When I look at what is happening in Kaduna, Cross River and other states, I just thank God for media liberty we have in Abia State.
I went through the tweets of the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai and saw what he wrote to a citizen who opposed his decision on an issue. He said the man should just try and write anything wrongly and kiss his freedom bye.
In these days that tyranny has taken over democracy, I was just glad that I wasn’t there.
Rightly so, many journalists are missing from their respective homes. The likes of Dadiyata, Jalingo and others have lost their freedom because they opposed or even exposed some government details.
But isn’t that what journalism is all about?
A few days ago, BBC shared a documentary on sex for grades by lecturers in a Nigerian and another Ghana universities. Many Nigerians used that opportunity to call out Nigerian journalists that all they give are fake and irrelevant stories. What they didn’t ask was, how many times have these things been exposed with the people seating in power dousing the fire and with little or no reaction from the people?
How many journalists have been killed in their fight for stories and uncovering the truth?
What measures have been taken to protect the journalist on the field?
These days, it seems anything written against the federal government or even aired lands you in prison.
And the journalist should do his/her work no matter the level of threat, right?
You open a go fund me page for BBN participants but cannot raise funds for a journalist in detention, yet, you expect maximum risk and uncovering by the same journalist?
In your chosen profession, how many times have you done things the right way?
As a civil servant, how many houses do you own that comes from only your genuine income? What about the poor workers that you have refused to pay their salaries even after approval has been given and divert their funds?
I can go on and on but the most important thing is, what have you done for this state and country you love so much?
Things are going down, we are running off the rail and we need to step into the right track but it starts with you and me.
Stop blaming journalists, nobody wants to die prematurely.
You can do something though, get off social media and get to work.
