The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lekan Otufodunrin

  • The rot in private universities

    Some Nigerians know how to spoil a good thing and abuse opportunities provided by the government to enhance some sectors.

    If not, how do we explain the rot in private universities which the Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, ( JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede noted while speaking at the opening ceremony of a seminar on private universities in the country.

    According to Oloyede, the government opened up the space for private operators to complement its efforts at providing university education to Nigerians, but it seems like the aim is gradually being defeated.

    “ When you visit some private universities, you will be ashamed for Nigeria. From the structures, you will know that something is wrong. If you take a deeper look, you will discover more decadence and rot in their operations. Some of the proprietors choose to run the universities like a family business and it ought not to be so,” he stated.

    Although the published story on the Oloyede’s alarm on the worrisome state of private universities did not give more details, evidences abound that many of the institutions don’t have what it takes to provide the standard of academic instructions and environment for learning required.

    While the applications for the establishment of private universities are supposed to have been properly scrutinized by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC) before approval by the Federal Executive Council headed by the President, there is no justification for the issuance of licenses to the some operators based on what obtains on some of the supposed campuses as Oloyede rightly noted and many other stakeholders have pointed out in the past.

    It is commendable that some individuals and organisations have taken up the challenge of helping to address the admission deficit in federal and state universities, but it is equally important to ensure that the standards required for such level of education are not lowered.

    To get approval for establishment and accreditation for courses, all manners of manipulation and false claims are involved.  Equipment presented are sometimes rented. Some listed lecturers are not staff of the institutions and some don’t even have the required academic qualifications and years of experience.

    Because of the financial benefits, some lecturers in public universities move from one private university to the other while failing to teach their own students.

    To attract students, many of the private universities can go to any length, even if it means admitting those with lesser qualifications stipulated by the JAMB as long as they can pay their fees. The certificates issued by some of the universities have been subject of controversy considering the limited personel they have.

    In the management of the institutions, many are run at the whims and caprices of their founders who do not have any regard for the rights and privileges of the students and staff.

    Since the summit Professor Oloyede spoke at was organized by the NUC which is the supervising institution for universities in the country, it is necessary that steps are taken to urgently address the apparent devaluation of university education by not only the private universities, but even the public universities, some of which are also guilty of some of the inadequacies.

    If certificates of some of the private universities are to be duly recognized by employers and other institutions, rules and regulations governing the establishment and running of the institutions must be enforced.

    For now, no new license should be issued for private universities out of the ridiculous 303 applications awaiting consideration. Those already approved that have not been able to cope should have their approval withdrawn instead of being allowed to produce half-baked graduates.

  • What is it about political office?

    In the early months of his assumption of office, I was among some editors that met with the out-going governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, for a briefing on his administration’s programmes.

    Amosun’s election was a welcome relief for citizens of the state who were not too particularly pleased with the former Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniels’s political activities which resulted in violence and attacks of perceived enemies.

    I remember asking Amosun what is it about political office that seems to change elected officials from what they used to be before they were elected and makes them to misbehave and refuse to take wise counsel on how to govern their state.

    I noted that the personality of Otunba Daniel before his election gave the citizens of the state a lot of hope when they voted against veteran journalist Chief Segun Osoba. Unfortunately, Daniel turned out to be an emperor who did what pleased him and could not tolerate any contrary views.

    Amosun’s response to my question on the day of the briefing was that whatever the matter is, he would not go the way of his predecessors. He promised to leave a legacy of good governance and be a listening governor.

    I was very impressed when one of his aides said Amosun’s goal in terms of education was to replicate the circumstance that made it possible for the governor to attend a public primary school, secondary school and government higher institution compared with now when private education was the order of the day.

    Eight years after, Amosun is leaving office embattled having failed to get his favourite candidate elected as governor. He definitely would not have won the senatorial election if he had run on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM). He sponsored a gubernatorial candidate and federal and state assembly seats against the All Progressives Congress (APC) on which platform he got elected.

    Even if his candidate, Adekunle Akinlade, had been defeated with one vote by Dapo Abiodun of the APC, the verdict would have been a clear vote of no confidence in the governor who had become law to himself and couldn’t be bothered about what the plight of the citizens of the state is.

    Some of his projects were clearly misplaced priority which explains why a number of them like bridges and model schools are in various stages of abandonment.

    Staff of many government institutions and agencies are being owned salaries, allowances and deductions among other infractions committed by the Amosun government. If he thought his last- minute efforts to woo the people he never reckoned with would make them vote for his candidates, he now knows better that power belongs to God and the people.

    Apart from Amosun, there are many other governors and elected officials who have betrayed the trust of those who voted for them like Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State who also paid dearly for their disregard for the electorate in the last election.

    By their actions, many elected officials have confirmed the saying that power in the hands of those who don’t understand it can indeed corrupt. No sooner do they get into office than they become power hungry and forget that someday their tenure will be over and have to seek re-election for themselves or the candidates they support.

    The political setbacks suffered by Amosun and others should hopefully be a good lesson for other politicians to realise that political office is for service and not for personal aggrandizement.

  • ‘Useless’ Senators

    I hardly get involved in arguments online, on any platform, over any issue, no matter how strongly I feel about something I don’t agree with.

    Online arguments can get messy with one saying what he or she should not say. There have been hot online exchanges that have resulted in enmity between longtime friends.

    People have unfriended themselves, blocked others and exited groups.

    Last Thursday I broke my rule when I questioned a claim in a forwarded message on a WhatsApp group I belonged to. My colleague who forwarded the post did not take kindly to my question mark response to one of the claims in the message and we had to engage in counter arguments all day until some others called for truce the day after.

    Thankfully, the disagreement has been resolved, but I am opting to write about it to stress the need for caution in claims by many persons, some of who should know better.

    In the forwarded post in contention, whoever the originator, who is not my colleague, claimed that Senators who allegedly earn N433,000 daily are useless than other Nigerians who earn pittance.

    I agree that Senators can do better than they have been doing in their legislative duties but I didn’t think it was right to say they are useless despite the bogus salaries they earn. Many of them are accomplished persons in their own rights and indeed have Constitutional roles without which many government policies can’t be implemented.

    While Nigerians may not understand the justification for the salaries the Senators earn, I am of the opinion that knowledgeable persons should help others who may not know or understand the presidential system of government better by appreciating the role of every arm.

    Just as the executive have its role, the legislature and judiciary are equal partners in the administration of the country and cannot be wished away for whatever reason.

    If our Senators are useless as some claim, Nigerians are to blame as they elected them and many of them have been re-elected in the last election.

    Based on the present Constitution we have, we cannot do without Senators. The earlier we get useful Senators, who understand their roles, the better for us as a country, I argued.

    Is their pay commensurate with the work they do or could it be that legislative functions are super tasking in Nigeria than in developed nations? Someone asked.

    My response was that the issue of commensurate pay is not limited to Senators alone. The same could be asked about most elected officials. Same for House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly; and governors and presidents with bogus security votes. The current crop of legislators did not fix their salaries. It was based on what the framers of the laws setting up that arm of government expected to be their roles.

    If Nigerians say what they earn is too much, our present constitution requires that the same Senate will have to amend the laws. Again, let’s not forget that some of the legislators are not poor people. Unfortunately, I don’t know any legislator, APC, PDP or whatever party, that has rejected the pay. It is up to Nigerians to ask for reduction through the Senators!

    My advice to Nigerians is that considering the key role of the Senate and the various legislative houses, we should ensure that the right persons are voted for. Just as we want good president and good governors, we need committed legislators who can pass and initiate bills needed for the overall development of the country and discharge their legislative oversight functions.

  • Kenya, Ethiopia: Far, but close

    Tragedies always seem far away when it happens far from where we live until one remembers that he or she once visited or passed by the location of one tragedy or the other.

    It could have happened while one was there, and it would be close even when it happened far from home.

    Two recent sad incidents, the terrorists attack in a Nairobi hotel and the Ethiopian Airline flying to Nairobi that crashed, really got me thinking about how close they were to me though I was in Lagos when they occurred.

    I don’t live in Nairobi, but Kenya is the country I have travelled to most in my trips outside the country.

    Not only have I been to Kenya many times, I have lodged in DusitD2 hotel where at least 21 persons were killed in an attack and on occasions where I have not been able to fly direct to Nairobi by Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines is usually the option.

    I stumbled on the news of the terrorist’s attack on the day it happened as I was about switching off at midnight and had to spend almost 30 minutes going through the feeds on Twitter to know the full details of the incident.

    I was saddened about the incident which brought back memories of similar attack in 2013 in a shopping mall which also left many persons dead. I have experienced some of the security measures in place to prevent a recurrence of any attack, but the terrorists managed to strike again in the country that is a tourist’s haven.

    The name of the hotel the attack took place sounded familiar, but it wasn’t some days later that I realised it was one of the four hotels I stayed with some colleagues within a week during a media fellowship trip.

    Fiona Marwa, the former Executive Director of the fellowship programme I participated in, confirmed that DusitD2 was indeed the hotel we stayed. She told me two of the victims were the main staff she interacted with while booking our stay and while we were there.

    As I read through some chilling accounts of the attack, I could vividly recall our stay in the high-class hotel during which I was visited by some of my Kenyan friends who I had not been able to meet on previous visits. It turned out that the office of one of them was in one of the malls in the office complex in the hotel where I visited her.

    I remember one of my visitors saying that was his first time in the hotel despite being familiar with major hotels in the capital city. I was really fascinated by the undulating topography of the hotel and took some time to walk round.

    What if the terrorists had struck on that day? What if they did? I was in the hotel with seven other Nigerian editors on the programme. No one would have imagined eight Nigerian journalists caught in such an attack in Nairobi if it had happened. Far, but it could be close.

    Ethiopian Airlines? I prefer flying directly to Nairobi instead of sometimes enduring hours of transit in Addis, but I have been lucky to fly without even any turbulence on the route where the late Professor Pius Adesanmi and other passengers and crew members died. May their souls rest in peace.

    My prayer for Kenya and Ethiopia: Afflictions of these kinds and others will not arise again. We won’t be on the road the day it needs human sacrifice, like Yoruba usually pray.

  • My unforgettable female journalists list

    Although I did not have a female boss in my years in the newsroom, various female journalists and media professionals have played one major role or the other in helping me to achieve my career dreams.

    I definitely cannot name all of them, but in commemoration of the International Women’s Day  (IWD) 2019, I wish to pay tributes to some who I remain grateful for the roles they played at various stages of my professional journey.

    Iyabo Kupoluyi

    I hope I got her surname, which must have changed due to marriage, right. She was a co-intern from The Polytechnic, Ibadan and I from University of Lagos at the defunct National Concord Newspapers in 1984.

    We learnt the rudiments of journalism together and attended ‘left over’ assignments for by-lines.

    When I was reluctant to present our ‘amateur’ stories, she was the one that took them to the News Editor and like it happened on an occasion, we made the back-page lead.

    With Iyabo’s restless companionship, journalism was exciting from the beginning and I got a glimpse of the future the glorious future the profession had for me.

    Patience Akpan Obong

    One of the most memorable reports I filed while I was a correspondent for The Punch in Ogun State was an interview with the first elected female Chairman of a Local Government in the country, Chief Mrs Titilayo Ajanaku

    The inspiration for the interview, beyond the general meeting with journalists, was the call from the then Woman  Editor, Patience Akpan, now an Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society (STS) at Arizona State University . The publication of the interview earned me some accolades and it was one encouragement I needed to conduct more interviews and write special reports in those days when State Correspondents strictly kept to filing news stories.

    My recall to Lagos which was the beginning of my journey up the newsroom ladder was not unconnected with the interview and other features which I was told indicated that I was not just another ordinary reporter to be abandoned in the states.

    Thank you Prof.

    Elaine Wright Colvin

    Up till today, we have never met in person, but my contact with her online in 1998 has made tremendous difference in my Christian media ministry.

    As Founder/Director of the Writers Information Network then, Elaine introduced me to two international media organisations that have given me global exposure and continued professional relevance.

    She registered me free of charge as a member of her network and sent me several editions of WIN Informer Newsletter that widened my horizon about Christian publishing and boosted my network.

    Apart from other trips to London and Kenya, I was in Singapore last November as a speaker at MAI Littworld conference and I just returned from Ghana as a Board of Trustee member of MAI Africa for a planning committee meeting about a conference in November 2019. I have Elaine, who got married the year I was born, to thank for the link that has mattered a lot to my career.

    She is still cheering me up on facebook till today with likes, shares and comments each time I post about my work.

    Julienne Munyaneza

    I still remember the smile on her face in 1987 at the London office of World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) when I introduced myself as a Nigerian seeking to be a member of the association.

    As the Staff Liaison for Africa Region, Julienne, from Rwanda was glad to welcome me after years of desiring to have an active Nigerian member considering the prominent role played by Dr Christopher Kolade who once served as the International President of the association.

    Julienne linked me up with the regional executive and ensured that I was invited to programmes all expenses paid. I currently serve as Secretary of the WACC Africa Region thanks to that warm welcome in London by Julienne that was the beginning of my membership of the association.

    Remi Oyo

    I never worked directly with her in any capacity, but Late Mrs Remi Oyo, former President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) strengthened my faith in the need for capacity development for journalists.

    Most of the time I had the opportunity to chat with her, it was about how journalists can maximise available opportunities which assured me that my desire for the profession was worth all the efforts I was investing which has culminated in the establishment of the Media Career Development Network.

    Rest in Peace my ‘in law’ as she used to call me because I happened to be in same class in University of Lagos with the husband in my undergraduate days. Mr Oyo was already a Manager in Berger Paints when we were classmates!

    Jill Geisler

    One of my career dreams has always been to visit Poynter Institute, a school for journalists in  Florida, United States. It wasn’t until 2012 that the dream was fulfilled thanks to fellowship offered by The Media Project at the Institute.

    Our lead facilitator was Jill Geisler who turned out to be a model for me in my desire to be a media career coach and mentor. Her presentation was all I needed to understand what it really meant to be a coach the newsroom.

    I can’t forget how she spoke about mentoring being willing to ask colleagues in the newsroom “how can I help”. She told us about how one of her former editors used to encourage his staff before the went on air saying “bloom my flowers”

    She explained the distinction between being a coach and a fixer among many other principles that has kept me going in my media career development specialist work.

    I am always inspired to read about her training tours across America and like I once commented on a post, When I grow up, I want to be like you Jill.

    Joke Kujenya

    We come a long way before, when and after she was the only female news editor a national newspaper in the country.

    We share a passion for media career development and in 2002 we teamed up to organise the first Young Journalists Conference whose participants have become top media professionals.

    We have remained soulmates in the task of giving journalists necessary mentoring to excel in their jobs.

    As colleagues in The Nation, she was one of those who gave me the support I needed to succeed as Sunday Editor.

    My sister in the Lord, popularly called JK thank you for making me OK through the years.

    Betty Abbah

    She read one of my Stop Press motivation newsletters and sent me a mail about how she has been encouraged to stay on in the profession despite the challenges she and her colleagues were encountering in the defunct Newswatch magazine.

    Over the years, Betty, an award-winning journalist and foremost gender activist has played major roles in advancing my media projects.

    She has always been a ready resource person at my media trainings and a Board of Trustee member of the Journalists for Christ fellowship I founded.

    All we need to hold JFC’s meeting in Betty’s office whenever our usual venue is not available is a phone call. Drinks and sometimes food are guaranteed.

    One of highlights of my profile is my membership of the Board of Trustee of Betty’s NGO, CEEHOPE.

    Thank you for the continued trust in Uncle Lakan.

    Motunrayo Alaka

    If there is someone that should be ‘blamed’ for my surprised exit from the newsroom to become a full-time media career development, it should be the Centre Coordinator of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism. Mrs Motunrayo ‘Intentional’ Alaka.

    More than any other person, she has given me all the opportunities and encouragement I needed to test run my mentoring, coaching and facilitating skills.

    Courtesy of Motunrayo, I have among others training programmes being a mentor to 33 amazing female journalists on the Female Reporters Leadership Programme (FRLP) from across the country and Ghana.

    The FRLP fellows and participants in WSCIJ programmes have enriched my network in the media and experience and I remain eternally grateful to Mrs ‘Intentional’ (her regular key word for address issues) who in my moments of my worry about taking the final decision to take the ultimate plunge into Media Mentoring and Coaching assured me I will be ‘fine’

    You right. All is well and I am glad, I can always count on you.

    Yemisi Otufodunrin

    Hmmm.. baby girl of yesterday, expected journalist turned accountant but with digital ink flowing in her blood.

    She has taught Daddy many things about scaling up his analogue media practice and being business-like with his skills.

    Our numerous discussions on modern media practice resulted in a book I titled New Age ‘Journalism’ Conversation with my Daughter (What I am learning, and you can learn from a digital native).

    Until she resumed in her present work place, she proudly offered to serve as a staff of Media Career Service and prepared ground for the smooth take-off of Media Career Development Network.

    She remains MCDN remote staff and keeps sharing necessary ideas and suggestions in accordance with the checklist we drew up together before now. Without any prompting I can trust Yemisi to despite her busy schedule send me an excellent graphic design of any major programme I plan to hold.

    People ask me if I pay her for her numerous services. It will interest them to know that I have instructed KPMG to pay on my behalf.

    Thank you Omo Daddy to sharp!

    Jennifer Ehidiamen

    Helper of my media vision. She helped me to fulfil my dream of having a real youth write a youth column the Sunday Nation when I was editor.

    She saw the future in Media Career Development Network and never ceased to support in every way possible; Idea sourcing and sharing, books to read and the design of the first www.mediacareerng.org

    She has also been there for Journalists for Christ with her active participation and continued support.

    Not even her relocation outside the country has stopped her from seeking for MCDN to take its rightful place in media development, not only in Nigeria but in the continent.

    Her response to the registration and take off MCDN is indicative of her joy of seeing her desire come true….”Woohoo! Greater things here and ahead. Congratulations.” I feel your heart leap for joy for what we laboured together for through the years.

    Thank you Jennifer for not despising the days of little beginning.

    Toyosi Ogunseye

    I have lost count of how many times I have written or spoken about her career exploits.

    I first met her when she came to drop her application for the Young Journalist Award in 2014 while still a student and freelancer for Sun Newspaper.

    Her record-breaking accomplishments has remained for me a good example to always cite at every opportunity I get to talk about maximising media career development opportunities.

    In her attestation in my book Becoming the Journalist You Ought To Be, Toyosi wrote about me “ He has remained a source of encouragement through the years”

    The Head of BBC West Africa also remains my own Woman Crush journalist.

    I am a Bloomberg ALI Media Fellow today because Toyosi agreed to recommend me for the fellowship.

    Thank you for confirming that excellence journalism is not about how long, but how well.

    Ronke Otufodunrin

    Ronkusbaby. The main woman. Where do I start from? Let me do from the very beginning. From the blind date that brought her my way when she was a Mass Communication in Abeokuta.

    Apart from God, her love, care understanding, and support are the secrets of whatever I have accomplished in journalism. She has always been there for me through thick and thin.

    Journalism can be soul-wrenching, but my Ronksubaby has kept me going from one adventure to the other, no matter the outcome.

    The dedication of one book I once read was “ To those who marry journalists, they have my deepest sympathy”. Ronkusbaby does not need the sympathy of the author, she understands what it takes to be the wife of a journalists who someone once said has an ‘infectious love’ for journalism.

    Thank you my dear. Thank for your prayers, thank you making it possible to be the Journalist I really want to be.

  • Waking up from our slumber

    After two days of staying in a hotel in Accra, Ghana, last Wednesday and Thursday, I suddenly realised that I had not experienced any moment of black out or heard the sound of a generator. This was strange to me considering what I am used to in Nigeria.

    In the best of hotels I had stayed in my country, some of which are better than the one I was in Ghana, you can’t miss the sight or the humming of giant generators. Even if you don’t see or hear the sound of generator, you will surly notice the changeovers when public electricity goes off.

    Some hotels are permanently on generators during the day to avoid the embarrassment of light-out which could give them a bad image.

    Does my experience at the Ghana hotel mean that light does not go off in Ghana? No. It does; and in fact, the hotels have generators. What is apparent is that the frequency is not in anyway compared to what we have in Nigeria where ownership of generators by individuals and organisations is a prerequisite for having power supply as regularly as you want.

    When I told one of my hosts of the claim in Nigeria that Ghanaians enjoy 24-hour power supply, he laughed and noted that Nigerians rate their country too high than it is. According to him, they also have their own infrastructural challenges which they are demanding that the government should address.

    If Ghana, whose size and economy is not comparable to our country, has some things that give the world, including Nigerians, the impression that it is a better governed country than ours, we must demand better conditions of living than we currently have.

    The new Kotoka International Airport terminal is another example of why we cannot but insist that governments at all levels in the country live up to expectations. Compared with the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, the Kotoka is way ahead in terms of the elegance, facilities and services available to travellers.

    The Ghana airport reminded me of the Singapore airport I passed through late last year. On my return on Friday, the environment of the airport was as untidy as usual. The waiting section for arriving passengers outside the airport, not only have some pool of rainwater, but it was littered with cigarette stubs. Where I sat on arrival in Ghana while waiting for my host was as welcoming as it should be.

    While I join in congratulating President Muhammadu Buhari on his re-election, I wish to urge him to really do his best to take our country to the next level as promised during the campaigns.

    Those of us who complain about what we don’t like about our country are not enemies of the government, what we are asking for are basic things that can be achieved if the government comes up with the right policies and ensures their implementation.

    It is a shame that we have to compare our country with countries that do not have the resources and manpower we have. How do we explain that Nigerians are being deported from Ghana? Why are we usually the butt of jokes by other African countries as being big for nothing?

    We can’t afford to remain the sleeping giant which we have always been. It’s time to wake up from our slumber and take our rightful place not only on the continent, but globally.

  • Curbing fake news epidemic

    Originators of fake news got one of their all-time best attention during the week with the reported alleged resignation of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    The Special Assistant on Media to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, had to issue a statement to deny the report which was based on Osinbajo’s absence at a security meeting held with service chiefs and other top government officials by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Even after the denial, the purveyors of the fake report were still sharing supposed quotes by Osinbajo that led to his resignation.

    Typically with fake news, like the one about Osinbajo, the writers usually have an ulterior motive, which is to deliberately misinform readers. I can’t imagine why anyone will falsely claim that after his whirlwind travels across the country for the APC presidential campaigns, during which he survived an crash,  the vice president will suddenly resign,  but for outright mischief.

    While Osinbajo can easily deny the report about him and avoid any unnecessary tension that it can generate, many other fake reports have remained reference points as ‘truth’ by those who believe them.

    Such is the level that dissemination of fake news has reached, no thanks to the availability of many online platforms; that it is sometimes difficult to know what to believe. How can one know a report is fake when they are attributed to the right person who is supposed to make such a statement, but who might not have made such statements?

    How is a reader supposed to know a fake report with sometimes logical quotes to back a pronouncement?

    As difficult as it may be sometimes, it is necessary for readers to be more discerning about what they accept as true reports. In an age when virtually anyone can disseminate information without subjecting them to necessary checks, what we have on our hands is an epidemic of fake news that is here to stay because of the intentions of those who church them out.

    Apart from the unimaginable consequences of the spread of fake news, what is also worrisome is that they are easily believed by gullible members of the public who sometimes wish that the fake news is true.

    This epidemic constitutes a great danger which like in other parts of the world requires conscious efforts to curb it. It is commendable that the federal government has launched a crusade against the spread of false news, but government officials and its supporters should avoid engaging in the spread of false news themselves like they sometimes do.

    Having realised that false news has become common, the public now have to know credible platforms and sources for getting their information. Some platforms have become notorious for sharing false information and they must be avoided by anyone who does not want to be deceived.

    Major or sensitive information from unverifiable sources, usually forwarded on whatapp, facebook and other social media platforms, should not be taken seriously unless they are confirmed from by reliable media organisations. It doesn’t matter if such reports have gone viral online, what is necessary is that they are confirmed by the right authorities.

    Spreading false news is a crime and those who engaged in it should be ready to be penalised when they are caught. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

  • The leaders we need

    As we prepare for the general elections commencing with the votes for the presidential candidates on February 16, it is important for Nigerians to really make their votes count. For whatever it is worth, voters must see the election as an opportunity to decide on the kind of leaders we should have at all levels.

    Making their votes count means voting for candidates based on their antecedents and what they have the capacity to do. There is no point voting blindly for candidates based on the political parties they belong to.

    Every candidate should be assessed on their individual merit to ensure that only those who know what it is required to hold public office are given the opportunity.

    One major reason why we have not made the progress we should have made as a country is that voting has been based on all kinds of sentiments which have nothing to do with being the right persons for the onerous task of ensuring good governance.

    The process of choosing candidates is such that the best candidates don’t even get the opportunity to bid for the various posts. Without having deep pockets and the backing of some god fathers, many candidates who really want to serve the people don’t get the chance to do so.

    They are denied the tickets even when in some instances they win the primaries and are frustrated by the questionable electoral process. When some of them opt for other parties to fulfil their ambitions, the electorate who should know better don’t vote for them.

    Consequently, when those who are clearly unprepared for the office they were elected for or lack the capacity for their office fail to live up to expectations, the voters who had the chance of not voting for them are the first to lament.

    After the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to participate in the presidential debate, my response was that Nigerians deserve the kind of leaders they have been getting.

    While participation in a debate is not enough basis for determining the suitability of a candidate, I don’t understand why candidates who respect the voters should not feel compelled to explain their manifestoes and answer questions agitating the minds of the people at such important forum.

    The issues thrown up by some of the responses of some of the candidates at some of the debates and interviews confirm the need for candidates to be subjected to necessary scrutiny about the quality of their thoughts, understanding of the requirements of the offices they seek to occupy and their past misdeeds.

    How do we justify electing political office holders who abuse their offices with reckless abandon and are not afraid of being recalled by the electorate as provided for in the Constitution? After a disappointing first term, they not only get re-elected, they handpick candidates for other positions.

    If the country is to make the desired progress which Nigerians are clamouring for, there is need to ensure that only the right persons get elected.

    The leaders we need are those who have solutions to the myriads of problems that have continued to bedevil the country. We need leaders who are not seeking office for what they can appropriate to themselves and their cronies, but those who are ready to make the needed sacrifices to improve the standard of living of the masses.

    We need principled leaders who are ready to offer credible alternative when the need arises and not those who move from one party to the other for personal benefits.

  • 2019 elections: Lessons from 2015 coverage

    After the 2015 general elections, I wrote a piece titled 10 lessons from coverage of the election on the salient issues I thought journalists should take note of, reflect on and take necessary steps to enhance their career.

    I was particularly worried that some media houses and individual journalists were not as professional as they should be in covering the election which turned out to be anti-climax of a sort with former President Goodluck Jonathan conceding defeat even before the final result was announced.

    In the run up to the February election, I am compelled to remind the media of some of the observations I made then which are still relevant based on media coverage so far.

    Two of the issues I drew attention to in 2015 are reproduced below.

    Politicians are not worth fighting for

    One of the very disturbing trends in the campaign for the elections was the disagreement between journalists over who they supported for the presidency. Instead of respecting the rights of everyone to support the candidates they preferred for whatever reasons, journalists engaged in bitter exchanges on social media over one another’s choices. They engaged in all kinds of name-calling and abuses, and in some extreme cases, deleted friends and colleagues from their Facebook pages. While the main presidential candidates were busy signing peace agreements and respecting the terms after the election, journalists who should be impartial umpires remained ‘sworn enemies’. Journalists can disagree over position on any issue but it does not have to degenerate to the level where it is worse than that of politicians.

    Objectivity still matters

    The Code of Ethics for journalists requires that they should be fair and objective in their reporting. There was even an election coverage code which stressed the need not to give parties and candidates undue advantage over others. Unfortunately, many media organisations and journalists failed abysmally on this score. Some took sides and wrote as if they were members of the publicity teams of the parties. I am not unaware of the challenge of protecting the interests of owners of media organisations, but some publications and broadcasts did not have to be as blatantly partisan as they did. Media audience knows when journalists are not objective and fair in our reporting and analyses. They know those who are hatchet writers in newspapers owned by politicians. Long after elections, partisan journalists will have to live with their bad reputation.

    Quality of planning required

    I have no doubt that every media organisation planned for the coverage of the election in one way or another. What I am not sure of is the quality and extent of planning each organisation made. What was, however, evident from the coverage by the various organisations was that while some had excellent coverage, others did not rise above the average standard we are used to. Virtually everyone that mattered, including INEC officials, police commissioners, candidates, state governors and other eminent personalities across the country was interviewed either in the studio or through telephone and Skype in order to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage.

    With just about two weeks to the presidential election, there is still time for media organisations and journalists to review their coverage so far and make amends where necessary.

    The election promises to be keenly contested at all levels and the media has a major role to play in ensuring that our coverage contributes to the country having a free, fair and peaceful exercise.