 Published
May 4th, 2010
May 3, 2010 was
World Press Freedom Day. The day
represents an opportunity to commemorate the fundamental
principles of press freedom around the globe and to pay
solemn tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in
the line of duty.
Thomas Jefferson,
the third President of the United States (1801-1809), once
said he would rather have newspapers without government than
government without newspapers. In America they say freedom
of the press is democracy. With more than 100 national,
local, and state-owned newspapers and publications; print
media in Nigeria is one of the most vibrant in all of
Africa. While on a superficial level, it appears the media
in Nigeria enjoy a considerable freedom, in reality however,
independent journalism is not as common as it may appear.
Despite the transition from military to
civilian rule in 1999, clampdown, assault, beatings, unfair
arrests and police raids against producers of print media
has continued. Between June 2002 and September 2003 alone
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a Lagos based nongovernmental
organization which promotes press freedom and freedom of
expression, recorded more than fifty cases of reported
abuses against journalists and other violations of freedom
of expression.
The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders
had just listed Nigeria Police Force as the leading abuser
of journalists’ rights. On
Saturday, April 24, 2010, Edo-Ugbagwu, a
judicial correspondent of The Nation newspapers was murdered
in Lagos. Also, Godwin Agbroko and Abayomi Ogundeji of
Thisday newsapeprs, Omololu Falabi and Bayo Ohu of The
Guardian were all brutally killed in Lagos by unknown gun
men recently.
All these killings and the reluctance of the
national assembly to pass the Freedom of Information Bill
have further raised the question of press freedom once more
in Nigerian democracy. The assault on the press is a
fundamental breach on democratic norms. Proponents of free
press believe it is uncalled for and serves to remind
Nigerians of the dark days of impunity during the Military
era.
Nigeria is operating now as a democracy so
the freedom of expression, including freedom to hold
opinions, receive and impart ideas without interference
should be a fundamental right guaranteed under the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the African Charter On
Human and Peoples Rights, (ACHPR), the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and other regional and
international treaties to which Nigeria is a party.
Moreover, Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria provides:
Every person shall be entitled to freedom to
hold opinions and impart ideas and information without
interference.
There is a reason why press freedom is
included in the Nigerian constitution. The idea behind
freedom of the press is that an informed public has a
fighting chance against any government who will like to
possess complete power over them. According to established
human rights provisions it is quite clear these acts of
intimidation and harassment are unconstitutional, an abuse
of due process, and a negation of the gains so far made in
Nigeria’s fledgling democracy. Democracy flourishes under a
free press. It is a system that provides for the right to
freedom of expression. And it is the foundation upon which
rests other freedoms.
Media owners say that if politics is about
development and the ultimate goal of any political system is
to ensure the improvement of the security and welfare of the
citizenry, then the resort to assault on the Media negates
fundamental rights and the rule of law. It merely
demonstrates impunity, and intolerance to alternatives
views. The brutal murder of Dele Giwa should specially be
remembered this day and the question repeated: who killed
Dele Giwa? The prime suspect in the murder, Ibrahim
Babangida, should be made to answer this question as he
prepares to run for the presidential election.
When it is impossible to retort through the
media, any injustice occurring against the people by those
they supposedly voted in to advance their wellbeing, it
means the country is headed down the road of totalitarian
rule. In the last 10 years since the return of the country
to civilian rule, the Nigerian Press has been under serious
threat by Law enforcement agencies and other government
organizations.
It should be noted that the media in Nigeria
is also tainted with corruption with many journalists
expecting to receive payments before agreeing to report or
not to report an event. Deals are struck with politicians as
in many other countries on whether or how to report an
event. The result of these is that government then has a
level of how media represents an event.
When Channels Television as closed in 2008,
the CEO John Momoh apologized to the government but the
initial suspension of its license over a story on the
purported plan of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s resignation is
a sign of an unspoken threshold beyond which criticism is
not tolerated in Nigeria. (Who knows what that purported
resignation would have been the best of the sick president?)
I’m using this opportunity to call on the
Senate as a matter of necessity to pass the Freedom of
Information Bill (FOIB). The bill will when fully
implemented will assist in strengthening democracy, ensuring
transparency, accountability, good governance and the rule
of law in Nigeria.
All media houses and indeed all Nigerians
must be vigilant, remain resolute, and continue to resist
any attempt to infringe on their constitutional rights. Law
enforcement agencies should also cease the indiscriminate
abuse and violations of the rights of Nigerians. They are
urged instead to be the primary role of providing security
for all and sundry irrespective of their political beliefs.
The place of free press in Nigerian democracy
is a good test of the much-touted rule of law and due
process posturing on the present administration Goodluck
Jonathan.
|
