The Nigerian Media & Crisis Reporting – By Arnold A. Alalibo

Posted by admin Arnold Alalibo, Articles, Columnists, NNP Columnists Friday, September 5th, 2014

By Arnold A. Alalibo | NNP | Sept. 5, 2014 – The Nigerian media has been accused of being unpatriotic in its reportage of the lingering insurgency ravaging the country. The accusation was made at a recent interactive discussion The Tide had with some respondents on an assessment of the media in reporting the activities of insurgents and the fight against them by the government.

According to the respondents, reports from some journalists on the anti-insurgency war, point to the fact that they don’t want the country to remain united. In other words, they claim that the reports are provocative and promote sectionalism and hate.

However, it is not a complete bashing for the media as some Nigerians stand in defence of journalists in the country, arguing that the Nigerian journalist has made a lot of sacrifices to keep the nation together, with some of them even paying the supreme sacrifice.

They contend that Nigerian journalists are the most patriotic citizens and blamed their occasional lapses on the obstacles they face in the course of discharging their duties. Such difficulties, they say, include getting information from their news sources.

A businessman and Manager of Scientific Ideas in Port Harcourt, Mr. Tosin Olabisi, is unhappy with journalists. He has accused them of being sometimes “irresponsive and even irresponsible” in their treatment of the security challenges in the country.

He stressed the need for them to be aware of the implications of their reportage of the crisis situation, saying that journalists should conduct “professional soul-searching” activities so as not to worsen the already bad scenarios.

“If your reports do not point to the way out of an already bad situation, the society will surely continue to see you as part of the problem”, Olabisi said.

A Port Harcourt-based medical practitioner, Dr. Dimabo George, also expresses similar viewpoint when he spoke with The Tide. He advises journalists to be “careful and more considerate” while managing information during this critical period.

“The world is now a global village and a picture of crisis can be sent across the world within minutes with a single click on the button of a handset.

“Such picture could trigger a lot of consequences, even worse than what is happening. So people who send stories and pictures must always consider the consequences of their action on the society before doing that”, George said.

He, nonetheless, warns against any tendency to jettison “national interest and security” because of the need to produce “screaming headlines that would engender higher circulation”.

He cited the instance of the Jos crisis (where he claimed he resided) where television stations exposed some raw facts about the unending feud, as opposing camps spoke freely on contentious issues in anger.
However, a university don, who wishes to remain anonymous, disagrees with the views that Nigerian journalists are fueling the current crisis in the nation by the manner of their reportage. According to her, journalists’ approach to crisis reporting is fair.

“What we should be concerned with is how much information the authorities make available to journalists? If they are improperly informed they will go into the realm of speculation.

“Besides I sense a situation where some persons don’t even want journalists to perform their constitutional role of informing Nigerians on the crisis because of what they have to hide. They want us to be in the dark.

“Much as I support the call on the media to exhibit patriotism in reporting the security situation in the country, they should not be restrained from performing their constitutional role of informing and educating Nigerians on the insurgency”, she advised.

Expectedly, a journalist and publisher, Mr. Owuje Harry, speaks stoutly in defence of his colleagues. He contends that Nigerian journalists have made so much sacrifice to keep the nation together, with some of them even paying the supreme price.

“Journalists have labored so much to keep the country together; the same journalists cannot turn around now to sabotage the country. Yes, there are lapses here and there in the coverage of the current war against insurgency, such lapses are usual and could be attributed to poor equipping of journalists and inadequate information at their disposal”, Harry claimed.

Sharing similar sentiments, a public affairs commentator, Mr. Abere Abbey, describes journalists as endangered species, who are not appreciated by the very nation they fought to keep together. He wonders where the politicians and our leaders were when journalists fought the military out of power.

“Where were the so-called leaders and politicians of today when journalists were persecuted, harassed, killed and thrown into jail? Were they not working for the junta that held this country hostage for many years without progress? Today they are enjoying a democracy they did not fight for and are accusing the media of truncating it.
“The thing is that they are not happy because the media is exposing their inadequacies in the anti-terror war. If it were possible, they would want the media shut and keep Nigerians in the dark about happenings. It is unfair to blame the media for the many years of misrule which is the reason for the emergence of the Boko Haram sect”, Abbey retorted.

But there are those who insist that journalists are not fair to Nigeria in their reportage of crisis. They say such reports have only ended up promoting some parochial interest of relegating them. One of such persons is the author of the book “Boko Haram”, Mr. Jonathan Ishaku.

Ishaku criticizes the way the media cover politics and religion, alleging that many reporters and editors usually find it difficult to detach themselves from their personal sentiments.

Ishaku stressed that on some occasions, the media jettisoned its nation-building roles, citing how it “justified” the violence that rocked some parts of the country after the April presidential election as an instance.

“Even some editorials justified the violence and the killing of several innocent people based on the excuse that the elections were rigged. It was indeed shocking!” he said.

On his part, a legal practitioner, Mr. Tambou Onomeme, advises security agencies to solicit the cooperation of “senior people in the media” in efforts to promote peace and order, adding that the Nigerian media should not be drawn into engaging in any form of divisive politics.wp_posts