More than 230 years ago, Edmund Burke styled the media as “the Fourth Estate of the Realm during a parliamentary debate (precisely in 1787). Many years after, Harold Lasswell also ascribed interpretations of meanings of societal events as well as their consequences, to the media; and more recently, two communications scholars, Stuart Cunningham and Graeme Turner, labelled the media and by extension their agents (journalists) as the “Consciousness industries”; because what they sell are ways of thinking, ways of seeing, ways of talking about the world.
Narrowing down here, the roles of the media are explicitly stated in section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution as: “the press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives…and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people”.
At this point, it is safe to conclude, in the full contexts of the global and national references given above, that the media and journalists are granted enormous powers with great safeguards to pick on any significant issue(s) of the society and wheel them in the direction that benefits the people and larger society. It is in fact mandatory for journalists to be knowledgeable and courageous to air views with evidence that will help the masses for ‘right thinking’ and solving emerging social and political problems.
It is in the full knowledge of these, therefore, The Nation newspapers’ correspondent in Niger state, Ms. Justina Ashishana, took to her social media handle, out of curiosity (an essential attribute of a good journalist also), sought to know why Niger state APC Retreat was held at Rock View Hotel, Abuja, and not anywhere in Niger state. Ashishana believed that legally and morally, she is immune to any colouration of intimidation as a journalist.
And so the question! A good question from a sound mind that required reasonable answer. The same question that might actually be racing through the minds of most Nigerlites including myself.
It is however sad that the question was improperly digested by those to whom the question was posed.
Instead of clear explanations to her Facebook post, Justina Ashishana alleged that she received a call from the Niger APC gubernatorial candidate, Honourable Umar Mohammed Bago, whom, according to her (in paraphrase), in a fit of rage, challenged her post; accused her of playing partisan politics, and casting a spell on him; labelled her prophet of doom and warned her to be careful of what she writes. Really?
While I am writing based on Ashishana’s side of the story, which the gubernatorial candidate is yet to deny, I strongly hold that Bago failed to insulate emotionalism from his reactions.
Is it not an act of blackmail and intimidation to allegedly warn her not to write on such kind of issues? Is Bago actually aware of the vastness of the responsibilities of state governance which he aspires to assume? How then did he get such luxury of time to personally respond to a journo who is doing her lawful assignment? A story of this similar action, where he was also reported to have questioned a media organisation for giving airtime to a co-contestant, is still fresh.
Are these actions well thought-through? Aren’t these actions awkward to him, as a federal lawmaker with 12 years of lawmaking experience?
Asking further, is Bago not aware that politicians and their actions generally attract critical public scrutiny in a liberal democracy as ours? Why wouldn’t Bago from now, hire a trained PR person with great experience of the media husbandry, to tackle issues related these? Not data boys!
Again, has Bago forgotten the promise he made to the members of the pen profession in the state, when he visited the state NUJ secretariat in Minna, as reported by the Vanguard newspapers of May 31, 2022, where he was quoted to “reaffirmed his total commitment to work very closely with all the journalists…”?
It’s too early o, to break this promise, and supposed not to, at all.
Lastly, why hasn’t Bago come out to say his own side of the story, or as electorate don’t we deserve explanation?
After all, clear communication, they say, is the bridge between confusion and clarity.
Muhammad Danjuma Abubakar,
Minna, Niger state
