One of the headline news of the week which ended yesterday was the story that the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari had directed his aides to ban the Africa Independent Television (AIT) from covering his activities. From my personal knowledge of Buhari, I out-rightly disbelieved the story.

But I was however dead sure that because the statement validates the hate documentaries directed at the man during the last electioneering period, many Nigerians would have cause to wonder aloud if truly, a dictator has not been thrust on them. I imagined that civil society groups, human rights activists and publicity conscious politicians would condemn the policy and for the better part of the week throw missiles at Buhari and his political party-the All Progressive Congress (APC). I was not proved wrong.

Luckily, the tension the subject generated was doused by two developments. First, the APC established that no such policy was discussed and agreed upon making it quite easy for her to promptly disown it. Second, the President-elect himself similarly disowned the story. But not many people believed the denials because the rationale which Buhari’s media aide who first disclosed the plan gave for it showed that the party was up to some reprisal that some people expected would happen considering the hate campaigns transmitted by some broadcast stations including the AIT. It would be recalled that during the electioneering period, Buhari’s media aides had cause to worry over the high level of media partisanship against their principal particularly the allegation that they were denied advert spots by the media to put across Buhari’s messages to the electorate. If this happened, the acrimony between them and the offending media may take some time to heal, but we plead for maturity, magnanimity and remorse on all sides.

If the truth is to be told, we will not hesitate to reject any attempt to gag any media organization in Nigeria. But we will not stop there. We will in addition continue to deprecate the transmission of hate speeches by the media during the last electioneering campaigns. This is because hate speeches can dismember the very society we all seek to live in. As a result, truth cannot justify hate speeches which can incite insurrection, genocide and fratricidal killings. We also denounce the failure of the media to provide a level playing field for the last Presidential election. But although such unethical behaviour was done by the media, we know as of fact that such media were coerced either by ownership control or outright purchase. For this reason, we believe that the nation should blame not only the media; a large share of the blame ought to go to such sponsors who often play dirty at elections. It is on this basis that we see as laughable the statement credited to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemning the alleged ban on AIT.

Nigerians have always looked forward to a strong opposition party that would keep the ruling party on its toes for the benefit of the governed. If the PDP would do so to the APC on the people’s behalf as from May 29, 2015, it would be a welcome development. However, it appears rather too early to see the PDP frowning at a culture it invented and heavily invested in for so long up until less than a month ago.

Any objective observer would agree that the ruling party has always coerced broadcast professionals in government owned media to act unprofessionally. The argument that the professionals should not have allowed themselves to be willing tools in the hands of government is unrealistic. It is because government can intimidate virtually everyone that journalists transmit hate speeches at its command; it also explains why our security agencies watch as ballot boxes are snatched at election venues just as it shows why supposed men of proven integrity in our electoral body announce fake votes the same way men of courage and wisdom in the judiciary give jaundiced judgments.

Government can in fact push soldiers to speak from two sides of their mouths about the school certificate of their former commander in chief. What then can government not do? In other words, government has powers to manipulate any public officer, just as it has enough resources to buy people in the private sector to do its bidding. As recent media reports suggested, even the self-acclaimed men of God saw divergent visions because of materialistic considerations and could not be surpassed by traditional rulers who were paid to lose their ‘father of all’ status.

Thus, the government that has just finished doing all of this should be scorned for purporting to condemn others because as the saying goes only those with clean hands are allowed to come to equity. A government that can relieve a tested statesman like General Martin Luther Agwai of his job few hours after exercising his constitutional right to hold an opinion and canvas it should let our wounds heal from its assaults before delivering its ‘wisdom after event’ treatise.

Meanwhile, the denial by the APC and the President-elect of any attempt to gag the media ought to be taken in good faith. Even if they had earlier planned to do what they have now denied, it is a sign that a government which would be sensitive to public feeling is on its way. Indeed, the reaction of the public to the subject clearly suggests that Nigerians cherish a free press that can help them make government accountable to the people as envisaged by Section 22 of our constitution bearing in mind that for the aggressive posture of the media, independence in 1960 and all that we have today would have been hard to achieve. Any anti-media disposition at this point when Nigerians are hopeful of societal regeneration would be against the run of play. Therefore, neither Buhari nor his party is expected to engage in ‘tit for tat’ or to be as petty as their predecessors; rather, what we expect is leadership by example that can throw forth not just strong individuals but strong societal institutions.




http://www.thescoopng.com/ex-nta-boss-iredia-writes-about-the-so-called-ban-on-ait-and-how-pdp-used-to-coerce-journalists/

Buhari shld no dat, any attempt to halt ma freedom of free speech will be frowned at, he shld knw dat dis is democracy.
We re going to use d media to criticize him objectively wifout fear and bias unlike d likes of lie muhamMAD
Change dem no go see

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Buhari shld no dat, any attempt to halt ma freedom of free speech will be frowned at, he shld knw dat dis is democracy.
We re going to use d media to criticize him objectively wifout fear and bias unlike d likes of lie muhamMAD
Change dem no go see

Did you read the article or you just made the post for the sake of FTC?

PassingShot:


Did you read the article or you just made the post for the sake of FTC?

Pls don't ever quote me again
Stay ya lane

PassingShot:


Did you read the article or you just made the post for the sake of FTC?

Would it have made any difference if he had read the article?? . Seems you expect too much from "Patrick".

OREMUSSANCTUS:

Pls don't ever quote me again
Stay ya lane

You don't want to be quoted, then don't bring your nonsense onto someone else's thread.
Open your own thread and talk as much gibberish as you can muster.
Rubbish!!!

nobilis:


You don't want to be quoted, then don't bring your nonsense onto someone else's thread.
Open your own thread and talk as much gibberish as you can muster.
Rubbish!!!

Pls may I meet u?
Na only nairaland here u fit make mouth like dis.

Iredia of the 'point blank' fame, pls tell them....pls tell the hypocrites

They're just desperate to have something negative to pin on GMB but so far they are failing and will continue to fail

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Buhari shld no dat, any attempt to halt ma freedom of free speech will be frowned at, he shld knw dat dis is democracy.
We re going to use d media to criticize him objectively wifout fear and bias unlike d likes of lie muhamMAD
Change dem no go see

your idiocy is commendable.

So when d opposition Media was throwing propaganda and lies against him) they are just right

As far as I am concerned itz tit for tat

akins56:
your idiocy is commendable.

I refuse to comment
Buh stay away from ma cooments
God bless u

bukd

HzRF:
So when d opposition Media was throwing propaganda and lies against him) they are just right

As far as I am concerned itz tit for tat

i urge my president to have mercy on ait and dokpesi,no more 'tit for tat' iredia and lara wise has spoken well.

OREMUSSANCTUS:

I refuse to comment
Buh stay away from ma cooments
God bless u

if u don't want anybody to reply ur rubbish comment,better go and form ur forum,where no one can reply ur rubbish comment.

Tony iredia is just on point with his message

Cc: sunnybobo3

OREMUSSANCTUS:
Buhari shld no dat, any attempt to halt ma freedom of free speech will be frowned at, he shld knw dat dis is democracy.
We re going to use d media to criticize him objectively wifout fear and bias unlike d likes of lie muhamMAD
Change dem no go see

What u wrote it totally irrelevant. You scored zero over 100.

Jesusloveyou:
i urge my president to have mercy on ait and dokpesi,no more 'tit for tat' iredia and lara wise has spoken well.

Buhari isn't a monarch in a monarchy.
If he feels bad about the station's articles on him, he should sue.

fr3do:


Buhari isn't a monarch in a monarchy.
If he feels bad about the station's articles on him, he should sue.

Actually, GMB doesn't care. If they like, they should write that he killed Jesus christ

Is it not the same AIT staff that are trying to do a favourable documentary on him as we speak??

A clear conscience fears no one. Even Jim Nwobodo that he was accused of jailing has gone to pledge loyalty today

fr3do:


Buhari isn't a monarch in a monarchy.
If he feels bad about the station's articles on him, he should sue.

Cases already in court against AIT.

AIT is already on the sanction list of NBC.

http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/03/nbc-sanctions-nta-ait-16-others-advert-breaches/

theV0ice:


Actually, GMB doesn't care. If they like, they should write that GE killed Jesus christ

Is it not the same AIT staff that are trying to do a favourable documentary on him as we speak??

A clear conscience fears no one. Even Jim Nwobodo that he was accused of jailing has gone to pledge loyalty today

Jim Nwobodo that was jailed 'because he stole money that can't buy a Peugeot 504'

Activa:


Jim Nwobodo that was jailed 'because he stole money that can't buy a Peugeot 504'

I tell you

fr3do:


Buhari isn't a monarch in a monarchy.
If he feels bad about the station's articles on him, he should sue.

if it is also wrong to bar ait from covering PMB unofficial activities,let ait sue, as i said,no more 'tit for tat'

theV0ice:


Actually, GMB doesn't care. If they like, they should write that he killed Jesus christ

Is it not the same AIT staff that are trying to do a favourable documentary on him as we speak??

A clear conscience fears no one. Even Jim Nwobodo that he was accused of jailing has gone to pledge loyalty today

Truth is constants. If you are dwelling on the path of truth, you don't need to fear criticism.
Those that criticized you today will come to celebrate you when your true part becomes success tomorrow.

I always laugh in mandarin when I see people call GEJ their hero.

GEJ nearly destroyed every fibre of our society. He worshipped corruption, was incompetent, embarrassed the military, left education in shambles, he institutionalise lying and propaganda, made us internationally redundant etc

May we never see his clueless and incompetent type again.

AIT will know how far through NBC

superstar1:
I always laugh in mandarin when I see people call GEJ their hero.

GEJ nearly destroyed every fibre of our society. He worshipped corruption, was incompetent, embarrassed the military, left education in shambles, he institutionalise lying and propaganda etc

May we never see his clueless and incompetent type again.

Amen

PDP was only playing smart, just to have something to hing on

PassingShot:

Did you read the article or you just made the post for the sake of FTC?

leave him. he is one of those children of anger

OREMUSSANCTUS:

Pls may I meet u?
Na only nairaland here u fit make mouth like dis.

Nwokem jee zuo ike.
Nkita na- agbo uja anaghi ata ata.
What will you do when you meet me?
Toothless bulldog!

OREMUSSANCTUS:

Pls don't ever quote me again
Stay ya lane

U are one of the reasons i hate PDP please why can't u kill yourself and do this country a big favour