इन्वासिओं ऑफ़ लीडरशिप NEWSPAPER

SSS INVASION OF LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPERS

Early this month Abuja based Leadership Newspaper carried a story that President Umaru Musa Yar’dua was sick again. And the President responded that he would seek legal redress because the story was false and misleading Nigerians on the president’s state of health. But the newspaper offered a retraction and apology to the president for the offensive report.

After the apology by the newspapers one would have thought that the matter has been settle between the Presidency and media house and those who assumed so were disappointed when the State Security Service, SSS, invited the editors of the paper for chats. And we know what a chat with the security agency means in Nigeria. The agency was not satisfied with only chatting with the paper’s editor, its operatives allegedly went ahead to raid the premises of the newspaper and took away some computers. There has been no reaction from the presidency or government official, and it is said that silence means acceptance or approval.

One would not have been surprised or bother with the raid on the newspaper by operatives of the agency because it is in their character to do so. I would have been surprised if they had not. But the personality involved in the issue is the source of my worry. Our President when he assumed office declared that he is an apostle of the rule of law, that is, in everything, his administration would not take any illegal or unconstitutional action rather he would allow the rule of law and due process to take their courses in every action of the government. The invasion of the media house seems to give the impression that the administration is a government of deceit saying one thing and doing the other. If the government really believes in the rule of law the law should be allowed to take its course.

Since the newspaper has tendered an apology, that is an admission that it made a mistake and it might not have been a deliberate attempt to embarrass or ridicule the president. This apology should have mark the end of the incident, except the president is not satisfied with the apology from Leadership management. If the apology was not enough the president should have gone ahead to exercise his right of seeking legal redress for whatever embarrassment the publication might have caused him. For the SSS to invite the editors as well as raided the premises of the newspaper send wrong signals about the government commitment to the rule of law. Can an ordinary citizen who is libeled or defamed by media reports and does not have the patience to go through tortuous legal process resort to hiring “area boys” to invade the offending media house? This is the message being sent to the Nigerian public that if you want to enforce your right you may resort to force without any recourse to the rule of law.

The invasion of Leadership few weeks after the closure of Channels Television over news report that has to do with the president health and his rumoured resignation does not speak well of this administration. It reminds us of the military era. And the continued arrest, harassment and intimidation of journalists since the advent of this government means the siege on media houses and its practitioners is not yet over. Though I do not subscribe to irresponsible journalism, a reporter is bound to make mistake once in a while. And where the mistake was not deliberate it is proper for the erring media house to acknowledge its mistake and apologise. Freedom comes with responsibility and the freedom of the press we are agitating for should translate into responsible journalism.

Though both reports from Channels and Leadership were incorrect, I still insist that they were not deliberate. In this business of reporting the dream of having exclusive reports at times makes journalists to fall into the temptation of not carrying out thorough verification of their information so that the information may not get into the hands of their competitors. I have some experiences with a spokesperson of one of the security outfits in Rivers State, any time I called her office to confirm a story, especially those she were not aware of she would promised to call me back and never did only to call her kinsman who work in a rival newspaper and give the information. With these type of spokespersons some reporters may resort the phrase “efforts to reach him proved abortive” just to give a semblance that they tried to balance the story or give fair hearing to all parties involved.

Did the presidency give the SSS the green light to invite the editors or raid the newspaper premises? There is a story of a former governor who would not directly or openly tell his aides to do evil, all he does is to ask the aides whether he should be the one to tell them what to do and they would translate this to mean that their principal has given them a tacit approval to use whatever means legal or illegal to resolve any problem at hand. Was the president’s announcement that he would go to court to seek redress a decoy to give the SSS time to invade Leadership? Was the security agency not aware that the paper has tendered an apology? Admission of guilt or mistake as well apologizing for wrong done should be encouraged in this country. The practice where someone own up to a wrong doing and is prosecuted instead of pardoning is not good for the growth and development of the country. We should encourage voluntary admission of guilt and this should go with pardon when the person involved repent and show remorse.

Look at the Rivers State Truth and Reconciliation Commission sittings people appearing before the commission instead of speaking the truth, admitting their mistakes and wrong doings as well as seeking for pardon and forgiveness, came before the commission to tell lies. Simply, they are afraid of telling the truth, because their admission of wrong doing before the commission may be used later to prosecute them. How can we have reconciliation when there is no genuine confession and admission of guilt? You can not enjoy forgiveness except you confess. We should encourage Nigerians to be bold enough to say the truth, admit their faults and repent of their evil ways. This would save us the millions of naira and man hours spent on lengthy litigation and prosecution. It is common practice daily in our courts to see known criminals or person who committed an offence boldly pleading “not guilty.” But the Bible says the truth shall make you free. Telling the truth and owning up to a mistake is not a weakness. It is a mark of courage and strength of character for a man to admit his faults and say “I am sorry”. I insist that it is not a weakness.

Nigerian journalists are among the most patriotic breed of Nigerians around. They were at the forefront of the agitation for independence. During the military era they joined forces with other progressive elements to ask the military to go. At critical periods in the nation’s history, the media have always risen to the challenge of playing pivotal role in the affairs of the country. Now in this democracy, they are playing their role as watchdogs and mirror of the society, as well as striving to nurture Nigeria’s fledging democracy. The journalists should not be seen as enemy of the government in power, rather they are partners in progress. The dilemma of journalists is that those in government see them as agents of the opposition and those outside governments see them as people who have been bought over by those in power. The same people in government today who complain about media reports when they are out of office would approach the same journalists they were castigating to write similar reports or the so-called anti – government reports and when you refuse they blackmail you as spineless or government mouthpiece. Political appointment or electoral office does confer patriotism on anybody, though one cannot rule out some bad eggs among media practitioners. The Nigeria media parades a large number of selfless, dedicated and committed Nigerians. Journalists are stakeholders in this business called Nigeria, and we deserve to be treated with some respect.

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