So much for Objective Journalism! Don’t bother to look for it here—not under any byline I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.”
By Hunter S. Thompson, (Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72)
Preamble
The above quotation is probably much more relevant to Nigeria than any other country in the world. Like any other thing that has to do with decency, journalism in Nigeria has become a mockery of itself. Its three fundamental norms of information, education and entertainment have been turned into misinformation, mis-education and distraction.
With the coinage of vocabularies like ‘maginalization’ and ‘Islamization’ (words that cannot be found in any English dictionary), Nigerian journalists have blindly and ignorantly polarized the country’s social strata along tribal and religious lines. And with this queer professional whim, they have tacitly drawn a visible battle line among existing ethnic groups on the one hand and religious groups on the other (a euphemism for a furnace of implacable enmity).
Thus, the prospect of a potentially great country becoming a nation has virtually been turned into a mere day dream that can hardly be linked to reality. If anything is antithetical to Nigeria’s cohesion as a country with potential greatness, it is the Nigerian media. And all these damages are being done in the name of press freedom.
Ember of Discord
In its usual act of beating the drum of war in the country, the Nigerian media recently started chorusing another sour song aimed at leaving another sour taste in the mouth of Nigerians. It has started classifying the recent appointments made by the current regime into that of North-South dichotomy. That is its new way of igniting a new war between the northern part of the country and the South. And, as usual, the drum beats are vividly coming from the south-west.
It is sometimes amazing what the real agenda of the south-west media is. In 1999, two main presidential candidates were presented to the country on the platform of two main political parties. The two candidates were from the South-West and they were Christians. One of them emerged as the country’s President with majority of Muslim votes and there were no grudges from the Muslims even as he completed his two terms of eight years.
Memory Lane
At least, it can still be remembered that the man (Bashorun MKO Abiola) who won the 1993 unprecedented Presidential election that was annulled by military fiat and was eventually killed in detention was a Muslim from the South-West. It can also be remembered that the man (Ernest Shonekan who was appointed by fiat to replace Abiola as an interim President was a Christian from the South-West. Yet, the Muslims did not complain then as they did not complain when a former Vice-President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the South-South succeeded the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua (from the North) to complete the Northern slot of the Presidency. And he (Jonathan) later won another election with Muslim majority votes for a term of four years.
Now, with another President from the North in the saddle, the senseless brouhaha has started again at the instance of the South-West media despite the fact that the current Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osibajo (a Pastor) is from the South-West. What exactly do the South-West media want?
Reactions
In a swift reaction to the new furnace of political war emanating from the South-West media, Sen. Eta Enang, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on National Assembly Matters (who is of course a Christian), has said that the claim by some Nigerians of lopsided federal appointments in the country was untrue. He said that President Muhammadu Buhari followed strictly the principles of Federal Character in all federal appointments.
Enang went further to state that “He (Buhari) has given us (in the South-South) the Chief of Naval Staff, a very high ranking officer in the Federal Security Council. He has also given us the minister of Budget and then, my humble self as the Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters. He has also given us the minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
“In the entire South-South region, he went further to say that “he (Buhari) gave us Minister of Transportation in charge of about three ministries merged together. He also gave us the Minister of Petroleum and that of budget”.
He added that President Buhari had visited Cross River State, despite his very tight schedule, to inaugurate construction of the international super highway from Cross River to Cameroon and other countries in the West and Central Africa. Enang did not forget to recall that “President Buhari also provided N6 billion to dualize the road from Calabar to Itu, enroute Ikot Ekpene, to Aba in Abia State.
Further Reactions
Another South-South cabinet member of the PMB government, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita: the Head of Service of the Federation, also debunked the unfounded allegations of appointment lopsidedness being projected by the South-West media. She said that insinuations that the president unduly favoured a section of the country in appointments were wrong and concluded that the appointments so far made by the president were based on merit and competence. In her words: “President Buhari allows competence and merit to be brought to the fore in his appointments and we are very happy about that. This means that “a door way has been opened for appointments based on merit. If it could happen to me, it could equally happen to anyone else”.
Reaction from the South-West
If the above reactions from the people of the South-South are seen as a way of keeping their jobs, what can we say of that of an elected Senator from the South-West? In his own reaction to the mischievously damaging media propaganda from his region, a prominent Senator from the South-West, Professor Olusola Adeyeye had the following to say: “This rehash of the prominent positions held by Muslims in Nigeria is mischievous and quite unfortunate. It is the typical Nigerian game of chasing needless shadows rather than focusing on the arduous task of nation-building”.
He went further: “Until recently, some so-called Christians held commanding heights of the economic governance of our Republic. The Presidency, Headship of National Assembly, Secretary of Govt of the Federation, Head of Service, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the NNPC, the Stock Exchange etc were headed by so-called Christians. Tragically, they reprobately superintended the profligate looting of our common patrimony. The lone voice of courageous warning belonged to a certified Muslim, Sanusi Lamido, who succeeded Soludo and was hounded for his courage to expose the cult of looters comprising so-called Christians”.
His Analysis
In his analysis, Senator Adeyeye stated as follows: “Yes, the metastasis of economic ruins in Nigeria was gestated by these Christians. They reduced Pentecostalism to a reprobate pente-rascality (sic) whereby the Dukes and knights of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and the Christian Association of Nigeria became errand boys in the corridor of accursed political power. Their private jets were the conveyors of stolen money!”
“Tunde Fashola is a Muslim. He now heads what used to be three big ministries. Was he chosen because of his religion? He was chosen because of his track record!”
Prediction of Succour
“The dust will settle in Nigeria. Change will come despite predictable resistance from reactionary principalities and forces. Hackney references to issues that divide rather than unite us whether by Muslims or Christians, are age-long stumbling blocks to progress.
It really is a shame when well-educated Nigerians, whether Muslim or Christian, wobble themselves in religious intolerance. Unfortunately, the intolerance is nursed by some imams and pastors mouthing poorly considered facts. Even if seemingly compelling, facts degenerate into half-truths when they are placed, as is often the case, outside of proper context”.
“The toxicity of half-truths rarely emanates from the profligacy of falsehood but rather from the subtle distortion of truth! Blatant falsehood is intuitively obvious and as such easy to reject. By contrast, when truth is softly bent, it takes great discernment to perceive its toxicity.
The Constitution of Nigeria enshrines that every state must be represented in the Cabinet of the Federal Government. Even those of us who feel that this, by itself, creates a cabinet that is too unwieldy, must tolerate such a provision until our pluralistic, multi-ethnic and multi-religious republic evolves into organic nationhood. As such, whoever is the President of Nigeria must have a minimum of 36nMinisters”
Facts and Figures
Of the six ministers representing the Southwestern states, two
(Fashola from Lagos and Shittu from Oyo) are Muslims while four others (Adeosun from Ogun, Adewole from Osun, Fayemi from Ekiti and Daramola from Ondo) are Christians. All the five ministers from the Southeastern states are Christians as are all six ministers from the states of the south-south. In other words, of the 17 ministers from southern Nigeria, 15 are Christians while 2 are Muslims”.
Analysis on the North
According to Senator Adeyeye: “In the North-Central, Audu Ogbe from Benue, Solomon Dalong from Plateau, James Ocholi (now deceased) from Kogi are Christians. The remaining three ministers from that zone are Muslims. Even if all the ministers from Northeastern and Northwestern states are Muslims, we are left with a Federal cabinet comprising 18 Christians and 18 Muslims! We have a devout Muslim as President and a no less devout Christian as Vice President. The current composition of the Federal
Executive Council is one in which only liars will complain that Christians have been marginalized. When in the history of Nigeria has a traveling President transmitted power to the VICE PRESIDENT? That is what Buhari does each time he travels”.
The Legislature
Senator Adeyeye went further: “Now, let us move to the legislature. Of the 10 Principal Officers of the Nigerian Senate, only three (Saraki, Ndume and Na’alla) are Muslims! The remainder (Ekeremadu, Adeyeye, Alimikhena, Akpabio, Aduda, Bwacha and Olujimi) are Christians! Adeyeye and Bwacha are lay preachers. The House of Representatives is headed by a Christian. With such a composition, the Nigerian Legislature is not a place where
Christians can be said to be marginalized. In fact, few people realize that there are more Christians than Muslims in the Nigerian Senate”.
The Judiciary
And in his analysis of Nigerian Judiciary, Senator Adeyeye had this to say: “Now, let us go to the Judiciary. How many judges of the Supreme Court has Buhari appointed? The answer is Zero! Is it fair to blame him for appointments that predated his own election into office? The fear of God, the love of country and basic human decency dictate that we reject an amalgamation of intellectual sophistry with the dereliction of truth”.
“Unfortunately, it is quite easy for detractors to pick and choose their facts in a manner that allows malignant campaigns of calumny.
Professor Adeoye Adeniyi, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, was a deacon at Oritamefa Baptist Church Ibadan. He was the Chairman at my wedding. He was also our pediatrician. When he was leaving the University of Ibadan to head the College of Medicine at Ilorin in 1978/79, he handed Oluwatobi (our daughter) to a Moslem doctor in his Department. I asked him why he did not hand us to a Christian. Professor Adeniyi smiled and said, “you do not need a Baptist or for that matter a Christian doctor; you need a pediatrician who will respond even if you call after midnight! “May God guide our Muslim President aright as we wade through the fierce storms…”
The above facts and figures have spoken for themselves. What do the South-West media want?
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