by Eze Eluchie
Like every other
institution of the Nigerian contraption, our media is failing us.
If the issue had been to
get journalists who will tag along with a Presidential or Ministerial or other
governmental delegation on an international trip, there would have been no
shortage of journalists willing to join the entourage.
Now that a segment of
the Nigerian State has been cordoned off and being ruled under ‘Emergency
Rule’, there is near total blanket of information on happenings in Bornu, Yobe
and Adamawa States. There is simply no information coming out, save for the
terse briefings from the Military High Command, on what the military wants us
to know.
That certainly is not
enough.
Is it that we do not
have media-men interested in winning the Pulitzer Prize or other media awards? Are
we waiting for Aljazeera or CNN to begin the coverage? I am worried that with
the collapse of communication in Nigeria's northeastern zones, I have now lost
contact with a dear friend, a devout Muslim, Inusa danGashua and his family,
who reside in Damaturu, Yobe State, and had hosted me rather lavishly during my
visit to Damaturu and other acquaintances in the region, through whom I had
often times caught a glimpse of what life was really like living under the
siege of terrorists.
In their actions, the
military, who now have free rein of the three States, must realize that the
problem was never with the peoples of Bornu, Yobe and Adamawa, but with the
terrorists elements who made life a misery for all.
Our journalists are failing the country, themselves and their esteemed vocation, in not striving to let us know what is really going on behind the cordon created by the Military around the three States under emergency rule.
Our media is likewise
failing to sensitize Nigerians on the gravity of the situation the country is forced to confront. Any adept follower of international terror tactics will
realize that as the terrorists suffer causalities to the superior firepower of
the Nigeria’s military, they will, true to their cowardly disposition, try to
hit back at Nigeria by attacks on soft targets and areas of least preparedness
for terror attacks. Why is the media not sensitizing the populace on these
realities? Are they themselves ignorant of international realities? Or is it a
case of being in denial? The bulk of our
media is rather consumed in trumpeting the gluttony of our kleptocrats who are
yet consumed with fantasies as ‘Rome burns’.
This should serve as a clarion call to all Nigerians wherever to brace up for surprises and be very, very vigilant. They will, as they recently showed in Katsina barely 2 days into the emergency rule operations, sure as night turns to day, try to strike at somewhere least prepared.
This should serve as a clarion call to all Nigerians wherever to brace up for surprises and be very, very vigilant. They will, as they recently showed in Katsina barely 2 days into the emergency rule operations, sure as night turns to day, try to strike at somewhere least prepared.
Terrorism in
northern Nigeria had become a cancer which has to be excised. There was no
doubt that there will be excruciating pain when performing a surgery,
particularly in an environment that lacks societal anesthetics. Whilst the
world appreciates the need for the operation taking place against terrorists
elements in northern Nigeria, the Jonathan administration have to realize that
for the interest of the peace-loving people of the north eastern region of
Nigeria and the safety of all Nigerians generally, the on-going military
operation has to be precise, swift and with the least possible civilian causalities.
Will this episode of violence afford us an opportunity to renegotiate and reconstitute our contraption?
Picture: Nigerian troops
headed to tackle terrorists in northeastern Nigeria
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