- Former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), in his autobiography, ‘A Journey in Service, reflected on the brutal 1986 assassination of revered investigative journalist, Dele Giwa
- The former leader told Nigerians that the countrys media has had an adversarial attitude towards the government
- A development expert John Andah reacted and said Nigerian leaders have a long-standing allergy to accountability, lamenting that successive governments often mistake calls for accountability as a personal attack
Amid Babangida’s portrayal of Nigerian media, Andah said citizens deserve a government that listens to its people and engages with the press.
Photo credit: Patrick DurandSource: UGCThe hysteria of the media did not help the investigation of the Giwa murder. As is typical of the Nigerian media, the direction was marked by an adversarial attitude towards the government, which had remained the hallmark of the Nigerian media from its colonial heyday.”It was an attitude of we versus the government that has remained today. It is a situation in which the government is adjudged guilty even before the evidence in a case is adduced.Ironically, the media, which should be the government’s trusted compass for truth and transparency, is instead labelled a hostile force or frenemy.History has shown that the Nigerian medias so-called adversarial attitude did not emerge from a vacuum. It was born out of necessity, sharpened by colonial resistance, and refined through years of military rule, censorship, and dictatorship.Babangida’s autobiography generated hostile and trenchant reviews.
Photo credit: @officialABATSource: TwitterRecall that the West African Pilot, founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe, was at the forefront of the nationalist movement, using ink and paper to fight the British colonialists in ways that rifles and bayonets could not. The Nigerian Tribune, established by Obafemi Awolowo, also served as a loudspeaker for self-governance, amplifying the call for an end to foreign rule.Journalists were imprisoned, harassed, and intimidated for speaking truth to power. And this happened long before the name of the fearless Dele Giwa was ever whispered in Nigerian history. The dailies at the time did not just report news; they shaped Nigerias destiny. But, of course, history rarely remembers its true heroes.One thing is clear: the former military presidents criticism of the media echoes a long-standing pattern Nigerian governments repeatedly mistaking calls for accountability as a personal attack.
- ‘How Abacha-led forces allegedly annulled June 12 without my authority’, Babangida explains
- How Abacha plotted to overthrow me, kill Abiola, Babangida narrates
- Mixed reactions as Osinbajo narrates how Babangida installed and removed Buhari, video trends
Falana hits Babangida
