Journalists are the watchdogs of society. They see, they tell, bringing to the attention of society issues that affect the lives of the people and providing a voice for the downtrodden and those who seek justice.
That’s why the press is regarded as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, after the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary, because they complement the process of checks and balances that is the bedrock of democracy. Whether journalists in Nigeria are fulfilling that role and to what extent is subjective, as the conduct of media houses and individual practitioners at different times swings their rating on either side of the credibility scale.
The measure of professional and occupational acceptability of the work of a journalist in the context of morality and ethics is not, however, the prerogative of public opinion. Such a function is the responsibility of regulatory bodies like the National Press Council and National Broadcasting Commission and professional leagues like the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
The NUJ, in particular, is a body that serves to advance the best interests of the practice by protecting the rights of practitioners, while also ensuring that they uphold the ethics of the profession, with the ultimate objective of serving the public good. In this function, the Union is guided, even in times of dispute, by a consideration of what constitutes the best public interest, which is often ascertained through recourse to the dominant public opinion.
It is in consideration of these irrevocable facts on the values of journalism and media practice, and the status of the NUJ as the vanguard of those values, that concerned professionals should draw the attention of the NUJ in Sokoto State to its posture on the recent EndBadGovernment protests in Nigeria and caution the Union about the positions it should take in such contentious matters of public importance.
The silence of the Union at the beginning and during the protest could be viewed as a neutral position, in order to secure for its members the credibility to unbiasedly report the developments across the country. But the opinion of the Sokoto NUJ after the protests leaves room for concern due to its implication of portraying the Union as taking sides with the government against the interests symbolized by the protest.
For the NUJ to release a statement expressing “appreciation for the patriotism displayed by community leaders and the people of the state” (even though thousands of them were on the street) for ensuring that “the protest’s impact was felt only on the first day in Sokoto metropolis, with no incidents reported during the subsequent nine days across the state,” is tantamount to passing a damning judgment on the protest.
The Union’s claim that the efforts of the state government contributed “significantly to minimizing the impact of attempts to hijack the protest,” without substantiating such attempts in the first place, is, to say the least, unprofessional for a body representing journalists, whose practice is guided by the pursuit of facts. Also, giving sole credit to the government and security agencies for the relatively peaceful conduct of the protest in Sokoto, while totally excluding the protesters, who conducted themselves peacefully and orderly, is a clear indication of bias in the opinion of the NUJ on the entire issue.
As a league of professionals in a practice that abhors partiality and bias, there is a demand for the NUJ to at all times and in all events seem to be above board and avoid conduct that infringes on the credibility of its members. Journalists have great power, but with that power comes equally great responsibility: an obligation to respect and defend the best public interest, which is the cornerstone of the profession of journalism.
Shekara was Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Sokoto State Council (1994–1996)
