The Nigeria Media And Crisis Reporting

At a recent interactive forum on crisis management organized by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Jos, a senior SSS officer pointedly accused Nigerian journalists of not being patriotic in their reportage of the lingering crises in Plateau State.

The officer, who alleged that the newshounds apparently had “some sinister motives’’, stressed that he often had cause to query the rationale behind some provocative reports on the crises.

“From their reports, one could be tempted to conclude that some of them do not want the country to remain together,’’ he said, adding: “Some of the reports were somewhat aimed at fuelling the crisis because the reports, which were usually provocative, tended to promote sectionalism and hate.’’

Expectedly, the few journalists at the forum rose stoutly in defence of their colleagues, arguing that Nigerian journalists had made a lot of sacrifices to keep the nation together, with some of them even paying the supreme sacrifice.

They argued that Nigerian journalists were among the most patriotic citizens and blamed their occasional lapses on the difficulties in getting information from news sources.

Unfortunately for the journalists, however, opinions of the participants at the forum weighed against them, as many declared that the media handling of the Plateau crises had, in most cases, worsened the situation.

Incidentally, many analysts share similar sentiments about the way the press had handled the crises that had rocked different parts of Nigeria at one point or the other.

Prof. Shedrack Best, the former Director, Centre for Conflict Management in University of Jos, belongs to that school of thought.

Best, at a breakfast meeting with Plateau-based journalists organised by the Yakubu Gowon Foundation  some months ago, accused journalists of being “sometimes irresponsive and even irresponsible’’ in their treatment of the Plateau crises.

He stressed the need for journalists to be aware of the implications of their reportage on crisis situations, saying that journalists should conduct “professional soul searching’’ activities so as not to worsen already bad scenarios.

“If your reports do not point to the way out of an already bad situation, the society will surely continue to see you as part of the problem,’’ Best said.

Alhaji Aliyu Alhassan, Coordinator, North-Central zone of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), also expressed similar viewpoints at a recent meeting with some journalists in Jos.

Alhassan advised journalists to be “very careful and more considerate’’ while managing information during crisis.

“The world is now a global village and a picture of crisis can be sent across the world within minutes with a single click on the button of a handset.

“Such picture could trigger a lot of consequences, even worse than what had happened. So, people who send stories and pictures must always consider the consequences of their action on the society before doing that,’’ he said.

Alhassan, however, conceded that a clash of interest usually existed between the crisis manager and the journalist, who was apparently more interested in the news value of a crisis.

He, nonetheless, warned journalists against any tendency to jettison “national interests and security’’ because of the need to produce “screaming headlines that would engender higher circulation’’.

Alhassan, who noted that technological advancement had significantly improved human communication, however, bemoaned the fact that it had also made it difficult to filter news.

He cited the instance of the Jos crisis last December, where television houses exposed some raw facts about the unending feud, as opposing camps spoke freely on contentious issues in anger.

“The television also caught on camera, rampaging youths with sophisticated AK 47 rifles firing into ‘enemy’ settlements. Such reports definitely have dire consequences,’’ he said.

Mr Haroun Audu, the Chairman of the Plateau chapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), said that the journalists’ approach to crisis reporting had not been quite helpful in addressing crisis situations.

He particularly noted that the journalists’ reports had always been “tilted in favour of particular interests, even to the detriment of national security concerns’’.

“For instance, people in and out of Jos are usually confused about the true position of things during a crisis because the reports of each media organisation are based on its peculiar sentiments.

“The reports are usually sensational; they fuel religious or ethnic hatred among the people and that jeopardises national security,’’ Audu said.

Incidentally, some journalists agree that some media outfits through their reports have, indeed, promoted some parochial interests, instead of safeguarding the national interests.

Mr Jonathan Ishaku, the General Manager of Nigerian Standard newspapers, noted that some journalists still exhibited an “open bias’’ which often relegated national interests, while promoting selfish and strange interests in their coverage of the Plateau crises.

“Generally, you find a tendency where journalists’ reportage promote hate and further aggravate a crisis by playing up emotions that are usually destructive to national interests,’’ he said.

Ishaku, the author of the book “Boko Haram’’, particularly criticised the way the media covered politics and religion, alleging that many reporters and editors usually found it difficult to detach themselves from their personal sentiments.

“The situation has made it impossible for the average reader or listener to get the correct picture of the issues at stake; hence enlightened opinion is hardly brought to bear on very crucial issues,’’ he said.

Ishaku stressed that on some occasions, the media jettisoned the nation-building roles, citing how some media houses “justified’’ the violence that rocked some parts of the country after the April presidential election as an instance.

“Even some editorials justified the violence and the killing of several innocent people based on the excuse that the elections were rigged. It was, indeed, shocking!’’ he said.

Sharing similar sentiments, Sylvestre Ade, an Abuja-based journalist, recalled that he was once seriously embarrassed by the attitude of some fellow journalists, who commended the hoodlums who stoned some politicians during electioneering in the lead up to the April polls.

“One would have expected journalists to condemn such actions and advise the youths to rather use their voting power to reject candidates they did not want but I found it disgusting that my colleagues even applauded such aberrations. In some cases, they even hailed the rampaging youths,’’ he said.

Aisha Yolah, an editor with the Leadership Newspapers, while commenting on the genre of journalism practice currently in vogue in the country,  lamented that some journalists had played “appreciable roles in misinforming the people, while sustaining the culture of hate and ignorance during crises.’’

She said that the situation had turned journalists and the journalism profession into the subject of many derisive jokes, as many people now disparaged journalists as “liars’’.

Yolah urged journalists to be mindful of their expectations in the 21st Century civilization, while calling on the Nigerian Press Council, the National Broadcasting Commission and other regulatory bodies to always sanction erring journalists.

Mr Segun Adeniyi, former Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the late President Shehu Yar’Adua, now Chairman, ThisDay Editorial Board, said that he was particularly irked about the way some media outfits were “celebrating’’ the activities of “Boko Haram’’.

“Boko Haram’’ is a terrorist group which claimed responsibility for recent bombings in some parts of the country,

“What is particularly worrisome to me is the reportage in some sections of the media which tends to glorify the violence. Quoting imaginary sources within the ‘Boko Haram’ who vowed to unleash all manner of mayhem and giving such reports sensational treatment is very unhelpful under the current circumstances.

“It can only fuel the problem and even encourage some troublemakers, who may hide under the guise of ‘Boko Haram’ to perpetrate havoc just to destabilise the system,’’ he said.

Consequently, Adeniyi advised security agencies to solicit the cooperation of “senior people in the media’’ in efforts to promote peace and order, adding that the Nigerian media should not be drawn into engaging in any form of divisive politics.

However, Michael Andrew, a lawyer, said that journalists stood the risk of being rejected by the society if they continued to “work toward manipulating the people instead of informing and educating them, in line with their professional obligations’’.

He said that he was always disturbed whenever journalists tried to gloss over the real issues when political leaders were being tried for alleged corruption while in office.

Andrew cited the ongoing trial of Mr Dimeji Bankole, former Speaker, House of Representatives, over alleged financial wrongdoing while in office, as an instance, describing as “disgusting’’ the media outcry that Bankole was being persecuted for supporting the emergence of  Aminu Tambuwal as the current Speaker.

“My feeling is that such standpoints do not aid the quest for national growth; as a lot of Nigerians look up to the press for a good grasp of issues. So, the society will be the worse for it if journalists abdicate their roles in pursuit of some selfish goals,’’ he said.

As the country is faced by myriad security, economic and political challenges, many analysts indeed agree with Andrew that the media ought to always place national interests above any other consideration in their day-to-day reportage.

They argue that the media, in their nation-building and agenda-setting roles, should always strive to structure their reports in a way that will aid the country’s transformation and the wellbeing of its citizens.

Sheyin writes for News Agency of Nigeria.

Ephraims Sheyin