops with all the reporters who in the course of their work do little to cross-check or confirm pieces of information which they will eventually dish out to the public.

For not confirming from Dr Abati whose relationship with the media has been cordial, I rate them low. For publishing without cross-checking their facts, I say they are socially irresponsible, for Dr Abati had said President Jonathan had a summit in France same day.  So where did the sharks get their information from and who confirmed it?

Another case in point was when Senator Ita Inyang claimed that the Northern elite controlled over 80 per cent of oil blocs in the country. Newspapers went to press. It was front page news in virtually all the national newspapers. However no reporter was responsible to cross check this information, which misled the public and heated not only the red chamber but the entire polity, for it was a plain lie.

                                                            III

The role of the media in conflict resolution cannot be overemphasized. So rather than playing catch up with Dr Abati, the presidency and other lingering security issues, the time is ripe for the media to wake up to its role.

If you are still wondering where this writer is going, recall that it was hardcore professional journalists that went into the creeks to interview the militants with a view to making their grievances public. I recall that it was Vanguard that broke the story “Inside a kidnapper’s den”. It was also a journalist from Champion that not only broke the story but also resolved the crisis between a former speaker of the Imo state house of assembly and a deity called Ala-Ogbaga. 

However what the media has not done is much more than the reportage of how many lives were lost, how many cars that were burnt, how many suspects in custody and waiting for government agencies to issue press releases.

A journalist with more than five years experience in the field who sends in such stories should be fired, or a tangible amount deducted from his or her salary because he is doing the job a green horn would do well.

Seasoned journalists should be at the centre of the events. They should be in Sambisa forest and Gwoza hills scouting not just for information but for the girls and the insurgents. As precarious as this fact-finding adventure may sound, the real journalists know where they ought to be. No guts no glories.

                                                            IV

A civil rights activist Shehu Sanni who participated in two failed negotiation attempts with members of the Boko Haram sect in an article he sent to CNN asserted that the representatives of the insurgents spoke fluent English, some he said even acquired western education and were made to destroy their certificates and anything linking them to secular education. Sanni however advocated that a negotiation with the sect would be better than a military invasion, which in his words has failed to achieve desired result.

In his article, Sanni raised solid leads that a good journalist would like to follow up. He said the first negotiation didn’t see the light of the day due to those he called ‘hawks’. A seasoned journalist should be interested to know who these hawks are.  In the second negotiation, Sanni recalled that ‘hawks, security and defense contractors’ threatened the peace talks. These are good leads worth following up. A good journalist ought to find out which companies have been contracted to supply arms legally on behalf of the country. A seasoned journalist ought to look into their contract and thoroughly investigate them. Most importantly, an investigative journalist should be more interested in the 25 per cent of the annual budget which Sanni said goes into security. Human rights activist Femi Falana had recently called for the probe of security budget of about N3 trillion for a specified period. I strongly feel that Nigerians will be interested to know where and how their tax money was expended.

Since nobody is doing these now, I want to believe that it is not only the insecurity problem that is confronting us but also an extremely weak press waiting for press releases from the Red Cross, Directorate of the Security Services (DSS) Defense Headquarters (DHQ) and the presidency. If they cannot go to the frontline, they are not worth calling journalists.

The Punch’s Jesusegun Alagbe and Adeola Balogun interviewed an erstwhile ambassador to Sudan, Ambassador Bola Dada. I don’t know how many journalists read that very comprehensive and revealing interview. It is fully packed with solid leads. From Lagos to Kano to Borno to far away Sudan, a reporter who knows his onion and who has the interest of the country at heart should be investigating some of the leads the man mentioned.

It is high time journalists take up the gauntlet. The world is watching. This is a decisive moment for Nigerian journalists. Enough of the catch up! We respect CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera journalists today not because they play catch up during critical situations but because they stand up to the situation. They are at the fore front where the events are unfolding. Their actions in Libya, Syria and other countries speak volumes of their worth. This is not a time to count corpses, burnt houses and cars or depend on DSS, DHQ press conferences and press releases. Seasoned reporters should be in Sambisa scouting for the girls and the insurgents.

The priority of a news hungry journalist is to be the first Nigerian journalist to interview Abubakar Shekau, the most wanted terrorist in Nigeria. The priority of a news hungry journalist is to be the first Nigerian journalist to locate the over 200 girls in abducted.

It is only those who believe that their certificates plus training are meal tickets for survival that will stay in the newsroom to re-write stories of others. This group of bench warmers wait on AFP, BBC (and its Hausa service arm) and other foreign media to break the news. It is then that they will copy it, give it a slant and background, take the credit and publish it.

How does this develop the media industry in Nigeria? How does this encourage the large number of communication scholars who aspire to be journalists? History will always remember those who worked for the common good of the country. But like sand in the wind, the names of those who sat in newsrooms waiting for others to do their job will be blown away. On which of side of history do you want to be? How do you want to be remembered?

Addendum

For those who want president Jonathan to leave Aso rock and ransack Sambisa forest in search of the abducted girls and the insurgents, sorry to disappoint you. He won’t. There are people who are well trained in the art of military warfare than a PhD holder sitting as the president.

**Those that will also use the comments of the National Orientation Agency director general that Sambisa is a crime scene and a no-go area as an excuse should know it is only losers who give excuses.