Based on my understanding, it’s unethical in the journalism profession to invade someone’s personal life and this is what is termed as “invasion of privacy”.
My article centers on the recent wedding of the daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, Hanan Buhari, that recently took place in the Aso Villa. It was said that the wedding was first of its kind that took place in the State House as a result of the pandemic that is spreading like a wildfire across the globe.
However, it should be known that Hanan’s wedding was on the right track, considering the protocols and guidelines followed in line with the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s observed that the presidency had restricted people from gaining access to the wedding’s venue except on invitation as a result of the coronavirus. And it is remarkable to say that the use of facemasks, social distancing and avoidance of large crowd were observed during the nuptial knots.
It’s also good to know that the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, who’s also the mother of the bride, had earlier held a meeting with her aides and told them that she wants the wedding to be low key with no massive celebrations.
As for me, Mrs Aisha Buhari is on the right path to respond to a newspaper reporter, Mustapha Bulama, over his inspiration, describing it as Nigerians will only enjoy the pictures of the wedding and also elaborating the wedding ceremony by merging it with a time that many Nigerians were complaining of hardship as a result of the Buhari government’s harsh economic policies.Do we expect the hardship to stop Hanan from marrying her loved one? Does the wedding have anything to do with the president’s office? Does the wedding further put Nigerians into hardship or will it stop the hardship or what?
In my opinion, it’s unnecessary for Bulama to publish a cartoon showing the president’s wife holding pictures of the wedding in her hands and displaying them in the faces of Nigerians struggling to find their balance in life. It’s indeed a slight on the Nigeria’s first lady and also it is an invasion of privacy in one way or the other.
Astonishingly, in her reaction to the cartoonist, Mrs Buhari said children of Nigerian leaders had the right to get married whether they were performing or not.
She also noted that her spokesperson, Aliyu Abdullahi, told the whole world that Hanan’s wedding was a low key ceremony and said Mustapha Bulama as unfair to her because the wedding wasn’t in anyway insensitive to what Nigerians are going through. She emphasised that the photo she posted of the couple on the social media was to thank well wishers and not to rub it on Nigerian faces. But unfortunately, people are still making their insensitive criticism of the issue.
I think it’s high time Nigerians to differentiated between politics and personal life as well as separating it from humanity.May Hanan’s union be amongst the millions of the successful ones.
Gulani writes fromInformation Unit,University of Maiduguri.
