FG’s rejection of World Press Freedom Index
Over the years, Nigeria has earned the reputation as one of the most dangerous and difficult places for journalists to practise in Africa. In the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, for instance, the country ranked 120th out of 180 countries assessed. This is why the international non-governmental organisation, Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), described the country as one of Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who were often spied on, arbitrarily arrested, attacked or even killed.
To the Federal Government, the assessment is unfounded and has no scientific basis. Speaking when the executive members of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI) paid him a visit in Abuja recently, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reportedly said Nigerian press was among the freest and most vibrant in the world.
Apparently referring to a national newspaper, which addresses President Muhammdu Buhari by his military title, Mohammed said: “After all, this must be one of the very few countries in the world where a section of the media can refuse to recognise popular sovereignty, or how does one describe a situation in which a President who was duly elected by millions of Nigerians is willfully stripped of that title, President, and then cheekily cloaked in the garb of a dictator by playing up his military title?”
It has become customary for the minister to disparage any negative report against Nigeria no matter how true and then dress the country in a borrowed garb. He did it when the corruption perception index, for instance, returned a negative perception index on Nigeria recently. The point is that there is a grain of truth about the press freedom index. Though the situation is better than what we had under the military era, the report is a true reflection of the situation in the country. Living in denial will not obliterate what is obvious. Rather than disparage the report, government should learn a lesson or two from it.
For instance, journalists such as Agba Jalingo (publisher of online CrossRiverWatch), Steven Kefas (a freelance journalist and strong critic of Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State) and Jones Abiri (publisher of the Bayelsa-based Weekly Source newspaper) suffered humiliation and detention a few years back for airing their views on some issues which the powers that be considered offensive.
Moreover, there have been attempts by the Federal Government to enact anti-media laws and gag the press. Though we now have freedom of information law, politicians and government officials, sometimes, resort to the 2015 cyber crime law to deal with journalists. On certain occasions, Lai Mohammed had spoken of the need for the country to regulate the social media. Last year, he reportedly urged the National Assembly to grant full regulatory powers to government over internet broadcasting and all online media outfits. Also last year, the Federal Government banned the operations of the micro-blogging site, Twitter, in Nigeria. Twitter had removed a post by President Buhari which it considered offensive. Some media houses have also been sanctioned at one point or the other. In 2019, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) sanctioned DAAR Communications Plc, owners of Africa Independent Television (AIT), and Raypower radio station, for what it called divisive and inciting comments in discussion of national issues. In 2020, the NBC imposed a N5 million fine on Nigeria Info 99.3FM for interviewing the late former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia. In April 2021, the NBC warned Channels TV for interviewing the spokesman of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
No doubt, democracy without a free press is antithetical to good governance. Government cannot resort to self-help. The courts are there to adjudicate on any matter concerning abuse of press freedom. There are some other institutional mechanisms that aggrieved individuals can resort to if their rights are trampled upon by the press.
It is worthy to note that Section 22 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) spells out the role of the media in Nigeria’s democracy. Among others, the Constitution empowers the media to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people without any encumbrance. What this means is that media is a watchdog. Any attempt to gag it is unacceptable and will always boomerang. What the Nigerian press is going through is against the dictates of the constitution. It is also against the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Besides, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution stipulates that every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference. Though Nigeria is better than some other African countries, comparatively speaking, we should always strive to do better because when the media is silenced, democracy suffers.
