THE Nigerian Press, with more than one and half centuries involvement in public affairs, has been a constant predicate of the country's riotous and colourful politics.It is this robustness as it affects the current democratic dispensation especially the eventful eight years rule of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as President of the Republic that Frisky Larr has examined thoroughly in his book, Nigeria's Journalistic Militantism. The book also carries a militant rider: Putting the Facts in Perspective on How the Press Failed Nigeria Setting the Wrong Agenda and Excessively Attacking Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo! This book is part memoir and part academic dissertation. It starts with the explanation of contemporary Nigerian history, from the dawn of amalgamation to the present era. It examines the role of the press especially since the collapse of the First Republic in 1966 when the Nigerian Press remained the only bastion of freedom after the abrogation of representative democracy and the abolition of parliaments both at the Federal and regional levels. A new lease for the press came with the birth of the ill-fated Second Republic when Alhaji Shehu Shagari was elected President of the Republic. According to Larr, that was the era when the struggle between politics and journalism took centre stage in determining the fortunes of the Nigerian Press. According to him, the changed landscape of the print media during the Second Republic was epitomised by the bitter struggle between the Nigerian Tribune, owned by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the National Concord, owned by Chief Moshood Abiola. It is in examining this tedious relationship between the two media institutions that Larr makes some of his disputatious assertions. 'Suddenly, the Nigerian Tribune became a propaganda machine devoted almost exclusively to the advancement of Awolowo's political ambition,' he wrote on page 15. 'It was indeed the foundation stone of the evil that was to plague Nigeria's media landscape several years to come. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, an active politician seeking political office was openly using a news organ as an instrument of choice.' Arrayed against the Tribune based in Ibadan, was the Concord group of newspapers, based in Lagos, with its army of competent and well-heeled professional journalists. Larr's assertion is that since then, Nigerian print media has become hostage to political interest. He stated that though the press played a pivotal role in the battle against military dictatorship, most of its leading members succumbed to the sugar-coated blandishment of politicians once military rule became history. To him, this became more so after President Olusegun Obasanjo voluntarily retired from office and handed over, power to an elected successor, President Umar Musa Yar' Adua. He accused the print media in Nigeria of constituting a lynch-mob to attack Obasanjo after his retirement. He adduced some reasons for this. He said a prime reason for this was because the print media has been largely taken over by politicians and political interests who were hostile to the dominant and dominating influence of the former President. He said many elements in the press were too lazy to find out the truth and when they were confronted with the truth, were too prejudiced to see it. Larr made reference to Reuben Abati's series in The Guardian titled 'Bolekaja Presidency,' which sought to ridicule Obasanjo and what he termed his 'psychological immaturity.' Stated the author on page 133: 'The central theme of Reuben Abati's ever-enthusiastic immersion in personalised abuses and self-righteousness was indeed, nothing else but the psychological deficiency of our number one citizen.'Two other journalists that came under the author's searchlight were Okey Ndibe, a columnist of The Sun and Simon Kolawole, a columnist with the ThisDay newspaper. Stated the author: 'Betraying his sense of malicious joy and spitefulness, which took the professional act of criticism ways too far, Simon Kolawole expressed his joy when Olusegun Obasanjo started suffering persecution in the hands of his own hand-picked successor.' He quoted Kolawole extensively. 'After presiding over a party where treachery was systematically entrenched, he fished out Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and made him his successor. I am very pleased whenever Yar' Adua reverses Obasanjo policies and rubs in the due process mantra very smoothly. Yeah, that is what Obasanjo deserves for his manipulative streak. When Yar' Adua recently described Obasanjo $10 billion expenditure on the power sector as not yielding any result (a euphemism for waste, that is), I am very happy. That is what Obosanjo deserves from his handpicked successor. That is what happens to people who think they can manipulate history and get away with it.' In conclusion, Kolawole declared: 'Right before our very eyes, Obasanjo metamorphosed from a potential great leader to the ultimate poster-boy of anarchy in our land.' It was not just the journalist who were using their poisoned pens to fire at Obasanjo, but they also provided weapons to the former President's opponents to engage in their own target shooting. The author mentioned several instances of this. One of them was Tunde Bakare, a wealthy lawyer and radical Christian priest. The author quoted Bakare on page 134: 'I don't have any personal issue with him (Obasanjo), but I must tell you that with passion, I hate his arrogance and I hate his thinking that he is larger than life because he is just another Nigerian like any other person.'In the same boat with Bakare is the famous professor of economics, Sam Aluko who was economic adviser to the late dictator, General Sani Abacha. The author stated that the respected Professor Aluko said General Abacha was a better ruler than Chief Obasanjo, inspite of the killings and other atrocities of that regime. 'The reason was simple,' stated Larr. 'Sani Abacha listened more to the professor's advice on economic policies than Olusegun Obasanjo did.' If Aluko was rooting for Abacha, General Ibrahim Babangida, who was Nigeria's military dictator for eight turbulent years, also joined the fray and he preferred to root for himself. The author quoted Babangida as saying in a newspaper interview: 'The world is made to believe that my administration institutionalised corruption. Now, we know better who institutionalised corruption. So, I am grateful to God and may be history will eventually vindicate us.' Not done yet, at the 10th anniversary marking the death of General Sani Abacha, Babangida was quoted as saying: 'It is not true that he (Abacha) looted the treasury. I knew who Abacha was because I was close to him.' Babangida was speaking in the company of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and General Muhammadu Buhari who in the past had taken their turns in ruling Nigeria by military fiat just like Abacha did. They all agreed that Abacha was an honourable and honest man and not a corrupt ruler as Obasanjo tried to portray him. Unfortunately for them, that same day, Mr Fabio Baiardi, the Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Switzerland in Abuja, announced at a press conference that Switzerland 'had transferred the first installment of $290 million of Abacha loot to the Federal government in 2005. The second installment of $168 million was transferred on December 19, 2005, while another $40 million was transferred at the end of January 2006.' He declared further: 'Also records available from Stolen Asset Recovery (STAR), a joint initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank, indicate that $505.5 million have been recovered from the Swiss authorities as part of the Abacha loot.'In Larr's opinion, the print media became collaborative in encouraging the Nigerian public to lapse into general amnesia, the type of which is dangerous for democracy. Stated he: 'In the end, the media stood by and watched as Umaru Musa Yar'Adua drew back the hands of the clock in policy reversal and was applauded all the way, by eminent Nigerians like Ibrahim Babangida who craftily blended into the mood of the day and added their own spice to the poisonous broth that exposed the dearth of journalistic intellectualism.' Larr posited that Babangida believes that a weakened Obasanjo would not be able to oppose his bid for the Presidency when it was becoming increasingly clear that President Yar Adua would not be able to seek a second term. Yar Adua eventually died last year. Larr stated that Obasanjo earned the ire of the militant press because of his perceived ambition for a third term in office and also because of his imperial domination of the office of President. To them all the achievements of the Obasanjo Presidency: the consolidation of democracy, the transition of one elected government to another, the creation of EFCC and other institutions, the introduction of GSM, the building of almost 10 new power stations across the country, the liberalisation of the economy and debt forgiveness, the liberalisation of university education, the opening up of media space to private ownership of radio and television stations, the reformation of the banking sector, the reformation of the airline industry and other industries, the restoration of Nigeria's prestige on the international stage; all these paled into insignificance when compared to what they perceived as Obasanjo's domineering attitude, his Napoleonic idiosyncrasies, his famous anger and his suspected ambition for a third term of office.Larr's Nigeria's Journalistic Militantism is a highly opinionated work. He reached the conclusion that the Nigerian print media had become hostage to private interest, private values, private ambitions and private monies. He did not ask whether President Obasanjo too has done enough to help himself, whether the sanctum of government has revealed to the press and the general public enough information about his herculean efforts to turn things around and change Nigeria for the better. In truth, Obasanjo would remain an enigma for a long time. He is like an onion, the more leaves you open, the more that is revealed to you.Though the author stated that his effort was to set the record straight, in his language and verbal missiles, Larr too is as militant as Abati, Ndibe and Kolawole. In his opinion, the journalistic militantism of a section of the Nigerian Press was as a result of the manipulations by Obasanjo political opponents. 'If indeed, the crux of the matter must be addressed, one of the most important crimes committed by Olusegun Obasanjo (without prejudice to the unsolved killing of Bola Ige, etc.) could have been his passionate commitment to dislocating the perpetual grip of the northern mafia on the topmost leadership of Nigeria,' concluded Larr.He believes that the media should make efforts to renew itself and move into a new era of credibility, patriotism and prosperity. 'The ultimate goal in all of these will of course, be set at cleansing the media scene of half-baked ingredients and perpetual political misuse by powerhouses seeking inordinate power-grap in the garden of social psychological manipulations.' This book of 396 pages has glaring flaws. The author had many errors of dates and spelling, like consistently misspelling Babangida's middle-name as Bademasi when his name is Badamasi. He said Giwa was killed on Monday October 20, 1986. No; Giwa was killed on Sunday October 19,1986. He was not sure when Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe's West African Pilot was founded or the correct position of Chief Abiola in ITT. The book has eleven chapters and eleven annexes. This book is bound to stir controversies, more so now that Olusegun Obasanjo, the Balogun of Owu, former chairman of ECOWAS, former Chairman of the Commonwealth of Nations, former Chairman of the Non-Align Nations, former Chairman of the African Union and the longest reigning ruler of Nigeria since the amalgamation of 1914, continues to remain a central figure of controversies. Almost 53 months after he left power, Obasanjo remains the most discussed public figure in the country apart from the President. Despite his harsh words for journalists and his bitter admonitions, Larr has done a good service to the Nigerian Press. He is asking journalists that instead of removing the specks in another person's eye, they should not ignore the log in their own eyes. For once, let them apply their own medicine to themselves. Physician, heal thyself. Let them also turn the searchlight of criticism on the House of the Media. The journalist has a central role to play for the survival of democracy. It is his sacred duty to remain faithful to that creed no matter the terrain and no matter his personal prejudices. The timeless lesson of this great book is the profound admonition that the truth, and only the truth, should be the constant guiding star of journalism. This book is recommended not only to journalists and politicians, but also to those who wants to know the truth about our great country. *Babarinsa was the official reviewer of Nigeria's Journalistic Militantism during its public launching in Lagos last Friday
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