2011: Is Nta guilty as accused?

The media will surely come under intense pressure from these partisan groups who are in desperate need of air time to market their views even as criticisms and verbal attacks directed at these media establishments will surely grow. Democracy is all about constructive criticisms. On September 6, 2010, a respected trade union leader, Comrade Issa […]

The media will surely come under intense pressure from these partisan groups who are in desperate need of air time to market their views even as criticisms and verbal attacks directed at these media establishments will surely grow. Democracy is all about constructive criticisms.

On September 6, 2010, a respected trade union leader, Comrade Issa Aremu used the back page of the Daily Trust to attack the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and accused the publicly run broadcasting behemoth of partisanship in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party’s sitting President of Nigeria- Dr.Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, widely believed to be nursing ambition to run for a fresh term next year.

In his article titled; “Wanted: INEC’s ground rules”, Comrade Aremu made reference to the 9’oclock prime time news of the Nigerian Television Authority of September 3, 2010, whereby he alleged that four partisan news items were aired in quick succession. He said that the news items blatantly privileged President Goodluck Jonathan as an incumbent President/potential candidate.

Comrade Aremu fired a salvo when he posed the question thus; “Did NTA news managers sincerely hold that this partisan over-load of news meet NTA’s corporate core value of balance and objectivity?”.

His words; “whence the ‘professionalism’ when the president’s partisan personal indulgence is being treated as a national news item by a National (note: not private!) Television Network established “for the people of Nigeria”?

Comrade Aremu continued; “NTA owns the public urgent answers on public observations about the inequity inherent in its repeatedly boring partisan news coverage.…”

The Executive Director, News of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Garba Mamu, responded to the accusations of government interference in the news contents of the television outfit even as he vehemently denied them as tissues of lies.

In an interview with Sunday Trust of September 12, 2010, Mallam Mamu defended NTA’s independence and integrity thus; “Honestly, we are very independent. I am the executive director news. Since I came here, nobody has come here from the government to ask me to take this story, don’t take this story. There is no interference… If you watch our typical news, you will see that all shades of opinion are there. Unless you don’t invite us or organize events but if there are events, we cover them. NTA is for the people.”

Asked if there is any direct or deliberate attempt to shut out other voices, Mamu responded in the negative saying; “No, there is not. You know, by tradition, after the primaries, we assign a reporter and a camera crew to cover the major parties from beginning to election time. Even the ones that are not among the six major ones, if they organize events and invite us, we cover them”.

But NTA is not the only broadcasting firm that has come under the kind of criticism made recently by the Kaduna-based trade unionist, Mr. Aremu. In 2007, the European Union Election Observation Mission, in its final report on the controversial 2007 general elections, accused all federal and state owned broadcasting stations of lack of objectivity and balance in the coverage of political activities leading to the elections.

In the report, the European Union Election Observation Mission, noted that; “Overall, national broadcasters allocated the majority of their election coverage to the presidential elections and, in some instances, to the governorship elections. News and current affairs programmes of private and state broadcasters focused on a limited number of parties: predominantly the PDP, AC and ANPP….”       

My take in all these is that as far as humanly possible, the current management of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has significantly improved the standard of broadcasting of political activities because as a leading critic of some government policies, our human rights platform-Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) has received its fair share of coverage.

Secondly, in as much as I agree with Comrade Aremu that the news items of September 3, 2010, that he talked about which were relayed during the prime time 9pm network news program of the publicly owned Nigerian Television Authority was dominated by coverage of political activities of groups affiliated to the sitting president, but this case is isolated and does not constitute good enough scientific evidence to draw conclusion that NTA is consistently biased in favour of the incumbents at the Federal and State levels.

Comrade Aremu and other independent analysts should observe the pattern of broadcasting adopted by the NTA for at least a month before drawing conclusions that will stand the test of time.

Secondly, a situation whereby out of the so-called fifty something registered political parties, more than forty something of them recently grouped themselves and walked into the presidential villa to adopt the candidature of the incumbent if he seeks elective position in 2011,should we not expect that  this single act by majority of the so-called registered political parties (considered by Nigerians as dead-woods) will lead to an increasingly unprecedented political activities whether funded by government officials or not on the side of President Goodluck Jonathan. So if NTA keeps publicizing their activities as at when appropriate, the impression to be created is that it is not objective and balanced.

But again, I ask, how many of these other political parties with the exception of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) and the newly registered Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) of retired General Muhammadu Buhari, are recently on ground and working?

Moreover, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has clearly demonstrated lack of objectivity and balance when they have already thrown its weight behind President Jonathan if he so decides to run. If the NTA keeps using activities of the Peoples Democratic Party dominated by opportunistic supporters of President Jonathan, the likelihood is that it will still come under attack lack of objectivity and balance.

I endorse whole heartedly, any genuine, scientific and objective call for more balance and objectivity on the side of not only the Nigerian Television Authority, but even the African Independent Television (AIT) whose founder (he has resigned as chairman) Raymond Dokpesi, is the Campaign Director of General Babangida, a prominent rival of president Jonathan within the PDP fold.

* Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria.