Staff Indebtedness: A Monster
Threatening The Foundation Of Independent Media In Nigeria
(Onitsha Nigeria, 23rd
July 2015)- An extensive investigation carried
out recently by the leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law (Intersociety) showed clearly that there are three
hydra-headed monsters threatening the foundation of independent media
establishments and press freedom in Nigeria, particularly the print and visual
media. These are: indebtedness, corruption and unprofessionalism. Media
indebtedness is triggered by greed and maximization of proceeds on the
part of the independent media proprietors. Media corruption, on
its part, is caused by corruption of the media industry and
injection of billions of naira derived from ill-gotten wealth as well as
ownership of many of them by corrupt former public office holders particularly
former, and in some cases, serving State governors; for the purposes of
influencing and skewing public opinions on matters of politics, ethnicity and
religion, as well as covering their kleptomaniac and homicidal records in
office. Media unprofessionalism is caused by vicious factors like
promotion of ethno-religious clannishness and personal interests; poor working
condition and job de-satisfaction on the part of staff or media practitioners,
occasioned by poor remuneration and remuneration arrears of journalists as well
as general ineffective and inefficient media management policies and actions.
Our extensive investigation also found that media indebtedness,
corruption and unprofessionalism are interwoven, resulting to guided
press freedom in present democratic dispensation.
The sad situation above mentioned is
similar in color and outlook to the media dark days particularly under Decree
No. 4 of 1984 (limitation of press freedom and independence), enacted
and enforced to the letter by the Buhari’s inglorious military epoch of January
1984 to August 1985. The Decree under reference was drafted on March 29, 1984
and its dreaded nature was only second to another Buhari’s repressive decree
called “Decree No. 2 0f 1984 (State’s indefinite detention of persons)”. The
anti press freedom Decree was promulgated to whittle press freedom and punish
through long pretrial detention and “no right of appeal” sentencing of authors
of “false statements”, “rumors” and reports that exposed the Buhari’s iron
fisted military government and its official to “ridicule” and “contempt”. It
also provided for the presidential proscription at his whims and caprices of
the affected independent media houses or outfits.
Indebted
Media Houses:
The extensive investigation of ours
under reference followed wide outcries in the media by media practitioners
including the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) against
huge staff remuneration indebtedness by proprietors of many independent media
houses in Nigeria. For instance, the Lagos State Branch of the NUJ had few
weeks ago picketed the premises/corporate office of the Thisday Newspaper
in the State over nine (9) arrears it owed members of its editorial department.
There are at least eleven (11) independent media houses in the country owing
workers of different categories in their editorial departments.
Apart from the Thisday
Newspaper, other ten (10) owing independent media houses are the
African Independent Television (AIT), seventeen (17) months, Daily
Independent Newspaper nine (9) months, Tell Magazine eight
(8) months, National Mirror seven (7) months, the Newswatch
(Daily Newswatch) seven (7) months, the News Magazine nine (9)
months, the PM News nine (9) months, Daily Champion
Newspaper eighteen (18) months, the Hallmark Newspaper eight
(8) months and the Daily Times Newspaper six (6) months.
Parasitic
Staffing:
Apart from huge indebtedness under
reference, there is also parasitic staffing policy adopted by
other independent media houses as well as a number of indebted ones. This is a
policy whereby reporters working for the referenced are not remunerated, but
asked or allowed to be filing stories with their real or pseudo names. Some of
these reporters are paid stipends at every month end, which depends on the
number of their reports that were published. The Vanguard and the
Guardian Newspapers are typical examples of independent media outfits
engaged in this policy in Nigeria. In other cases, such reporters are
just asked or allowed to be filing stories without receiving a dime at the
month end. To survive, those reporters are forced to depend heavily on “brown
envelopes” from their news “customers”, leading to hunting and publication of “any
news brown envelope can fetch”.
Brown
Envelopes As Triggers Of Media Corruption & Unprofessionalism:
The three hydra-headed
monsters highlighted above have been, and are still responsible for
under-growth and guided media freedom in Nigeria. Until the advent of online
media industry in Nigeria, news reports and publications were “brown-enveloped”.
Till date, the sad culture is still in vogue to an extent, if not large extent.
Owing to brown envelope culture and corruption of the media
sector by corrupt and illicitly rich former and serving political office
holders and their accomplices; the independent media sub-sector has steadily
recorded under-growth and guided press freedom.
It is guided press freedom,
when the media departs from the cradle of conscience of the masses and
enters into the infamous hall of enemies of the masses by
journalistically canonizing enemies of better society and
crowning them as kings of unjust society. Owing to media
corruption, unprofessionalism has become the order of the day. Media
reports in the country are now dominated by vested interests and
ethno-religious primordialism. Creative, investigative and innovative stories
are sidelined and stories of infantile or none public importance and
development now take precedent over the former with utter alacrity and
impunity. In all these, “press freedom” looks real, but “independence
of the press” is combatively challenged owing to its oiling and
midwifery by captains of corruption and “ethno-religious
jingoists”.
As this solidarity statement
of ours coincides with the ongoing national delegates’ conference and election
of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), we humbly and firmly call for a
lasting solution to independent media houses’ indebtedness in Nigeria. The
policy of parasitic staffing retained by other media houses as
above explained, is also frowned at. Apart from breeding media
corruption, it also entrenches media unprofessionalism leading
to present media woes in the country.
We call for total abolition of the
corruption friendly policy under reference and its replacement with across
board allowance or contract based policy; whereby all freelance
journalists writing for all media houses will be engaged on clearly
defined and remunerated contract basis, renewable or revocable within a
specified period. In other words, we recommend “remunerated associate
staff policy”. The indebted media house owners including the Newspapers
Proprietors Association of Nigeria are firmly called upon to settle and offset
all remuneration arrears so owed as a matter of uttermost immediacy. The
Federal Government of Nigeria is also called upon to, within its licensing and
regulatory competence and oversights to ensure owed editorial workers of all
the media houses in the country are paid all their entitlements without further
delays.
The NUJ on its part is also enjoined
to rise above pecuniary culture and journalistic quackery that have eaten deep
into the country’s media sector and rebrand its journalistic mirror back to the
hallowed baptismal name of “conscience of the masses”. Sustained
efforts must also be made to recover the soul of the Nigerian media from the
parasitic grips of “the captains of corruption in Nigeria”. The
managements of the Punch, the Vanguard and the Channel Television are
exceptionally commended for keeping faith with their staff remunerations.
Though, the Vanguard Newspaper is cleared from the
list of debtor-media houses, but it is culpable as it concerns “parasitic
staffing policy” explained above. Our choice of the trio stems from the
fact that it is not only that they are up to date with payment of the
remunerations of their editorial workers, but also the ownership of their
media outfits is yet to be traced to any of the captains of corruption in
Nigeria”. Others left out in this exceptional commendation of
ours, who also keep faith with their staff remunerations; are either wholly or
partly owned by some captains of corruption in Nigeria who used
public stolen wealth to establish such media outfits.
Finally, we shall continue to
commend and appreciate the online media outfits in Nigeria. The advent of the
outfits changed the media equation in the country and introduced vibrancy and
healthy competition into the industry. They also made it possible for Nigeria
and Nigerians to join world global village where news are quick, easily read,
cheaply sourced and exchanged. One of the greatest goals achieved by the online
media revolution in the country is the breaking of age-long monopoly hitherto
held and enjoyed by the media of Southwest extraction.
Specifically, the staffs and
managements of leading online news bodies like the Nigerian News Express,
the Nigerian Voice, the Will, the Republic Reporters, “the Biafran Online
News”, the Neighborhood (online) Newspaper, the Trent News, the Nigerian
Masterweb, the Elombah Reports, the Chidiopara Reports, the Advocate News, the
All News & Reports, the Street Reporters, the Odogwu Reports, the Premium
Times, the Osun Defenders, the Inews Digest, the Global Reporters Vienna,
the Odera Reports, the News247 Reports , to mention but few; are
commended and thanked in a very special way and urged to keep the candle
of light burning ceaselessly over social darkness.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
International Society for Civil
Liberties & the Rule of Law
+2348174090052 (office)
Uzochukwu Oguejiofor-Nwonu (Mrs.),
Esq.
Head, Campaign & Publicity
Department
Chiugo Onwuatuegwu (Miss), Esq.
Head, Democracy & Good
Governance Program
Obianuju Igboeli (Miss), Esq., Head,
Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
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