"If you TROUBLE trouble, TROUBLE will trouble you.If you don't trouble TROUBLE,TROUBLE will not trouble you!!!"
- By: Akoaso, hh .Germany

Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report

The controversy over the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival has exposed the bad manners and personal bias of Shaibu Husseini, a senior Arts writer of The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria.

The Publisher of Nigerians Report sent a text message to question the unverified report of Shaibu Husseini on Film as purveyor of pristine cultural values and Mr. Husseini got all riled up and replied in a gutter language that would rubbish and tarnish his public image as a professional journalist. Nobody accused him of collecting any brown envelope as he simply jumped to that conclusion and resorted to insulting the Publisher of Nigerians Report from his own erroneous deductions based on his assumptions of the publisher.


Mr. Husseini lied that Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola unveiled the logo when Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, never even attended the event held on July 29, 2010, at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. It was the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Honourable Tunde Balogun who came to the event to represent the Lagos state government.




The governor, who performed the unveiling ceremony of the new AMP/EKO International Film Festival logo - a logo which the president of AMP Paul Obazele explained, was redesigned to reflect the collaborative agreement the AMP, under his leadership, had entered with the Lagos State Government over the staging of the annual festival.
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18930:film-as-purveyor-of-pristine-cultural-values&catid=74:arts&Itemid=683


The following is the exchange between the Publisher of Nigerians Report and Shaibu Husseini.

Publisher of Nigerians Report: Sorry, there is no CNN/MULTICHOICE Brown Envelope Journalist of the Year Award.
When did the Governor of Lagos state endorse the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival by the Association of Movie Producers (AMP)? That was a false report on your blog.

Shaibu Husseini: Are u sick! U think u are talking to your child? U know what to do if you feel indifferent about a report. I was at an event where the governor sent a rep and I reported what transpired and ur talking rubbish. Why dint u say no event held and I just reported from my imagination. U think I started writing today? Pls go away and don’t disgrace urself. See who is talking about brown envelope. I know the quarter dis is coming from and I will address it squarely. Opportunist! Write a rejoinder if u feel strongly that I over reported instead of trying to intimidate urself with the title ‘publisher’! U think I will cringe abi?


Nigerians Report: Go to the library of The Guardian as far back as 1988 and check The Guardian Literary Series for Chima Eke, Member of ANA.


Shaibu Husseini: And so what? Is that why u will cast aspersion at me. What has CNN brown envelope got to do with your feeling indifferent about a report when there are avenues for seeking clarification. U tink everybody is like u. ‘As far back’ my foot. Do you know what u have just done with ur very first line and am going to take u up on that. Haba, bicos u are supporting a position (which I know about) and because the piece ran contrary that is why you think I got brown envelope abi? I won’t take this lying low. Sebi, u say u are in ANA, ,- I must follow up this matter. U must prove award me that CNN prize at all cost. I know what to do.


Nigerians Report: With all pleasure.

Mr. Husseini’s reported that the Lagos state government has endorsed the illegal AMP-Eko International Film Festival and it’s a lie, because the Lagos state government cannot endorse any illegality and in fact never endorsed the trademark piracy of Eko International Film Festival by the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) of Nigeria. I wonder how the representative of the Governor of Lagos state will endorse such an illegality.

The Lagos Film Office had a meeting with Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival where the neutral position of the Lagos state government was clearly stated and the Lagos state government will soon make its official position known.

Shaibu Husseini should have verified from the Lagos state government before misinforming the public and he has to report the fact no matter what the rep said at the event. The Hon. Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili recently sacked his senior aide for misrepresenting her. So, may I advise Shaibu Husseini to contact the Lagos Film Office for the true position of the Lagos State Government.

Hope Obioma Opara, President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival and Publisher of the Supple magazine has all the documents to prove the ownership of EKOIFF and nobody has challenged or contested it until AMP tried to hijack it.


The Nollywood gang of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) has been using their clique among Nigerian journalists to compromise professional ethics and they deliberately did not report the inaugural Eko International Film Festival held earlier in July 2010, at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas, The Palms in Lekki, Lagos, but rushed to report the so called unveiling of the logo of the illegal AMP-Eko International Film Festival held on July 29, 2010, at the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria.

Mr. Husseini is obviously mistaking the Publisher of Nigerians Report for someone he assumes he knows. And he said he does not blog! Then what is he doing on blogger blogging for The Guardian Life magazine? So, a seasoned journalist for a major Nigerian news daily does not know what is a blog?


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

About the Author:
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima is the most prolific African blogger and a prize winning writer and author of four books and many other publications. He directed the first docudrama "Sleepless Night" on the June 12 Crisis in 2002 and in 2007 he published "The Mandate of M.K.O Abiola" written by Adeleke Adeyemi. His next book is on President Barack Obama.


Source: http://www.modernghana.com/movie/8403/3/shaibu-husseini-of-the-guardian-versus-publisher-o.html

Re: Sunday, August 8, 2010 Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian Versus Publisher of Nigerians Report and the award of CNN/MULTICHOICE BROWN ENVELOPE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

'Sorry, there is no CNN/MULTICHOICE BROWN ENVELOPE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR, '

Dear All

First let me tender my unreserved apologies to the publisher of Nigerian Report over the harsh tone of my text-repost to him. I have never been this insulted since i started writing like he did with his text opener which i qouted above. I pray you all, what does that first line mean or suggest? especially from somone i dont know, have never met and who didnt even introduce himself before barging into my inbox,

But i am honestly sorry and apologise if i insulted a senior colleague, but i must confess that i was enranged by the fact that Mr. Publisher reached a conclusion without seeking clarification from a junior colleague. I dont know how he got my number but if he could go the whole hug to source my number, i thought he could have called me up as a senior colleague and would have drawn my attention to what he observed as 'a lie'.

This is not a defence at all, i was taught to allow the reader write in a rejoinder or to honour the right of reply if anyone feels indiferent about a report i have written. And i stressed that in all my text-repost. But i need to correct some impression, basically because My senior colleague has CC'ed some of my seniors in the profession and teachers who i am sure would be wondering if it was the same Husseini they know that is being talked about here.

First i dont blog, i repeat, i dont. i know what it is and i know how to do it, but i dont have the time and have never posted any material i have written in the Guardian to the web. But i do know that most materials published in the Guardian are linked to certain blogs created by people. i have on so many occasion read my articles on people's blog. The report in question was published in the Wednesday Guardian of August 4, 2011 and had a web version, so it is possible that it was linked to the blog where my senior colleague read the piece which was purely and simply a report of an event i was duly invited covered.

Again, i would have wished that Oga Chima culled the full text of the report and not just that section he qouted so that his readers and all those he copied will be well informed about the context in which the report or the section he qouted was based.

But quite honestly, i recieved an invitation signed by Mr. Paul Obazele, President of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) to cover the unveiling ceremony of the AMP/EKO International Film Festival logo. I was told in the letter to be at the venue at 3.30pm because the Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN was to perform the unveiling ceremony and so the security details had asked that everyone be seated before the governor arrives.

But the governor didnt show up eventually. We were told that he sent a commissioner (Home affairs and Culture) Alhaji Tunde Balogun to represent him and even the commissioner confirmed this when shortly before his adress and shortly before he performed the unveiling ceremony on behalf of the Governor, he told the audience that the Governor would have been around, but he asked him a few hours ago to represent him and to qoute him:'because of how dear the festival is to him (the governor)''. Oga chima, read the full report published in the Guardian where two expressive photographs of the event were used---there was no where i said the Governor attended the event. Rather i noted from the start of the article that he was represented and because he was represented and the person representing him said he was delievering the message of the Governor, i merely reported the governors message to the people. I think where the confusion came was when in trying to continue with the governors charge to filmmakers and in trying to affirm that the unveiling was done, i used the 'governor who performed', But pray, check the context in which that sentence was used. I cannot say he was represented in the start of the story, use pictures showing the commisiioner and representative of the Minister of Information performing the unveiling and then lie that the Governor performed the unveiling! Haba!

Again, Oga Chima said i reported that Lagos State Government endorsed the festival and that i should have verified from the Lagos State government before going to press. First, what was reported on Wednesday August 4 was a straight report of an event, i wasnt treating any issue that required my verification. What verification do i even require about lagos state government endorsing the event when the man that spoke at the event and performed the unveiling on behalf of the Governor is a senior member of government and long standing commissioner? I have him on tape and even spoke to him after the event and plan to use part of his comments in an issue based article i am working on, on the matter over trade mark infringement between AMP and the publisher of Supple magazine.

As for the matter between Oga hope and AMP. I was following the trade mark theft scandal since 2009 but i dropped anchor same year for reasons that i will explain to you after now. But i picked it up now again because i sense some foul play soon after the unveiling ceremony. Ask Oga Hope, shortly after the unveiling ceremony, I buzzed him and requested for an interview which we did the following day so that i could get his views to balance the report i had proposed that i will do as a follow up to the straight report on the unveiling. He honoured the interview request but even after transcription, certain issues came up and i thought it was neccessary to do some findings. Only this evening i got an advice from the Corporate affairs commission and the ministry of trade following an enquiry i made and i have equally sought clarification and am waiting for an advice from the Lagos State Film Office and the Commissioner which should make me have a balanced report by the time i run Hope's interview. so sir, do i appear like someone who is biased or who has been bribed so much that it merited a CNN AWARD?

Now to the issue of AMP , MAIDEN EDITION OF EKOIFFAND NIGERIAN JOURNALIST, Let me clarify that i dont belong to any clique in the industry. i dont even have the time. Ask people who know me, i dont go to events that i am not duly invited to attend. I was never invited to Eko International Film festival which i was told (Hope Opara himself told me a few days back) held this July in Lagos and i didnt get to hear about it even though Oga Hope and I, met for a few days in May at the Cannes Film Festival and in February at the berlinale. He has my email and phone number, he didnt contact me or even send me materials which i would have gladly used because if you check we dedicate a strip every sunday for publicising festivals and movie events. I was not invited and I didnt know about it and i am suppose to be covering that beat. anyway,

Let me end by once again tendering my unreserved apologies for my harsh text repost, i was terribly vexed that you could consider me fit for the award of cnn/multichoice brown envelope journalist of the year without asking me to send in entries for the competition. I tried to call back to know who sent the text but the number was disconnecting and that added to the anger.

Thank you for finding time to read from me.

~ Shaibu Husseini