By Dele Alake and Bayo Onanuga

It is laughably tragic that the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY and Arise News Television, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, has the temerity to pretend to be a guardian of public morality in contemporary Nigerian media practice.

The fact that this character is an unscrupulous hustler and blackmailer who has done tremendous damage to the journalism profession in the country, is well known within and beyond the profession.

Hiding under his media houses so-called Boards of Editors, Obaigbena, who is one of the most irresponsible media owners in the country, with scant regard for corporate good governance and ethics,  issued a statement Monday accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, and Adviser, Media and Strategic Communication, Mr. Dele Alake of attempting to silence independent media and bully the press ahead of next year’s general election.

This allegation is baseless.

The statement published on the front page of THISDAY is illustrative of the penchant of  the two media houses under Obaigbena’s corrupting influence to peddle falsehood and engage in brazen political partisanship, contrary to the ethics of journalism practice.

It is instructive that Obaigbena’s media group is isolated in making this frivolous allegation against us. Not only does THISDAY newspaper publish unfounded rumours masquerading as truth, many of its columnists substitute vile and vulgar abuse for sound logic and informed analyses while its television anchors heckle and harass their guests, particularly those of the APC in their jaundiced, flagrantly unprofessional programmes.

We recall that both THISDAY and ARISE Television sought to bully and compel the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, into attending its Town Hall meetings with presidential candidates, despite the media team’s explanation that it would not attend such programmes organised in a haphazard and uncoordinated manner by individual media houses.

Each candidate’s campaign team has the right to adopt its own strategies for reaching out to and interacting with Nigerians. As we have repeatedly said, the Tinubu campaign will not succumb to the blackmail, intimidation and harassment of Obaigbena and his media group.

THISDAY’s attempt in the said statement to justify its false news report on the purported death of one Mueez Adegboyega Akande and the attempt to insinuate mischievously that he died in suspicious circumstances failed abysmally. Rather than apologise for this professional lapse, it resorts to tendentious rationalisations. Its futile attempt to link Asiwaju Tinubu to a drug case in the United States, even when as far back as 2003, the United States government had categorically stated that the candidate has no criminal records in that country, shows the depths of mischief the newspaper is willing to descend  in its bid to bring down the APC candidate at all costs. This campaign of calumny is doomed to fail as it always has.

Our candidate is focused and will not be distracted by this diversionary tactics to throw mud at him simply because he is the obvious front runner in this race and some believe that the only way to stop him is to peddle falsehood against him.

While pretending to be a public trust, THISDAY and ARISE descend into the political arena by publishing lies in a way that does such a great disservice to journalism. Last month the paper was sanctioned by NBC over a fake report that INEC had ordered a probe of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the platforms’ equally fake narrative about our candidate.

Nduka Obaigbena tries to cast aspersion on the professional and personal integrity of Mr. Alake and Mr. Onanuga. They stand on a higher moral and professional pedestal than he can ever aspire to. It is astonishing that a man like Obaigbena can even pretend to be protecting public morality and the public interest. How does this media owner run his media outfits? He is notorious for not paying the salaries of his staff or fulfilling his pensions’ obligations,  forcing most of the journalists in his stable to resort to the most unethical practices to survive. This model of media practice, which he exported to South Africa in 2003-2004,  failed spectacularly as he had to flee that country as a result of his unethical business practices. His short-lived THISDAY left unpaid debts to staff and the printers and the South African tax office.

He exported the same irresponsible business practice to  the UK where he operated his Arise TV as a registered company since 2012.  In 2021, judge Raquel Agnello disqualified Obaigbena from serving as a company director in the UK for seven years; in a case brought by the official receiver of the  Insolvency Office in the country.

The application for disqualification was made under Section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and arose from the compulsory liquidation of Arise Networks Ltd of which Obaigbena was the sole director since its incorporation.

According to the judgment, the company by 2016 had garnered a total debt of £25,671,167, which included debt to trade creditors and staff, estimated at £5,850,730.

Judge Agnello found Obaigbena’s  conduct as sole director of Arise TV to be unfit and that the company had continued to trade despite “complete uncertainty” about its funding.

In Nigeria, Obaigbena is notorious for owing his staff their salaries. He is also notorious for owning  newsprint suppliers for years without payment. This sharp practice led to the ill-health of one of his suppliers, Afilaka, who suffered massive stroke.

While we were known to have endangered our lives in the struggle against military dictatorship and the enthronement of the democracy we enjoy today, Obaigbena was known to have collected substantial sums of money from the military junta to campaign against the June 12, 1993 elections,  widely acknowledged as the freest and fairest polls in the country’s history. He even featured on the CNN to justify the annulment of the election and the continuation of military dictatorship. Yet, this man dares to preach on public morality and the national interest. He even claims that we are envious of him! How preposterous!! Here is a publisher who deployed his media group in aid of the immoral and illegal  presidential ambition of a sitting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), even when this flagrantly violated and threatened the integrity of that critical institution.

It is absurd when Obaigbena uses his media outfits to push the false narrative of Tinubu’s link with narcotics in the US, when a member of his Board of Editors and Arise TV anchor, Dr. Reuben Abati, was a running mate in 2019 to the governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State, the late Senator Buruji Kashamu; a man who had been indicted for narcotics trafficking in the US and was a fugitive from the laws of that country until his death. The same Abati remains a card carrying member of the PDP and yet, shamelessly pontificates and postures on ARISE TV as a dispassionate analyst.

Lest it be forgotten, Abati  was Media Adviser  to former President Goodluck Jonathan and was detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2015 for reportedly collecting N500 million from ex – National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki purportedly on behalf of the media.

Obaigbena himself was detained for weeks and made to refund N600 million  by the EFCC, which was part of the diverted funds for arms purchase for the Nigerian military under Jonathan. Obaigbena as president of NPAN also collected millions of Naira meant as compensation for the media owners whose papers were seized by overzealous security agents during the Jonathan presidency. Many newspapers reported that they did not get the money.

It is a sad commentary on the state of the Nigerian media that a man with no moral scruples whatsoever like Obaigbena will boldly pose as a publisher who can preach morality to others.

Here is a man who has done such grave damage to media practice in Nigeria, posturing as defender of free speech.

Unless media practitioners begin to treat him like the plague and cancer he constitutes to the industry, the future of the industry will be endangered.

It is well known that many private sector corporate executives pay him huge sums of money as retainership to avoid being blackmailed by him. It is also a pity that many of the journalists who work as his employees pose as self-righteous saints who criticise others and keep mum on the unhidden moral deficits and shenanigans of their boss.

• Alake, Adviser, Media and Strategic Communication, and Onanuga, Director of Media and Publicity, sent the statement on behalf of All Progressives Congress (APC) Media and Communication Directorate

• Wins Editor of the Year, three others

The Nation’s industry leadership and class were reaffirmed on Sunday night.

Your favourite daily was named Newspaper of the Year at the 31st edition of the esteemed Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).

It trumped The Punch and The Guardian, who were the other nominees in the category.

The Nation Editor, Adeniyi Adesina, won the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) prize for Editor of the Year at the event held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos.

This newspaper had the most nominations on the night with 10, scoring the most points to be declared the best in the land.

It was a continuation of a winning streak by our journalists.

Only two weeks ago, this newspaper won 15 honours at the 30th edition of the Nigeria Media Merit Awards (NMMA).

The haul of 15 NMMA honours was six more than the next contender.

On a night in which The Nation shone again, serial winner Kunle Akinrinade won the DAME Investigating Reporting prize.

He secured the laurel with his five-part story: How soldiers escort herdsmen to Ogun villages, flog residents for rejecting herders.

It was an account of the herder-farmer conflict in Yewa part of Ogun State.

The story captures the poor handling of the issue by the government, resulting in deaths, destruction of homes and displacements across borders.

Akinrinade beat Ajibola Amzat of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and Ibrahim Adeyemi of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) to the honour.

Our Health Correspondent, Moses Emorinken, was named winner of the Child-Friendly category, with a story entitled: Ensuring no child dies of preventable diseases. It was sponsored by UNICEF and the NGE.
The story is an analysis of how child immunisation progressively dropped from 2019 through the first quarter of 2021, raising fears that the gains of past public health campaigns may be frittered away.

The Nation’s Gboyega Alaka was a runner-up in the category, with the entry: Our battled with down syndrome.

Adetola Bademosi of the Nigerian Tribune was the other nominee in the category.

Our third honour in the reporting categories went to Taiwo Alimi, who won the Nestle Prize for Nutrition Reporting.

His entry: Poisonous junk! Fast Food exposes more Nigerians to heart diseases, delves into how trans fatty acids fueled by cheap imported oils in diets stoke cardiovascular ailments, and why regulatory authorities need to hasten safety responses.

Multi-award winner, Assistant Editor Innocent Duru, was a runner-up in the category, with the entry: Mom, your breast has no milk.

Deji Lambo of The Punch was the other nominee.

Duru was also a nominee in the Niger Delta Reporting category, with the entry: Our ugly encounters with sea pirates by fishermen.

Yekeen Akinwale of HumanAngle, an online medium, won the category with one of his two entries.

Alimi was a nominee in the Sports Reporting category, which was won by The Guardian Sports Editor Christian Okpara.
Ebenezer Bajela of The Punch was the other nominee.
The Nation was a nominee in the Editorial Writing category. Our entry: Killer Press Bills was a runner-up to The Punch’s winning entry.

Declaring this newspaper as the winner of the ultimate laurel, the organisers said in the citation: “In emerging as the Newspaper of the Year, The Nation recorded 14 points made up of first place position in three categories, and five third place positions. Put another way, that is three gold and five bronze medals.

“The gold medals are in Child-Friendly Reporting, Investigative Reporting, and Nutrition Reporting.

“The bronze medals are from Child-Friendly Reporting, Editorial Writing, Niger Delta Reporting, Nutrition Reporting, and Sports Reporting.

“With this outing, The Nation narrowly edged out The Punch by one point, a repeat of what transpired two years ago.

“It is the third time in eight years that The Nation is winning this category.

“Established on July 31, 2006, The Nation has grown in stature and influence.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, The Nation, the Newspaper of the Year.”

Other winners on the night were Gbanga Salau of The Guardian (Lagos Reporting), with Gabriel Akinjobi of FIJ and Oladeinde Olawoyin of Premium Times as runners-up; Alfred Olufemi of Premium Times (Judicial Reporting), with Ameh Ejekwonyilo and Dr Oladimeji Ramon of The Punch as runners-up, and Oluwakemi Falodun of Al-Jazeera (Education Reporting), with Grace Edema of The Punch and Kunle Adebajo of HumanAgle as the other nominees.

The Informed Commentary prize went to Dr Lasisi Olagunju of the Nigerian Tribune. He won with his entry: Desmond Tutu, Kukah and the protests in London.

He bested Azu Ishiekwene of Leadership and Olu Fasan of Vanguard.

The Guardian was named the Child-Friendly Medium ahead of ThisDay and The Punch.
BusinessDay won the Best Media Website prize ahead of The Guardian and Daily Trust.
Vanguard emerged Best-Designed Newspaper, beating Daily Trust and The Sun.
Former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Punch, Ademola Osinubi, was bestowed with the 2022 DAME Lifetime Achievement Award.

It is the DAME’s highest honour, given to those who have made uncommon contributions to the growth and development of the media industry.

Two other journalists, Messrs Ted Iwere, founder SME Media Ltd, formerly of The Guardian and Independent Newspapers, and Dotun Oyelade, formerly of the NTA Ibadan and Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, received the DAME honorary fellowships for sustained quality involvement in the media.

Osinubi praised the organiser for sustaining the initiative, saying: “I believe in what DAME is doing to push the frontiers of journalism.”

He vowed to join in efforts to push the DAME to the global stage in media awards.

Former editor of The Nation, now Lagos Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, on behalf of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, congratulated the newspaper on the feat.

In a statement, he said winning has become second nature to the medium and urged the organisation to keep the flag flying.

Omotoso said: “It is not surprising that The Nation has been named Newspaper of the Year. As a former Editor, I know that The Nation is a serial award winner with its hard-working editors, writers and reporters.

“It has become a tradition because of the kind of effort the journalists put into their work.

“On behalf of the governor, I will like to congratulate everyone who has contributed to this.

“It is difficult for any newspaper not based in Lagos to be the Newspaper of the Year.

“Lagos is where you have the headquarters of the media in Africa. We lead in all sectors.

“As the saying goes, the reward for hard work is more work. The Nation team must work harder because everyone will be looking up to you to continue to dish out the kind of great journalism that has earned you the awards.

“Those who have not been reading The Nation will want to check it out, and you must convince them that it was not just a flash in the pan, but is something that is original and natural to the newspaper.

“The management, the workers, even the printers who ensure that clean copies are turned out every day, I congratulate everyone on the award. Do not relent.”

Wanted: commitment to standards

DAME trustee Mr Lanre Idowu tasked the media with fidelity to ethics, commitment to standards and the pursuit of a better tomorrow for the profession and the country.

He said: “It is only healthy media that can birth a healthy country. It is because of this desire for a healthy country that we urge our colleagues to take a more balanced view of the tremendous opportunity before the country in the coming election.

“A lot is at stake, but sadly the required leadership and direction that the media should offer are not always there.

“Many of us are still engrossed in emotive reactions to situations. Many are ensconced in ethnic cocoons and lack the ability to tower beyond ethnic prejudices.

“Many have neglected the professional responsibility to set the agenda in a proactive manner.

“Instead, they seek to relish the pathetic act of merely reacting to situations, regurgitating unproven allegations, and generating heat instead of light.

“The media must moderate the process by defining issues and getting the candidates to respond to them so that the electorate can make informed decisions.

“Why is it so difficult to moderate media debates or interviews if we approach the task with the political detachment necessary for a professional job?”

Idowu called for a more collaborative effort in organising such debates as was the case in the past, saying it would be “more rewarding”.

He added: “It is not in the interest of the democratic process if the media cannot be trusted to assess the preparedness of candidates for political office, nor is it in the interest of candidates if they are perceived to be avoiding media scrutiny.”

He hopes there is sufficient time for the media to make necessary amends before the election.

Idowu, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Publications Ltd. and editor-in-chief of Media Review, also looks forward to the establishment of a media complaints commission as part of an industry-driven co-regulation mechanism.

• One policeman, three attackers dead in crossfire

• IPOB behind attack, say police

Gunmen yesterday bombed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

A policeman and three of the assailants died in the ensuing gunfight.

The gunmen threw grenades through the commission’s fence, destroying offices and vehicles.

The police engaged the gunmen in a shootout, leaving three of them dead.

It was learnt that some officers were wounded, while many of the hoodlums fled towards Onitsha with multiple bullet injuries.

Commissioner of Police in Imo, Mohammad Barde, said his men arrested two of the gunmen, adding that they were on the trail of others.

He added that the police recovered three AK47 riffles, three pump action guns and some Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) as well two vehicles from the bandits.

The police said the gunmen killed one of their men and injured another in the attack that lasted an hour and kept residents awake.

INEC said critical election materials were destroyed in the attack but none of its workers died.

National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Sylvia Uchenna Agu, reported the attack.

“The incident occurred at about 3.00am Monday.

“The attack affected the part of the building occupied by the Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) Department.

“One official utility vehicle (a Toyota Hilux pickup van) was burnt.

“The response of the security and emergency services (the Fire Service) curtailed further damage to the building and other assets of the Commission.

“No critical election materials were destroyed. There were also no casualties involving staff of the Commission.

“This is the third attack on the Commission’s facilities in Imo State in less than two weeks following the earlier attacks on our Orlu LGA office on December 1 and Oru West LGA office on December 4.

“Our Imo State Headquarters is located in the centre of Owerri, the State capital, between a court and the state secretariat.

“This is, therefore, yet another systematic attack targetted at the Commission’s assets across the country, more so on the day that the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) commenced nationwide ahead of the 2023 General Election.”

 

‘How attack occurred’

Imo Police Public Relations Officer, Michael Abbatam, a Chief Superintendent of Police, said: “We killed three of the attackers and recovered three AK47 rifles and pump action guns.

“We also recovered two explosives and three of their vehicles.”

Abattam, who later addressed reporters at the command headquarters where the bodies of the hoodlums were displayed, said five riffles, two vehicles, charms, locally made bombs, phones and money were recovered from the slain gunmen.

He said: “They threw bombs at the roof of the INEC building but unfortunately for them, they were resisted by our men who were guarding the place.

“They came in four vehicles and fully armed. While they engaged our men on the ground, we reinforced.

“Noticing that we were stronger, they ran away, abandoning one of their vehicles.

“We gave them a hot chase towards the Onitsha Road. Fortunately, we neutralised three of them.

“Others escaped with bullet wound injuries. Unfortunately one of our men paid the supreme price. Another one was injured.”

The police blamed members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for the attack.

The slain assailants wore charms and Biafra insignia.

Abattam added: “They are suspected members of IPOB.

“It is the outcome of our investigation that will determine those that will be held complicit.

“We gave them a hot chase. The Command’s tactical teams were able to follow them and in the process, we were able to neutralise three of them.”

He added that two of the gunmen were captured alive with bullet injuries and the Command is still combing the area to apprehend other suspects.

 

Uzodimma decries insecurity 

Governor Hope Uzodimma wondered why bandits should think of attacking the INEC office at this time the body was preparing seriously for the upcoming elections if they were not being used.

He told reporters: “We need to decode the motive behind the action and why INEC is the target.”

He said what happened and events of the past confirm what he had always said.

“What is happening in Imo State is politically contrived, and justifiably so.

“Some people think they can win an election yet they don’t want elections to hold. How then will they win?”

“INEC does not need this type of distraction at this point and stage of our elections, rather they should be supported by all and sundry.

“But contrary to that, what we now see are people creating distractions here and there and attacking innocent people.

“If now we put one and two together and recall that people have threatened that Imo State will be made ungovernable and there will be no elections in Imo, that is the attempt to achieve their purpose.”

The governor assuaged the fears of the Imo people, saying: “Since the police are prepared, and the security agencies are ready, there will be elections in Imo by the Grace of God.”

The governor also urged Imo people to go out and collect their PVCs as the state and INEC have decentralised the process.

He assured of sufficient security at the local government up to the ward levels.

Uzodimma reminded Imo people that “the collection of Voters Card is key to the elections we are looking forward to and if one doesn’t have the Voters Card he/she will not be able to vote.

“So, the government working with the security agencies will do their best to ensure that all the local government headquarters, the ward and collection centres are properly protected and sufficient security presence assured.”

He reassured Imo people returning for the Christmas celebrations of adequate security.

History was made last night in Birnin Gwari, Kaduna State as the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, became the first presidential candidate to ever visit the ancient town.

An elated traditional ruler of the town, His Roya Highness (HRH) Zubair Jibril Megwari II, bestowed on him the traditional title of Dakari Birnin Gwari.

The Dakari title means the Fearless Warrior.

Kaduna State Governor Nasir el- Rufai, who shepherded the APC candidate to the town ravaged by banditry, was also given the traditional title of Sadoki Birnin-Gwari.

Asíwájú Tinubu was accompanied to the town, a distance of four hours on the bumpy road from Kaduna, by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, Governors Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdullahi Banduje (Kano), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) and Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau) as well as the APC governorship candidate in the state, Senator Uba Sani and many federal lawmakers.

“I never thought I would see the APC candidate and all of you here because of bandits and the bad road. We are so happy to see you. Whoever comes here cares for us and loves us. We appreciate you,” the monarch said.

Describing the APC candidate as the Jagaba of Nigeria, his chieftaincy title from Borgu Kingdom, the Emir noted that Tinubu had done a lot for Nigeria.

He prayed that God should answer his prayers to become Nigeria’s next.

Tinubu said he was delighted to be in Birnin Gwari, describing the town as blessed with arable land and other potential that can be of great benefit to the city, Kaduna and Nigeria.

He described Emir Jibril as one of the forthright leaders who has passion about the country.

Sympathising with the Emir and his people over the bandits’ attacks in the area, he said if elected he would frontally confront all forms of criminality in the land.

He also said President Buhari would not relent in his efforts to restore peace to the land.

“We promise you we will work relentlessly to change Nigeria,” he said.

El-Rufai said the APC candidate decided to visit Birnin Gwari after he heard that the place was afflicted by insecurity.

The governor said: “Asíwájú is the only presidential candidate to visit Birnin Gwari. President and Vice President don’t normally travel together.

“Even the presidential candidate and his vice presidential candidate don’t also travel together. But Asíwájú and Senator Shettima felt so concerned they resolved to travel here together to see our people.

“We have a team that cares and shares in your pain.” he said.