We strongly identify with the call of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Ms. Trina Bokova, on all governments to unite and stand up for the Freedom of the Press all over the world. 

In her speech at the opening ceremony of the 2016 World Press Freedom Day in Helsinki, Finland, Ms. Bokovo advocated robust press freedom and the defence of journalists, as well as the people’s right to know.  Freedom of expression, she said, goes to the very heart of what it means to be human.  Thus, press freedom is fundamental to the exercise of other human rights and the dignity of the citizen in his quest to realize his aspirations and make contributions to national development and societal peace.

On the occasion of the recent celebration of world Press Freedom Day, we join the world to urge all humanity to commit anew to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights, which are now domesticated and enshrined in Sections 22 and 39 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999, as amended. 

We must also appreciate the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act, which was designed to reduce the thicket of secrecy shrouding the activities of public officials. The law is one more effort toward the attainment of transparency in the conduct of government business.

We hasten to appeal to Nigerian public officials to commit themselves to openness, which is a quick test of integrity. While some good deeds can, and have been done in secret, majority of the wrongdoings by public officers take place under the cover of secrecy.

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We urge Nigerians to commit to a deeper understanding of the Freedom of the Press. They should understand that, far from being freedom to protect journalists and journalism, it is the freedom that protects all other fundamental freedoms.  The testimonies are numerous of individuals who tried to emasculate the press when they were in power and who later had to depend on it to crusade for their freedom.

Press freedom in Nigeria is riddled with conditionalities and other paralyzing enactments that do not exist in other democracies.  Our law enforcement agents often react with automatic negativity at the sight of reporters and cameramen. This, we believe, is attributable to our decades of authoritarian regimes and the autocratic bent of our security agencies.

The brutalization and incarceration of reporters and editors have waned a bit and the Nigerian Press is thankful for the public support it has enjoyed through the years. A few months ago, some fascists in the National Assembly drafted a bill which sought to censor and jail journalists on the pretext of seeking to control the contents of the social media. 

The gambit is a reminder of how fragile our freedoms can be and why it is imperative to be vigilant in their protection.  As long as power and its control remain great sources of wealth and prestige, Nigerians who desire unchecked power will continue to attempt to emasculate, smother or control the press.  The only antidote to this situation is a constitutional guarantee similar to the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which absolutely prohibits any enactments that could in any form interfere with the freedom of the press.

One great threat to press freedom in Nigeria today is the current difficult economic situation of the country.  Many media houses are just struggling to survive.  We appeal to the Federal Government to support the media as a deliberate policy to strengthen the freedom of the press and our nation’s democracy.  Liberalization of the importation of production inputs, the resuscitation of newsprint manufacturing companies and a robust patronage of the media will help the Nigerian Press to fulfill its constitutional functions.