Back to the Bad Old Days

Back to the Bad Old Days

Abdulazeez Abdullahi

Things have not changed much in this country not even with the so called advent of democracy some ten years ago. What one would have thought could only happen during the many military dictatorships we have had to overcome is very much with us, and it wasn’t as if the signs were not there. They were! But we all have ignored them and kept quiet in our usual submissive ways as if the signs are nothing to worry about. What is happening must and should worry us if we care about the freedoms that come along with democracy and wish to enjoy them for the good of our country.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo made no bones about his less than kind disposition to journalism and journalists. He made that very clear to the world when he openly rebuked the proprietor of Channels Television, Tony Momoh, on national television during one of the now rested Presidential Media Chats. For those who could not remember, Obasanjo challenged Momoh to tell him what he has achieved in his life other than the setting up of his television station. As far as our former president was concerned to have successfully operated one of the best broadcast stations in the country for over five years and having won a number of “Television Station of the Year” awards is still not enough to earn Mr. Momoh some recognition as a reputable entrepreneur. Well, as a clear testimony of how transient power is and the staying power of media organization that are run well, Obasanjo now effectively belongs to the “has been” club of leaders the country has had while Channels Television is still waxing stronger and has added this year’s top broadcast award at the recently held Nigerian Media Merit Award ceremony to its long list of laurels.

Despite his personal aversion to the journalism profession, the Obasanjo government, to its credit, moved the country away from the usual high handedness of governments against journalists as was rampant during the military regimes that he succeeded. For the eight years he was in power, media organizations were spared the agonies of closures, law suits or frequent invitations of their journalist by security agencies. But all these acts of intimidation aimed at muzzling the media are slowly tip-toeing their way back into our national life. The Yar’adua government is dragging us on that path and I don’t think it is healthy for the nation.

Last week, men of the State Security Service were at the Abuja head office of Peoples Daily newspaper to invite its editor for what they described as “routine/ discussion. Of course “routine” did not mean they wanted to know what he had for breakfast that morning. They wanted him to either reveal the source of a story the newspaper ran the previous week or retract it entirely. To do either would have been sacrilegious! It would have completely negated the strong bond of trust between the newspaper and its readers. An act which I am certain no news medium worth its name will do no matter the level of intimidation by government and its agencies. The security agency’s interest in the story only goes to confirm that there is some truth in it.

Channels Television was the first to feel the brunt of this administration’s fury when it broadcast an erroneous report of the rumoured death of the president who was then out of the country to attend to his ill health. The speedy apology the television station offered on the realization of its error was not enough to deter the government from sending security agents to seal off its head office in Lagos after it had been ransacked with reels of tapes taken away. The station also had its broadcast license revoked to boot. It took some days before that license was reissued and the station eventually allowed back on air. Up until now, we still have not been told the exact crime the station committed to warrant the treatment it received. If its offence was for broadcasting false information regarding the state of being of the president, the government and its overzealous security agencies ought to have taken cognizance of the station’s immediate rebuttal of its own story without even being prompted .by the media watchdogs such as the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria. The government only succeeded in projecting itself as very vindictive, one that pulls no punches in exerting its might over its citizens and organizations whose fault may be for making a mistake and taking quick steps to remedy the consequence of that mistake.

The Abuja based Leadership newspaper was also to have a taste of the Yar’adua government’s effort at a subtle crackdown on the media when it was sued by the government for allegedly reporting that the president was unable to attend Friday prayers due to his ill health. The newspaper’s story can not be showcased as a good example of journalism excellence considering the fact that the president was actually seen on NTA Network that very day attending to official matters. To therefore say the report was reckless is putting it mildly. Regardless, government should have known that it was not doing its reputation any good by engaging in a legal battle with a newspaper. That the suit was thrown out is evidence enough that the appropriate step the government should have taken was to just let the matter be judged by the public who would have determined whether indeed the president was ill or not.

It is instructive that the three news media mentioned above were all targeted over reports surrounding the president’s health condition. Clearly the government has still not understood the need to provide regular information on the president’s situation in order to curb the rumours making the rounds. Until this is done the rumour mill will be awash with all sorts of stories about his condition and some will certainly find their way into the media. Since we were told that the president had pericaditis, there hasn’t been any official update from either his doctors or the government. As things are, it is becoming a taboo of sorts to discuss the president’s health. It is a know fact that the media has outlasted dictatorships the world over, and if the Yar’adua government is treading that path, it should be reminded that the media will be there to report the end of its tenure when that time comes.