Journalists, media stations and March 23 elections

We have about 10 Radio Stations in Kano or there about. I know three under the state government: Radio Kano AM/FM and ARTV FM station. The rest are independent. Some of these stations, notably Arewa, Freedom, Radio Kano and Rahma Radio value to cover anything of national and state importance. They did cover yesterday’s Kano […]

We have about 10 Radio Stations in Kano or there about. I know three under the state government: Radio Kano AM/FM and ARTV FM station. The rest are independent.

Some of these stations, notably Arewa, Freedom, Radio Kano and Rahma Radio value to cover anything of national and state importance. They did cover yesterday’s Kano re-run but, in an entirely different approach.

At a point, my wife got angry with the one-sided story some of the stations were airing and urged me to please off them all. I told her to be patient, or at least let me listen alone (else I wouldn’t be writing this).

We tuned in a station, and another, almost all the correspondents reported (LIVE) the violence and thuggery happening at the polling units across the 28 local government affected. For instance:

1). A reporter confirmed to have seen a complete bundle of thumb printed ballot even before the commencement of the election.

2). There was reports, from more than one station, that fights started when villagers (like in Tudun Wada LG) began to protest after noticing thugs who aren’t from that village, with voters’ card, queuing to cast votes. It was reported that in some places, buses conveyed those thugs in the middle of the night to spent the night.

3). A woman in Yalwa, Dala LG, was told that the card she came with was confirmed by the card reader to have been accredited and used for voting already. The woman protested she didn’t vote, but there was nothing she could do. Who used her card earlier? It’s not known.

4). Agents of a particular party were forced to evacuate most of the polling units, by thugs associated with another party. Under the watch of the security personnel.

All these and many. The reporters were not left untouched, too. Some were terribly beaten and harassed. Another’s recorder was destroyed. Others had to hide their identities as journalists to save their lives from those thugs.

It appeared to me the thugs had a general ground rule yesterday, that unlike last two weeks, this time there shouldn’t be video coverage or pictures of the incidence by anyone. Not even a journalist. And if they catch you, they beat you and cease the phone or camera. This was why I think, a reporter went underground, hid his recorder while still playing. In the audio, played live by the station, you can hear them shouting, using abusive words: ‘let them come, we’re ever ready for them’, ‘to hell with the media people … nobody will cover anything here’, etc.

It was scary for me and my wife listening from the end of our radio set. To carry his audience along, the correspondent had to quietly asked somebody there (who seem to know him as a reporter) what place is that. It was a polling unit in Gama at Nassarawa LG.

Having heard all this, any sane person will be worried that that Democracy is under attack, that Kano politics is in a sorry state and that journalists lives in Kano is in danger.

But tunning in to other stations, the story was different. You see and listen to them from the comfort of their studios smiling, pretending nothing is happening. What they tell us was that everything is under control, there is a massive turn out, the process was calm and everything lawful. Bla bla bla.

To this morning, same story. And they’re even bold enough to preach to us “everyone should take the outcome of the election in good faith as predestination from God.”

They couldn’t even be brave and courageous enough to tell the world how badly their correspondents, friends, were humiliated. Or how some people hijacked the entire system to their advantage. They are afraid to lose their job and some share advantage they enjoy.

You will be “deeply pain”, as one journalist put it, “by the crass subservience of many of them to the political leadership in the state which has blurred the line between journalism and political psycophancy!” This was what angered my wife. This is what worry me as a citizen to ask if this country is ever going to change for better.

Misbahu L. Hamza, Kano, [email protected]