Corruption: the critical role of the media

Sometime ago, I read on the dailies that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, “has decried low level of public awareness on the negative effects of corruption among Nigerians, saying this may be the reason the commission’s effort seem not to be well appreciated by members of the public.” This observation was made sometimes […]

Sometime ago, I read on the dailies that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, “has decried low level of public awareness on the negative effects of corruption among Nigerians, saying this may be the reason the commission’s effort seem not to be well appreciated by members of the public.” This observation was made sometimes on July 22, 2019 through the South-East Zonal Head of the commission, Usman Imam who paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA Enugu Network Center. According to Imam who spoke on behalf of the Acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, “the media serves a conveyor belt of our activities, because if we are working and information is not being taken to the right places, people would hardly know what we are doing and this affects how corruption war is being perceived.”

There is need for the media to perform its primary role of informing, educating, and enlightening the Nigerian people on the dangers of corruption, just as it does in the areas of security, education, health. Sensitization and information sharing about corruption and what it entails is another key role the media should play in the fight against corruption. According to Imam, “Knowing that if corruption which has been the bane of the nation’s progress is sorted out, more than half of her problems would have been taken care of.”

There is the need to expose those involved in corruption and corrupt practices. This will help the Nigerian populace to be informed and have a better understanding of the effects it has on their lives. Some ordinary Nigerian citizens got themselves involved in corruption and corrupt practices without even knowing that they are culpable.

The charge by Imam to the media, is therefore apt: “We want people not just to be informed but understand the effects of corruption and the effects it has on their lives because, if people who are elites are finding it difficult to understand us, then we are in trouble already at the grassroots where there is a major gap in information dissemination.”

Abbas Abubakar, Jabi, Abuja