Journalists in Nigeria
Jun 12th, 2010 by admin
After the recent showing of the film, the mighty heart with Academy award winner Angelina Jolie at the United States Information service, I began to ponder on the security risk journalists in the country face, particularly with the rising spate of brutal killings of journalists in recent months. First, many years back, it was Dele Giwa, whose murder shook the country, he was killed at his residence with a letter bomb, last year it was Bayo Ohu of the Guardian also killed at his residence on a Sunday morning. This year alone there have been more than four journalists killed in the cause of carrying out their duties.
Daniel Pearl, whose story is told in the film was a journalist working for the wall street journal and had been in Karachi with his wife Mariane Pearl, also a journalist researching for a story on shoe bomber Richard Reid. The film depicted the events which led to his death, including his intended meeting with an elusive source from which he never returned.
I realize Journalists in the country cannot be compared to their foreign counterparts because of the pool of resources available to them but a second opportunity at watching the film enabled me put in perspective the need for a reorientation because journalists play an important role in any society. The power of the pen cannot be overemphasized, with the pen changes can be made and measures adopted. The essence of a reorientation is to bring about a regeneration that will impact the citizens positively. In any society, the journalist is obligated to tell the truth and practice their profession with profound discipline. Today, I wonder how much journalists are appreciated; oftentimes the fact that journalists have an obligation to tell the truth and a patriotic zeal to responsibly practice the profession is forgotten. Why this is so maybe be difficult to comprehend.
I came across these views in one of the Newspapers. “As long as Nigerian journalists continue to kill with the pen, they will continue to be silenced by the gun. These evil and wicked men collect money from people to destroy others with falsehood and lies. Since there is no law in Nigeria to checkmate them, more of them will continue to die” Prophet Gaddiel Odoemema
“For your information, there is corruption all over the world but the one in Nigeria is endemic. Majority of these reporters are diggers of their own graves” O. Makinde, Jos , Plateau State.
Then, I recently heard a conversation where a woman was telling her son never to think about the profession, she went on to site reasons as to why she did not think it was a proper profession to venture into. Some of her reasons were not farfetched, poor salary, if existent it was irregular, unavailability of resources to carry out assignments and working conditions have become so deplorable that journalists are sometimes forced into the payroll of politicians, a sad occurrence because the job of the journalist is to disseminate information, the truth at all times but with the profession gradually losing its appeal, a reeducation should be the focus.
Daniel was not killed in his home country, but there was a network in place to find out what happened to him. That should resonate with the necessary bodies here that there is a dire need to fish out the killers of these journalists. The ugly phenomenon of unresolved murders is sad as turning a blind eye would only worsen the condition. It brings to light the need for all stakeholders to come together, and network. A prerequisite to effective journalism. Journalists should not be at the mercy of politicians and others who are able to entice them to write stories in their favour. That said, there has to be an enabling environment by the various stakeholders to work with journalists and avoid the open hostility that is often the order of the day.
The history of Nigeria, cannot be written without the sacrifices made by journalists, sacrifices that have sometimes left many disillusioned, Government agencies should not be allowed to be abusive to journalists, the system should not allowed to be openly hostile and abusive.
Going down memory lane, the country’s journey to democracy and its freedom from military rule could not have happened without the journalist, but do the necessary agencies remember and appreciate that fact. The truth is despite the important role of journalists in the history books of Nigeria, the stakeholders are yet to even appreciate the importance of journalists in the democratization process today. If journalist must continue to fight for the truth and remain a voice for the people, much more must be done by the government. The Minister of Information recently lauded Nigerian journalists with being very good at pursuing stories and advocating for change. She reiterated the fact that it was the journalists who earned Nigeria its independence and saved Nigeria from Military rule, Urging the journalists to join hands manage the country’s image better but while that may be in itself a good thing, has anyone given a second thought to the security risk these journalist daily face, an important factor in the practice of the profession.
With the continued killing of journalists seemingly going on without due investigations, one is left to ponder how long it will go on unabated. There has to be hands on approach to finding the killers and no stone must be left unturned in the search. Maybe, it is time, journalists advocated for a change, not simply throw the towel in and allow this ugly trend to continue. The recent protest by journalists during the recent World press freedom day in Lagos, were they called for better police protection is not enough. Something shuld be done now to ensure that laws are in place to protect journalists, government agencies should be mandated to work and cooperate with journalists while security agencies are alert to the important work being done by journalists which is to seek the truth at all times and report it.
On this divide, a total reappraisal is needed to ensure a better understanding of the profession by both the populace and the security agents. It is never about the journalist but the astronomical level of development that can occur in the country if the press is allowed to practice and access information. Getting to the bottom of a story should not be herculean task in the country. While reeducation is important, it boils down to the core fact, that a signal be sent to all quarters that we are accountable to each other.