A lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication and Media Technology, Lead City University, Ibadan, Dr Bayonle Busari, has bemoaned that Nigerian reality does not support an honest assessment of its leaders.
Busari stated this while delivering his keynote address at the 2023 press week of the Raji Adebayo-led correspondents’ chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, held in Ibadan on Monday.
Speaking, he bemoaned that the majority of Nigerians had subjugated themselves to the whims and caprices of their leaders, such that the leaders were not being held accountable for their campaign promises.
He decried that the media, which is also expected to draw the attention of leaders to gaps and measure the extent of the performance or failure of a leader, also faces the dilemma of standing between the devil and the deep sea.
Busari wondered if the Nigerian journalist, who operated in a very hostile, inhuman, and selfish environment, could objectively call its leaders into question.
As a result, Busari tasked all Nigerians to be courageous, sacrificial, and deliberate about holding their leaders to account.
Busari argued: “The led has subjugated themselves to the whims and caprices of the leader, and the leader has taken it that they are only doing us a great favour by leaving their comfort zone to lead us if actually, they are leading us in the true sense of the word.
“This is where, as media practitioners, we come in to bridge the gap of the dichotomy by drawing the attention of the leader to the fact that to lead us is to serve us and not the other way around; hence the need to put them on the spot by monitoring their activities while in office and drawing attention to where they may be short of expectation.
“The bond between the leader and the led is the promise made during and after electioneering, which serves as the barometer to measure the extent of performance or failure of the leader.
“To hold the leader to account requires a deliberate effort, and whoever wants to do this must be ready to face certain consequences that may be dire, some of the time, if not all of the time. It requires self-denial, going hungry at times, and even being labelled.
“We must have this at the back of our minds, says the ancient Chinese philosopher Lu Xun, who says China is like a room with many invisible walls. You are liable to knock your head against something.
“The man who is willing to fight these walls and bump his head without minding the pain wins.
“The media man in contemporary Nigeria faces the dilemma of standing between the devil and the deep sea while evaluating the performance of the leader in terms of the amount, value, or quality of representation or governance that they render to us.
“We have lost sight of the axiom that, to whom much is given, much is expected. We expect so much from media practitioners, and we expect them to stay above board without giving consideration to the reality that they are all humans.
“The Nigerian reality does not absolutely support an honest assessment of our leaders without being classified under so many appellations.”
He, however, praised Nigerian journalists for braving the odds, their tenacity, and their resilience in living up to meeting the information needs of the citizens.
This is why he called on the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to ensure journalists are well remunerated, have an insurance scheme, and have a welfare scheme.
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