A case for investigative journalism

updated: Tuesday 08-07-2008

Chief Dayo DuyileIn this abridged address which he delivered at the recent launch of Reporting the Legislature and Politics in Nigeria, Public Relations Practice and Makers of Nigerian Press, all written by Chief Dayo Duyile, veteran journalist, Haj Alade Odunewu, OFR, highlights why the Nigerian media need to emphasise investigative journalism.

I do sincerely hope that other Nigerian journalists, particularly the breed referred to as veterans of the profession will follow the Duyile example and put down their thoughts on various aspects of the profession in book form as they get older. In this connection, permit me to digress a bit by inviting attention to an important area of the profession which appears to have been relegated to the background particularly at a time when it is most needed for the good health of journalism practice.

I refer to ‘investigative journalism’. Three weeks ago or so, I was privileged to attend the ‘Wole Soyinka Award Ceremony For Investigative Reporting’ as a special guest. I left the ceremony highly impressed by what I saw. We viewed the screening of an investigative reporting titled In The Name Of The Police where Channels Television’s Deji Badmus blew the lid off the massive fraud which had tainted the Police Equipment Fund. And there was THISDAY newspaper’s Funsho Muraina incisive pieces on the Iyabo Obasanjo saga. In order to buttress my case for the need for investigative reporting, I want us to take a cursory look at the Nigerian nation. What does the picture show as we speak? What does the future portend?

Nigeria today exists by the grace of generators which by the way, the banks provide through generous loan facilities for the citizens mass suicide through explosions and pollution. We walk about in complete darkness. Cynism has taken over from optimism. You can read frustration and despair on the faces of the citizens as they pour out of the dungeons they call home on daily basis. The present is bleak, the future is uncertain. The people are hungry and angry. We have been consistently deceived and mercilessly short­changed about our capability to provide light and other sinews of welfare.The burden on the citizens continues to mount. He is his own electricity supplier; he is his own scavenger, supplier of water, he is his own water reservoir, his own security guard at home, on the street, at work. He lives a whole day of stressful life.We have gone through the crisis of rising expectations and diminishing fulfilment democracy has had, at best stunted growth.

Despite our great human and material resources, our rulers have not been able to fulfil the legitimate expectations of the citizens. Nigeria has been left to drift. I want us to note that we are a nation that rarely protest - we simply grumble behind the curtain and bear our woes calmly and even adore the hand that gives the blow. Docility is the word. But we can excuse John Citizen for being docile, not the peoples watch-dog, not the press with its exceptional privilege of speaking and therefore must not be seen as taking refuge in passivity, or in cold complicity and indifference.

Distinguished guests, you would have noticed that we have lately been witnesses to what, for lack of better description, I call a ‘Festival of Probes’ in the National Assembly, all of which continue to expose high profile looting, greed and thievery in high places. This should not surprise you. The background to the perfidy has to do with the perception politicians in developing world have of public office and stewardship. In developing countries, it has been said, politics is concerned with sharing out a pitifully small national cake. The government is the only substantial employer and the output of school leavers continually outstrips the number of new jobs available. This makes politics a ruthless affair. Public office means a livelihood not only for the politician but for his extended family and beyond that; his village, town and tribe. Political leadership in the eyes of ordinary Nigerian has therefore become synonymous with looting, theft; and economic decline.

If our newspapers have had in place a unit called ‘Investigation Desk’, where muckraking is actively encouraged and funded, most of the stealing that virtually grounded the social order, with it all the sinews of welfare for the citizens, would have been exposed by reporters trained for the job. There is unfortunately the absence of in-depth probing and research in our newsrooms. Instead, what we have is heavy concentration on opinion writing. Everyone wants to be a columnist, a Candido, a John West, Reuben Abati, etc because it is believed that column writing is the surest route to media fame. The new generation of newspaper men and women never heard of the expose on the Ijora Land deal of the First Republic involving a Federal Minister, spearheaded by the one and only Aiyekoto - Bisi Onabanjo himself.

Investigative reporting exposes tin gods and clay­footed leadership. Didn’t we hear of Watergate and the subsequent fall of a President all of which is a product of investigative reporting? What about the current one: The Dark Side af Camelol by Serymous Hersh, one of .America’s premier investigative reporters. The Dark Side of Camelol is indeed the dark side of President John Kennedy - it is about corruption, about election rigging, it is about sex in high places, about money, about bribery, it is about crime and the blue print for the assassination of foreign country leaders, not friendly with Washington. The current confessions at the National Assembly is nothing but testimonies of failure to perform. Nigeria is about the only country where politicians, pronounced as common felons go to church for elaborate thanksgiving for successfully hoodwinking the citizens and massively stealing their money, with the state aiding and abetting through a euphemism called plea bargaining or soft landing.

A few of you will recall that the Unity Party of Nigeria Governors who received gargantuan jail sentences many years ago were convicted for enriching their parties. Today’s erring governors who used their loots to purchase jets and choice apartments abroad receive the punishment that belongs to the stone age when the rules governing transparency and accountability in public life was something of a tit for tat . If a public officer dips his hands into the treasury and makes away with public funds, the tax payer who is the lawful owner of the money is supposed to be assuaged by asking the thief to make a refund, go home and steal no more.

Finally, let me remind our colleagues that those who engage in investigative reporting must bear in mind that it is not the job for the lazy drone. It requires painstaking thoroughness. Media credibility is crucial for public patronage. Without credibility the media cannot attract goodwill and no industry survives without goodwill. Professional ethics and indeed the survival of the media demands that they should be consistently reliable in the news they publish; they must stick to the three A’s: adequacy, accuracy, acceptability.

‘We want more from politicians’

Lawal,
author of the book At the public presentation of two political plays recently, Nigerians declared that they want politicians to prioritise service.

HAS the mandate given by Nigerians to politicians translated into dividends of democ racy? Are Nigerian politicians altruistic or merely profess service? Since the current democratic dispensation began in 1999, has democracy thrived in Nigeria?

These questions and more were what Nigerians sought answers to recently at the presentation of two political plays entitled The Mandate and The Councillor written by Hammed Olutoba Lawal, a journalist and theatre arts lecturer at the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo. At the event held at the Assembly Hall, South campus of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, hard knocks were given to politicians for prioritising personal aggrandizement instead of the public good.

Former president of the Campaign for Democracy and convener, Voters’ Assembly, Comrade Moshood Erubami, in an address at the occasion, stated that the mandate Nigerians gave to elected public officials has translated into a means of feathering their own nests. He declared that Nigerians won’t enjoy democratic dividends because what is being practiced in Nigeria is not democracy. Erubami criticised the soon-to-begin electoral reform effort, noting that it is when politicians abuse the constitution that they call for electoral reforms. He further declared that it is politicians that have always violated the constitution and that electoral reforms have not always been effective in Nigeria. The human rights activist said that with the unending reforms, Nigerians lose sight of the basic challenge of developing politically and enjoying good governance.

Also speaking at the event, the Olugbon of Orile-Igbon, Oyo State, Oba Adegboyega Osunbade, said the decision of a cabal to control the resources of the nation is the cause of the nation’s problems. Like Erubami, the king noted that Nigeria no longer has altruistic politicians, but unlike the diminutive activitst, he enjoined the audience to air their views on the electoral reform. Citing the example of former US President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the king advised politicians to shun avarice and prioritse service. He further noted that the book is a timely commentary on Nigerian politics just as he enjoined Nigerians to always speak truth to power. In an earlier address at the event where one of the two plays, The Councillor, was staged, chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Adeseun commended the author for his industry and humility. He noted that Nigerians will benefit from the instructive plays.

The columnist and member, editorial board of the Nigerian Tribune, Mr. Nosa Osaigbovo, equally had kind words for the author. He described Lawal as hardworking, tenacious, compassionate, honest and a good mixer, Osaigbovo disclosed that when the author joined the Sketch newspaper as a reporter, he found him very competent and eager to learn. He revealed further that unlike his colleagues, Lawal always put in his best and went the extra-mile in doing stories assigned to him. The renowned columnist noted that when Lawal moved to lecturing following the closure of the Sketch newspapers, the Nigerian media lost a gem.

Dr. Remi Adedokun, a senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Ibadan, spoke in the same vein. He disclosed that Lawal who is working on his PhD thesis, is a good and committed student and that he is not surprised he has delved into publishing. In his review of the book, Jare Ajayi, publisher of a community newspaper, the Oloye News, said the plots of the plays were motivated by post June 12, 1993 election crisis and Nigeria’s convoluted electoral process since then. He commended the author’s effort just as he highlighted flaws the author should correct in the next edition of the book. The author, in his remarks at the occasion, said he felt humbled and prayed for the success of the guests for honouring him.