Opinion
Congratulating The Tide At 50
At least, for staying in business for the past 50 years, The Tide deserves to be congratulated and, more specifically, the editorial and management teams deserve more than mere congratulation. Whether private or public, the print media industry experiences volatile storms from time to time, including the possibility of being closed down by intolerant and tyrannical authorities. Media houses had been taken to courts for infractions such as “writing trash” or fined for breaking the law on hate speech. Neither are readers quite appreciative of what it takes to inform, educate and concientise the public.
In the beginning, The Tide newspaper was known as Nigerian Tide. Be it in the affairs of men, nations or the fortunes of a newspaper, life is usually characterised by tidal flows and ebbs. The rate of failure and collapse of industries in Nigeria should compel everyone to seek to find out the underlying causes of such phenomena. Why do fortunes dwindle and projects fail? Fortunes and popularity of a media house slump not by accident but usually by human factors, albeit, inadvertently.
The newspaper industry is a highly competitive and volatile business, whose success demands constant procurement of modern facilities, training and motivation of the staff, etc. Some staff of The Tide who found greener pasture in the defunct Sunray newspaper in the early 1990s, revealed a number of issues about frustrations in state-owned media houses. One of such revelations was about the State governors who would get angry and threaten, when their photographs did not feature in the front page of every newspaper edition. Journalists perform better using personal initiatives!
Generally, humans perform better when they are in a state of happiness, rather than when they are under threats and compulsion. Surely, a worker would do better when his efforts and devoted services are appreciated, recognised and rewarded, even if this is done by mere verbal congratulations. One memorable statement which the first General Manager of The Tide newspaper corporation, Dr Gabriel Okara, made long ago was that: “Wise men never sit and wail their woes, but do everything they can to prevent the ways to wail”. Wailing is common in Nigeria now!
Subsequent general managers of The Tide had been known to do the much they could, even under hard and trying conditions, to prevent the newspaper from going off the streets. No media house can afford to remain static in a fast moving era of technology or deal shabbily with competent staff, without paying some sad price. Competent editorial staff and reporters are not easy to find.
Readers are irritated with newspapers noted for spelling and grammatical errors, just as they rarely buy those known to be partisan, patronising and lacking in objective coverage and reporting of events. Readers want to get the best value for their money and would shun newspapers considered not inspiring enough, with regards to quality of production, page contents and materials that have qualitative durability. Like the school system, media houses are in the forefront as instruments of mass enlightenment, education and conscientisation of the public. Individuals and organisations cannot give what they do not have, especially vital values.
One common mistake observed in Nigeria’s development drive, is the tendency to take on too many projects all at the same time. When ambition and enthusiasm ignore the vagaries of life, limitations can be glossed over. Tide as an idiom reminds us that passing through life demands being prepared for occasional storms; neither must we lose our heads when such storms come. Survival demands curtailing and controlling personal as well as corporate appetites, so that no one takes more than one can handle and contain effectively.
The success of any newspaper depends largely on satisfying the needs and expectations of its primary audience or constituency. As “The Authoritative Voice of The Niger Delta”, The Tide newspaper owes a serious duty to the Niger Delta people to serve them with such news, information and articulate and research-based materials that can make vital social impacts. Newspaper business is not all about politics, sports and adverts; neither must the purposes of propaganda, agitation and parochial interests become its stock-in-trade. There are wider issues of interest and value.
Rather than publish for 80 million people and have several unsold copies daily, why not focus on the priority needs of a minority group that is virtually being marginalised? Every newspaper has a right to define its philosophy and choose its audience and focus. We must recognise that bourgeois ideology tends to globalise human situations and needs in ways that the underprivileged and under-represented are rarely given adequate hearing. Obviously the Niger Delta region of Nigeria is a minority zone whose interests and peculiar needs must be given the attention and focus it demands. The Tide newspaper serves that unique purpose of being the voice of the people.
While congratulating The Tide at 50 years of turbulent existence, there is also a need for some introspection. Real politics includes some elements of gangsterism whereby weak groups are unwittingly made to work against their own interests, via a “divide-and-rule” strategy. We may not know all details of this strategy, but it includes hiring and installing “moles” or agents who cause confusions and disunity. Such paid agents are everywhere, incognito, and even operate in high offices, deliberately planted by some vested interests. Everybody may not know this strategy.
Inspite of prevailing corruption, which COVID-19 pandemic prevented President Muhammadu Buhari from eradicating, Nigeria is blessed with men and women of integrity. Apart from the issue of being able to pick out and deploy people of competence and integrity, there is a culture of interference and meddlesomeness in public affairs, by vested interests. High offices and positions of power do not last forever.
Another lesson is never to disregard competence, independent-minded initiative and personal integrity in public appointments. The Tide, apart from being congratulated at 50, is hereby advised to put its Editorial Comments into a book series. It has the facilities to do so; then add the will.
By: Bright Amirize
Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.
Opinion
A Very Long Way To Go
Are not Nigerians happy when Nigerians are elected into political offices in other countries of the world? Do we not roll out our drums to celebrate whenever news breaks of Nigerians in foreign land making remarkable achievement in their field of endeavour? From America to the United Kingdom, to Canada, stories abound about how young Nigerians are excelling in various areas, including politics.
In the recent contest for the office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a 42-year-old British-Nigerian, Kemi Badenoch, was among the top five contenders from the Conservative Party. Badenoch, the current International Trade Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities had enjoyed the support of the British and non-British in the country since her foray into politics in 2005. Her race or skin colour has been inconsequential in climbing her political ladder.
In 2020, Charles Onyejiaka made history on the international scene as the first-ever West African to be elected deputy mayor of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The story was the same for Ayo Owodunni, who last year, was elected the first black Councillor in Kitchener, a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. The list is endless. And for attaining political height, Nigerians, both the leaders and the led, usually laud their achievement and eulogise them for making Nigeria proud in foreign lands.
Ironically, the same politicians and citizens that celebrate the political exploits of their tribes’ men, friends, former colleagues and other Nigerians in the diaspora, intimidate fellow Nigerians from outside their states, tribes, religion or political parties and deny them the opportunity of casting their votes for their preferred candidates or realising their political aspirations.
Penultimate Saturday’s Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Election in most states of the country brought the worst out of some politicians in some states. They unleashed terror on innocent people to scare and suppress them. In Lagos State, the Parks Management Committee Chairman, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, in a viral video warned Igbos in the state ahead of the governorship election that “If they don’t want to vote for us, it is not a fight. Tell them, mama Chukwudi, if you don’t want to vote for us, sit down at home. Sit down at home.”
Incidentally, instead of taking the necessary action to forestall such a threat from being carried out and cautioning him the Nigerian Police Force described the threat as a joke saying that nobody has the right and audacity to tell Nigerians not to come out and vote and that it would not be allowed. But reports and video clips of what transpired at polling units across the state are there for everyone to read and watch. A popular Nigerian Singer, Waje, was in tears when she was describing her ordeal in a video.
In some other states, people were killed, maimed and assaulted for daring to come out to choose candidates of their choice. The United States Embassy in Nigeria aptly described the violent voter intimidation and suppression that took place during the polls in Lagos, Kano and other states as deeply disturbing, adding that the use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning.
What is the essence of democracy if the citizens are not allowed to perform their civic responsibility? How can the nation move forward if the constitution which gives every Nigerian the right to reside and own property in any part of the country is not respected? It is more painful when respected people in the society defend the indefensible, castigate and spread hate speech about people of other ethnic groups in their states.
Some people leave their states due to the dearth of federal government projects in their states. Not long ago, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, lambasted the federal government for concentrating all the sea ports in Lagos.
Speaking during the maiden delivery of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to downstream investor, Stock Gap Terminal by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Bonny, he reportedly asked why the State should undertake the dredging of Bonny channels while the federal government collects all the revenues and levies from marine operators, lamenting that “you (FG) are building a new port in Lagos, but those in Rivers you rendered idle, grounded with no development attention.”
The Olu of Warri, His Majesty, Ogiame Ikenwole, toed the same line with Wike when he led a delegation of members of his kingdom to Abuja for a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari recently. He appealed to the federal government to hasten action on the rehabilitation of Warri and Koko ports in Delta State so as to minimise the incidence of restiveness and rejuvenate economic activities in the area. He decried the deplorable state of the ports which he said had been abandoned by the government, noting that the ports were very good and solid ports left unused.
Similarly, in the twilight of his administration, the former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode , appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that seaports in other parts of the country become functional as a way of decongesting Apapa Ports and by extension, Lagos State. He argued that besides helping the government to save funds spent on managing the traffic and regular repair of roads damaged by articulated vehicles, this will end the gridlock caused by trucks and trailers on the Apapa-Oshodi route.
The point being made is that aside from having the constitutional right to reside, do business and own property in any part of the country, many people are forced to leave their states to Lagos because of the over concentration of economic activities in that part of the country. One need not remind those beating ethnic drums that Lagos being a former capital of Nigeria implies that people from all parts of the country would be found in reasonable numbers in that city.
Some of these people have invested heavily there and contributed immensely through payment of taxes and others to make Lagos what it is today. Some of them have married and given their children and relations in marriage to their Yoruba “brothers and sisters” and all of a sudden, because of some selfish, political reasons, they are declared persona non grata and their property and means of livelihood destroyed daily. Where will such an attitude lead us to, as a nation?
The most worrisome thing is that stories have not been read about the perpetrators of these acts, their sponsors or those dishing out hate speeches and write – ups against the Igbos being apprehended by the police or even invited for questioning. Given, some Yoruba people, including the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, are said to have condemned the ugly development and sued for peace. But how can there be peace when no culprit is punished?
As the US embassy admonished, “We call on Nigerian authorities to hold accountable and bring to justice any individuals found to have ordered or carried out efforts to intimidate voters and suppress voting during the election process.” This should not be restricted to Lagos State alone but all states where similar acts took place.
Many Nigerians believe in the indivisibility of the country. As the saying goes, we are better, stronger as one. But to maintain this strong, united country, every citizen, every tribe or religion must be accorded their rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the country (as amended). Every citizen must be protected.
There is no better time than now to consider the agelong call for the practice of true federalism in Nigeria which will bring about rapid development of various zones, both economically, infrastructurally and otherwise, thereby reducing the drifting of many people to other parts of the country in search of means of livelihood. Continuing on the trajectory of envy, hatred and ethnic and religious bigotry will only take the country further away from civilisation.
By: Calista Ezeaku
Opinion
·Ethnicity, Religion, Poverty And 2023 Elections
The weaponisation of ethnicity, religion, and poverty, has become a part of the bane of the 2023 political landscape in Nigeria. Interestingly, these have come to the fore again and again mostly in election season and in various categories of appointment. Friends become foes, colleagues become antagonistic of one another. Erstwhile friendly communities and associations resent one another.
Debates have become less issue- based, higher on ethnicity, higher on religious grounds and flamboyantly expressed to the poor as “we are one of you”. Can political actors be more civil? Can they be more demomocratic, can they be more maliable?. Of course they all should. Citizens, it begins with you and me before any politician or government official.
Should ethnicity increase or reduce our ability to lead or govern? Should people not develop themselves? What has our religion got to do with leadership except to enhance it. Will a morsel of bread satisfy you more than a day? Let us now develop a mid-range to long term consciousness for our societal development.
We should rise up from within us, to say this trend must change. It is an ill wind that blows no good. Youths, market women, mothers, fathers, civil societies, do not accept this tripartite mantra of ethnicity, religion and poverty hoisted on our faces. Let us be more patriotic in our dealings with one another, for there are two sides of a coin.
Joseph de Maistre once said: ‘Every country has the government it deserves’. Leaders should shun executive rascality in our polity. Allow people to have some freedom in deciding how to behave and think. Allow for the rule of law. Do not use violence to stop other citizens’ aspirations or affiliations. Use your offices to stop the violence, threats, kidnappings of perceived enemies. We have one nation, though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.
Elections must not be a do or die affair. Like our ex-president Jonathan says, “nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any citizen of Nigeria”. Allow for successful elections. Let the electoral umpire always stay apolitical and true to their conscience. We can become a more developed economy, we can truly rise up as the giant of Africa.
The Great Awolowo said, “ a day is coming when Nigerian masses from the North and South, Christians, Muslims and Animist will stand as a force of progress and unity to kick against rigging, corruption and tyranny. Citizens must learn to vote their conscience, vote performance, vote integrity, not religion, not ethnicity, not poverty because Nigerian citizens are the architect of the future of a blissful Nigeria.
Dr Obibi wrote in from Port Harcourt.
Opinion
NYSC And 50 Years Of National Unity, Cohesion
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has become one of the most revered Federal Government-established schemes that has done the country proud in all respects. It was created by Decree No 24 of May 22, 1973, promulgated by the military regime of the then head of state, Gen Yakubu Gowon,”to keep Nigeria one.” The scheme was primarily conceptualised to strengthen the national cohesion and integration, so that the already fractured nation could be more bonded in all spheres. Without being immodest, NYSC has helped to revitalise the affinity among diverse nationalities of the Nigerian nation and bolstered the values of respect for the culture, religions and customs being practised by each of the ethnic groups.
Though there might be some hiccups in the operations of the scheme since inception, it has relatively lived up to its biddings in some noticeable aspects of our national life. The country can not forget the pivotal roles played by NYSC in managing the post traumatic stress disorder suffered by some Nigerian citizens during the post civil war era. Since then, the NYSC had been a leveller, creating balance across the multi-ethnic Nigerian nation and sending a strong signal that Nigerians are brothers regardless of the noticeable difference in our culture, customs, religions, creeds and political leanings. It has been a spiralling binding force, warding off the cankerworms of mutual distrust, suspicion, class differences, hatred, superiority and inferiority complexes, and all manners of social malaise serving as tremors quaking the country’s foundation since its independence in 1960.
Besides unity, economic prosperity of nation is vital to the survival and wellbeing of its citizens. Under this context, the NYSC scheme has been a strong weapon providing employment for countless Nigerian professionals from all respectable fields of human endeavours. Many of the graduate participants are employed into public and private sectors, thereby rejigging the economy and making it more responsive. Thousands of participants deployed in many states, had got the opportunities of securing permanent jobs after the expiration of their service years. In many developing economies, rural-urban drift had always been the most economic challenge confronting them. But with the advent of NYSC, government has been able to stem the tide to a large extent.
A vivid dissection of how the scheme was being prosecuted connoted the fact that bulk of the participants is deployed in the rural areas. With this, government at all levels has focused attention on the development of the rural sector, so that the corps members can be more comfortable to serve and live among the rural dwellers. The scheme also serves as a unique opportunity for training for leadership. Opportunity is given to corps members to become self-disciplined and capable of becoming future reliable leaders of the country. In fact, the conduct of the scheme is designed to infuse discipline and self-reliance in the participants. Good leadership would without no doubt help a country to achieve socio-economic advancement, all things being equal.
This is because the kernel of the scheme is to ensure that the participating graduate youths are self reliant, disciplined, and responsible and to nurture the true spirit of nationalism. However, in spite of the myriad of benefits inherent in the scheme, it has been confronted with a lot of snags. The challenges of kidnappings, killings, insurgency, social unrest and banditry being experienced, coupled with religious and ethnic strife, propelled agitations in many quarters that the scheme should be scrapped. A copious example was the 2011 general elections’ gory events of killings and maiming of many corps members in some states in the country due to spontaneous violence that dogged the presidential polls of that year.
Many of the participants had also fallen victims of kidnappings and carnages on roads, thereby portraying the scheme as gradually outliving its usefulness. Another devastating trend is the lukewarm and unreceptive attitudes and dispositions being exhibited by participants to their posting to some certain parts of the country, due to pervasive social mistrust that is gaining traction in the country. Unlike in the past, when corps members preferred to be posted to other parts of the country, so that they could go get familiar with their culture, customs and nuances, such spirit is gradually fading out and threatening the potency of the scheme and viability to live up to the buildings of helping to foster relationship, oneness, togetherness, unity and integration across the country.
This forms part of the agitations that the scheme should be phased out or made optional.
A critical analysis of the pros and cons of the NYSC scheme since inception shows that its benefits actually outshine its demerits. I share the humble opinion that the scheme should be fortified rather than scrapped, as is being agitated by some interests. The government should look for ways to introduce leadership training, skill and entrepreneurial training into the programme to be able to confront the current economic reality of today. To further serve as a boost to the scheme, the Federal Government should establish small scale businesses that can make participants really self-reliant after their compulsory one year service to the nation.
This remains one of the ways to bolster the interest of Nigerians in the scheme and cut down agitations that it should be scrapped or made optional. In conclusion, NYSC in the last 50 years has been a strong instrument of national integration and cohesion. It has helped to strengthen our togetherness. I give kudos to our past heroes who conceptualised this lofty idea in their intention to invigorate Nigerians’ patriotic spirit. And I believe that, for the labour of these past heroes not to be in vain, the best the current government owes them is to sustain the scheme and make it more responsive in the discharge of its duties for national stability.
By: Dalimore Aluko
Aluko is an online media contributor.
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