Oliver Okpala
The relationship between journalists, the political class and other segments of society is one that has to be healthy, if the nation must make appreciable progress.
For instance, the media professional’s relationship with politicians, especially governors, is one that should catch the attention of stakeholders because of the crucial roles both of them play in moving society forward. This is why recent incidents of conflict between journalists and governors have become a source of concern to many Nigerians.
At the national level, the relationship between journalists and politicians has been largely cordial, but this cannot be said of some governors. By now, media and other professionals should know the rules of the game and be aware of the rights of journalists as well as the rights of others. Even under military regimes, soldiers largely respected journalists and always tried to befriend them. So, there was, in most cases, a cordial relationship between the leaders of the country and journalists. Many people do not realise that it was also a military government that abrogated the decree Number 4 of 1984, which guaranteed freedom of the press.
Only unenlightened politicians would not value cordial relations with journalists and other professionals. More importantly, a governor is supposed to be an epitome of decorum, humility, understanding and maturity.
Politicians should always realise that whatever office they occupy is temporal and tomorrow they would have to give account of their stewardship, if not before man, before God the Almighty.
No politician has the power to ban for life, or to ban even for a day, reporters from covering government or other activities.
Quite importantly, various media scholars over the years have stressed the need for a warm relationship between politicians and journalists as against the adversarial approach. This is a major plank of developmental journalism, a pivotal school of thought in the field of mass communication. From media scholars such as Deenis Mcquail, Michael Kunczik, Melvin Defleur, Wilbur Schram, Paul Lazarsfeld, Joseph R. Dominic, Melvin Mencher, Sean Macbride, Alvin Tofler to even our own Ralph Akinfeleye and Dayo Duyile, there is a consensus over the preeminent place of developmental journalism.
For instance, in analysing the battle for Nigeria’s independence, Duyile stated that no gunshot was fired to win the war but it was fought and won on the pages of newspapers. That is how powerful and resourceful the media can be.
So, it was the Nigerian media that fought and defeated colonialism and military dictatorship. And in both cases, they worked closely with politicians. This goes to show that there is so much that can be achieved when there is a healthy synergy between journalists and politicians.
Any governor that wants to succeed must work closely with the media to deliver good governance to his people. To this end, politicians should see any report critical of their adminstration from a development point of view and the need for improvement.
An adversarial relationship between journalists and governors would not augur well for the polity. Citizens have to know what government is doing and make their input. The media provides this critical feedback platform.
Both governors and the media have to work together as partners in progress to ensure that democracy grows stronger and is not derailed. One should complement the services of the other.
Rather than politicians seeing journalists, who are watchdogs of society, as enemies, they should regard them as co-laborers in the process of delivering democracy dividends to the people.
Journalists should never feel intimidated by hard tackles from any segment of government. They should, rather, be bold, upright, and, of course, never forget to uphold the ethics of their profession, which would in turn make them stand head and shoulders high and above all odds.
Truth, objectivity, fairness and balance remain the time-tested characteristics of a good news item. Media professionals should never lose sight of these.
After ensuring these, the journalist should stand upright and refuse to be cowed. Without a vibrant and bold press, society derails. Great democracies always have journalists as a major bastion and bulwark.
Without fearless journalists, the system collapses because there have to be checks and balances for meaningful progress in any society. It is, therefore, in the interest of all segments of our society that no one, group or institution is allowed to undermined the integrity of the Nigerian media, for the growth and stability of the nation.
•Okpala is president, Nigeria League of Veteran Journalists