Yar’adua’s assault on NTA and FRCN

I have written copiously about the Catch-22 situation of these entrapped professionals in previous articles. Their professionalism is demonstrated by their contribution to the emergent robust independent media. In Britain, where Nigeria copied everything it practices albeit in the breach, the difference between public and private broadcasters is usually not in content. There is no […]

I have written copiously about the Catch-22 situation of these entrapped professionals in previous articles. Their professionalism is demonstrated by their contribution to the emergent robust independent media. In Britain, where Nigeria copied everything it practices albeit in the breach, the difference between public and private broadcasters is usually not in content. There is no big brother breathing down the neck of the BBC as demonstrated by the exposure of the dodgy dossier that used to justify the invasion of Iraq. British public broadcasters are insulated from interference by its independent funding but then banned from stiff competition and seeking advertisements as opposed to the dual status given to NTA and FRCN by the Nigerian law.

Nigerian government organs enjoy generous government patronage and use its monopoly network advantage to launder government image. When big guns travel, they get travel advantage to the disadvantage of private media. Unfortunately while some fat cats and supervising ministers may reap the benefits, the lot of the dedicated staffers of both organs have not improved. A few smart ones use their expertise and connections to make something on the side, illegal of course, but like all things Nigerian even known thieves enjoy honorific titles until they are named and shamed.

For as long as anyone remembers, 80 per cent of news bulletins on these organs dubbed as network news are a boring chronicle of unpopular governments and their officials. Critical public comments are edited out and so the listenership of these organs is basically for the nuisance value or as Bola Ige would put it, to know what the enemy of the people think. It is therefore shameful that when government needed to pass on information to its 140 million citizens, it turned to the BBC. Ironically, it is this same system that prevented the BBC from broadcasting on FM on the pretext that ‘they could not trust the source of their news’.

How they expected Nigerians to believe what they doubt beats any rational imagination. This must be bad times for the directors of both organs. In an organised society with a proper legislature, this is enough reason remove the privilege both organs enjoy and truly deregulate the airwaves. I bet this government wants to eat its cake and still have it. This must be depressing times for conscionable staffers. They cannot resign for fear of being blacklisted and branded enemies of the state. The implication of such branding is quite devastating for any individual in a society where even the private sector depends on government patronage for survival.

It is not the first time that Yar’adua and government officials would pass a subtle vote of no confidence on its own megaphones, but by far this is the strongest and shamefully most painful. It is now a thing of joy for government officials to pretend that no media exists at home when they pass critical messages. Lamido Sanusi did just that by granting his first major interview to a foreign medium ignoring those who made him. Fortunately, Nigerian journalists excel within and outside. They have dominated global awards such as the Pulitzer, the Natali Lorenzo and have won ad nauseam the CNN Reporter of the Year Award among others.

These acts are a clear demonstration of the disdain that the ruling class reserve for the press that they call ‘pressboys’ and the way they set their dogs lose whenever they perceive that they’ve crossed the line. It is not surprising that Yar’adua trusted neither his own megaphone nor the independent media. He is known to have hunted and hounded publications which speculated on his health in the absence of authentic information. Indeed, if, as he wants us to believe he is alive, well and recuperating to return to his go-slow governance, the press should brace up for more frosty relationship.

A government that stole its mandate from the people cannot be advised not to talk to those same people using foreign organs. After all, the lacuna that prompted his offshore speech is partly his making. If his government and others before him had equipped one good hospital to deal with his problem, we would not be where we are. The painful aspect of this is that if and when he returns, he will do nothing to reverse the trend.