Journalists: Asking the wrong question at the right time
Therefore, any person delivering a job, especially a complex one like that of the IGP is certainly contributing remarkably to the above engineering effort and naturally needs motivation which the government finds easy to provide through mere recognition. Such recognition usually stimulates the moral of the worker and deepens his commitment to duty and does […]
Therefore, any person delivering a job, especially a complex one like that of the IGP is certainly contributing remarkably to the above engineering effort and naturally needs motivation which the government finds easy to provide through mere recognition. Such recognition usually stimulates the moral of the worker and deepens his commitment to duty and does often come in the form of National Award which enjoys public support and acclaim. It was in this like that IGP Ogbonna Onovo was recently awarded a national medal of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic, CFR together with several other prominent Nigerians. Being happy with appreciated, is a natural attribute of a normal person and Mr. Onovo was happy with the country for honouring him as were other awardees. But very surprisingly, someone elected not to support but to ridicule and destroy the nation-state building effort of the government by picking on Mr. Onovo’s national award of honour. The question is why would a reporter choose to annoy and provoke someone who was happy and turn “EUSTRESS to DISTRESS”? To ask somebody to his face if he was worthy of honour, was thoroughly a reenactment of the entanglement of our Lord Jesus Christ with the Pharisees and Sadducees in Palestine over two thousand years go.
The Bible says that righteousness exalts a nation. But the reporter must believe that self-righteousness exalts the individual! How very wrong he is!! Indeed, self-righteousness has been a stumbling block to the coalescing of national public opinion around some common causes. Out of 186 honourees, the reporter chose Mr. Onovo, the Inspector General of Police, for this singular humiliation and insult.
Take of asking the wrong question at the right time: There is an office that manages the selection of persons for national honours. A reporter who, by today’s expectation should be professional in discharging his duty is supposed to match his curiosity with a genuine investigation exercise by going to the office to find out what the criteria for the selection of honorees were. But Mr. NEXT reporter did not do such a thing implying that he was up to something rather than professional reporting. Who knows, but he might be one of the many fake journalists roaming around. But whatever his motive might have been, it was obvious that the true hero; of the spectacular event was IGP Onovo. Unlike in the past when there would be seizure of tape-recorder, camera, reporter’s notebook and arrest, the IGP bent over and dialogued with the reporter and, in the process, educated him and (through him) the public at large.
One of the frequent refrains in Nigeria’s curriculum vitae is that it is a potentially great country but sadly hamstrung by leadership failure. To groups can help alleviate this problem: politicians and journalists. Nigeria politicians should endavour to represents the people, while journalists should separate opinion from fact. The Great Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe left us with an enduring wisdom: news organisations should never editorialize on matters on which they have not reported. The earlier our reporters and editors imbibe this wisdom, the better it will be for the ‘Work-In-Progress’.
It is fitting to end this discourse by commending IGP Onovo, a graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, whose motor is “To Restore the Dignity of Man’ for showing maturity in the face of insult and educating those who are misled. The NEXT reporter was apparently the evidence of many secret conversations by several self-righteous persons. While we exhort those in public office to excel (that is, to approach 100 per cent) it is necessary to put ourselves also on the weighting scale honestly and not self-righteously. When we do that, we shall be like Caesar’s wife, above reproach. We thank God for IGP Onovo’s maturity which ensured that the power of arrest and detention which he has as the Police Boss was not abused even under provocation. President Goodluck Jonathan should take note of this behavior of IGP Onovo and award him a higher national honour. He deserves it because he has diligently earned it.
Onyebuchi Anih, Chairman, Hiltop Club of Nigeria.