There have been some bawling and hypocritical euphoria over the barbs between Rufai Oseni of ARISE TV and Lere Olayinka, SSA to Minister Nyesom Wike.
It is disconcerting to see the integrity challenged, and credibility deficient waxing sanctimonious and attempting to hold the banner of professionalism. Eweleke! Which professionalism? People who cut corners, who in real life are intemperate, insidious and malicious jumping like hares on a chase mouthing “it is a disgrace to Arise Tv.” “What a shame to broadcasting.” And many other politically correct and dubious angst.
For a long time, I had voiced the worry over the existential threat journalism faces in this country, chief of which is the erosion of ethics, or the clear absence of it. The balkanisation of journalism in Nigeria is centrally the making of practitioners. The State Capture of the Media isn’t majorly of the owners, rather the mercantilist and survivalist instincts of those who ordinarily shouldn’t have been near a newsroom.
Many a journalist in Nigeria genuflect and crumb-pick without shame in order to survive. The basis of ethics is secondary but for a very negligible number. Is it not in this country journalism unions back the ruling elite to abuse, denigrate, arrest and detain their colleagues? Is it not in this country we all witnessed how a pseudo-bourgeois verbally battered and denuded a journalist while his colleagues sat statuesque including the then chairman of the union in that state and did nothing?
Is it not in this country there was no whimper not to talk of uproar when a state governor banned the crew of a TV station from Government House?
Is it not in this country we have supposed journalism leaders with Cotonou degrees and training institutions backdating certificates and handing out to unqualified fellows?
Is it not in this country that we have mushrooms of blogs masquerading as news sites without valid registration yet “breaking news” 24hrs after a major national event? Just this morning, some were still “breaking” Eno Umoh’s defection to the APC. What a wawu!
What happened in Arise TV isn’t just about Rufai and Lere. It is a symptom of the entrenched decay in the communication industry. It speaks to the understanding, or lack of it, of contemporary journalism and why classroom nuances no longer hold forth in the ever changing journalism landscape.
People with residual knowledge, whose only desire are to acquire degrees without any utilitarian value to advancing scholarship and deepen practice and societal change, are mouthing “professionalism.” The concerning fallout from the debacle that was at play on Friday is the entrenchment of primordial sentiments on the camps of Rufai and Lere. Those who are apologists of the government, it was fitting for the SSA to blast off like a spacecraft – burn high octane fuel – crush, incinerate Rufai for his supposed belligerent approach to the ruling government.
And to Rufai’s cheering army, government officials must be tackled anyhow without rules and civility.
I am persuaded that the answers are in the wind and when stakeholders are committed to grabbing them, then we can indeed talk about professionalism.
A hospital visit
Majority of us take good health for granted. Have you been to the hospital lately? I mean not as a patient, rather to visit?
I was at two upscale hospitals in Apo and Jabi the past week. The volume of cars and in-housed patients truly scared me and left me in sober gratitude.
Owing to what I saw, I decided to visit two public hospitals in Wuse and Maitama. The sheer number of the sick and their tired handlers is deeply concerning. Make your health a priority. While certain things defy the ordinary, do your part, cut down on those carbs, alcohol and of course, exercise, including your mind. Stop running false narratives about people. Lying through your teeth. Harbouring impotent venom. Above all, fear God.
