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MEDIA REPORTAGE OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA PLAGUED BY SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES – NUJ

Published

4 years ago

September 26, 2020

Stakeholders in the media industry have attributed the difficulties and frustration faced by journalists and media workers in the fight against corruption to the deliberate efforts by politicians and government targeted at reducing the power of journalists in society.

This position was unanimously arrived at during a special town hall meeting against corruption, organized by Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, with the support of MacArthur Foundation on Thursday in Abuja.

The well-attended event was used to situate the media in its place in the fight against corruption, and address the challenges of upholding integrity by professionals in the media trade. As well as celebrate the virtues of the WINNER of 2018 INTEGRITY ICON AWARDS, BUKOLA ADEWUNMI, an Investigative journalist working with NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA (NAN).

In his submission, the President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Christopher Isiguzo said one of the major challenges facing the media profession in the country is deliberate infiltration by politicians who are now owners of several media houses and outfits.

According to him, “these politicians have reasons why they set up their platforms, while the practitioners or journalists have their own idea, and when there is a clash of interest, oftentimes, the interest of the owner takes pre-eminence and that is a problem.”

Isiguzo also pointed out that besides political influence, journalists are poorly remunerated, poorly equipped, and lack health insurance schemes.

In a similar vein, NUJ Chairman, Abuja Council, Emmanuel Ogbeche lamented that there is a conspiracy by politicians and elites to economically impoverish and undermine journalists and media due to the power it wields.
The poor state of affairs has made it impossible for journalists to function more effectively in their resistance and reportage of corruption, he said.

His words:” Without making excuses for myself and colleagues, I think society has conspired to institute poverty in the media because politicians and elites understand the power of the media, the conspiracy is let there be economic poverty. If we impoverish the journalist, then we can undermine the system and bring them in as collaborators in weakly our democracy and instituting corruption and getting away with the abuse of rule of law.”

He advocated for legislation on the remuneration of journalists, stressing that the likes of Bukola Adewunmi will always be in short supply if the media space continues to operate in a way that the economic wellbeing of journalists is not guaranteed.

In his intervention on the challenge of journalists in fighting corruption, the Director-General, Daily Trust Foundation, Dr. Theophilus Abah faulted all arms of government for their silence on several corruption reports churned out on a daily basis by media houses.

His words: “The people in authority are not interested in what you do, they are not interested in accountability and transparency and that is a major problem.

“In investigative report, one of the problems we face is that, after we struggle and gone around to gather all we need to publish our story, you expect the National Assembly, and anti-graft agencies to take it up, unfortunately, nobody will do anything,” Dr. Abah lamented

While, the Editor at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Hamzat Ajibola, added” in the last two months, ICIR has sent two hundred different FOI requests to government agencies asking them to provide details of their capital spending between 2015 and now, but the response we have got is less than 20%.

“As an investigative journalist, the material of your work is the evidence and cannot be manufactured. Every side you go to you have a brick wall which is a serious challenge that faces the media,” Ajibola said.

Lending her voice to the issue, the Head of News at 99.9 Kiss FM Abuja, Ayoade Olatokewa, stated that the foundation molds a journalist’s morality, integrity, and discipline. She said many media practitioners have had to diversify to other legitimate means of income in order to avoid the brown envelope syndrome.

“The terrain we find ourselves as journalists in Nigeria is far different out there, you need to do something to support your job if you want to pay bills,” she said.

Meanwhile, earlier in the program, Bukola Adewunmi revealed that she has continued to enjoy the respect of people around her after winning the 2018 Integrity Icon Award organized by Accountability Lab Nigeria.

Speaking on phone from Lagos, Adewunmi said: “It has been a very good story to tell. With the name “Integrity Icon”, everybody looks up to you and I have encountered a lot of people who say “I wish I could be like you.”
The PRIMORG’S Radio Town Hall Against Corruption series is supported by the MacArthur Foundation

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Dikko And The New Vision Accountability and Development in Sports

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Felly Mammah N.

Since the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Shehu Dikko assumed office on the 30th of October, 2024, he has systematically and deliberately been putting in place structures that would result to proper development of sports in Nigeria. Shortly after he was first appointed by President Bola Tinubu as a leading strength of sports, the Director General (DG), Hon. Bukola Olapade was appointed to compliment his efforts.

Many sports analysts believe that the duo of Dikko and Olapade who have been very visible in sports administration will be one of the best combination to take the sports sector to the next level. The DG no doubt, is the head of administration in the Commission, but it should be noted that the financial enablement to manage the affairs of staff and the political might that shops for the finance needed in the running of the sector rest on the Chairman who has the task of liaising with the President directly.

It is also, worthy to note that there is a huge difference between the administration of in the Civil Service as it is controlled by a Permanent Secretary and Directors while the administration of a Commission involves Board Members and experts whose voices and actions are also, game-changing; more so as Commissioners are likely going to take charge of the different zones to proffer solutions for a way forward. The defunct Ministry of Youths and Sports Development which later in 2023 metamorphosed into the Ministry of Sports Development on the assumption of President Bola Tinubu, produced a minister who was not versed in sports administration and as a result, faced mass criticism especially from men of the media.

These men of the pen profession are the torchlight of global sporting activity; they equally keep the history of both sports participation globally as well as the records of athletes’ performances. Their torchlight on past Minister’s and particularly the recent past, have revealed that most of the people who presided over sports administration do not really have any knowledge of the sector before their appointment.

The exit of the immediate past Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh, refreshingly paved the way for change and this has brought in sports personnels that are expected to place sporting activities in the digital world. Suffice it to also, say that the new management of Sports Commission in parts of her changes is expected to sanitize athletes’ attitude and character for better reflection of children who have seen and communicated with their peers in the Western world.

However, the clarion call for President Tinubu to remove politics in sports may have changed the leadership of sports going by what many sports fans saw in the last outing of both Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, where a country like Nigeria did not measure up to her potentials.

Despite the poor performance of atheletes during the World Olympics Games, the past immediate past Minister deserves to be commended that during his tenure, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Games was reawakened as the participation of our Super Eagles brought back hope and jubilation to sports fans including the President and higher authorities. Yes whopping sum of N12 Billion was released two weeks to the Olympics Games and at a time the country was not financially stable. Despite the presidential financial support, the medals presented to the country were crisis and ignorant of both the atheletes, Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Atheletic Federaton to do the needful.

Therefore, it is heart-warming that the President harkened to the appeal of his fellow sports lovers to handpick a known figure in the sports arena to share his wealth of experience that gave him both a name in Sports and positions as the former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Chairman League Management Company (LMC), FIFA match Commissioner of significance, 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and presently, CAF Committee Member, in addition to his new portfolio as Chairman NSC.

My reference point here is that Alh. Dikko has been given the authority to effect positive change in sports sector, co-ordinate over 40 Sports Federations in the sector, welcome ideas of both sports stakeholders, individuals and veterans of sports that will enable him x-ray the reasons for poor performances in the sector and to chat a way forward for success story. There can never be a new testament without an old testament, thus the reason Alh. Dikko’s doors have remained opened to receive courtesy calls that included the visits by past administrators and foreigners who want to facilitate with whom the cap fits.

Still, in the mood of celebration to formally welcome Alh. Dikko to office was the peculiar power of sports which gathered momentum and the crowd for happy moments as seen in the recent novelty match organized by his friends, associates and sports veterans at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja recently. That gathering clearly announced not just a man who has made a name for himself at a height in global political decision making in sports circle, but a man who has also, given voice to our country’s leagues and international activities.

Sports is a significant sector that comprises emotion, tension, happiness, sadness even death and hope irrespective of the fact that it has the potential to feed many mouths. The sector cannot be compared to other Ministries with delayed bureaucracies and frustration of abilities. While in the civil service the head will rather submerge a growing talent for fear of power thrown, a coach who discovers a talent takes the credit for showcasing a star athelete discovered. Sports has been proven to generate revenue as well as attract public partnership which are all aimed at enhancing podium performance by the athletes.

Shehu Dikko’s business vision and wide participation in football contributed in making him the right candidate to place the sector in its expected level, increase the GDP of the country’s economy and equally be accountable with administrative roadmap for success.

The novelty match organised for him by his sports fans and League managers had the likes of Samson Siasia, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Dominic Iorfa, Ahmed Musa in attendance to share their joy with him as they displayed their talent with their foot.
Others that graced the occasion were Super Sports General Manager, Felix Nwogu, former and present Chairmen of House Committee on Sports, NFF President, NOC members and persons from across the globe. That singular act indicated a clear fact that Dikko can actually gather momentum with persons that can support his ideology to deliver as charged by the presidency.

However, the Chairman’s meekness to open his doors to all does not mean weakness neither does it mean that he has not commenced work officially. His work is more of brain tasking because ideas actually rule the world. I will boldly say that he has resumed work with like minds that will not only be on the same page with him but will as well be on success Guinness Book with him.

Felly Mammah N.
Press Officer (NSC).

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