Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
More often than not, Journalists in Akwa Ibom State have passed under the crucible; they have been branded ineffective, incompetent, uneducated and even liars. This act of name calling, fault finding and total condemnation from people from higher status is very worrisome. As much as the Ethnics of this profession provides, the Fourth Estate of the realm deserves some atom of respect. Where it matters most, is the fact that people who feel that they have the superior sense of judgment when it comes to the human quest for justice and equity are always involved. The gradual regulation of the Media in Akwa Ibom State to a somewhat political anonymity by certain people is a direct product of self-inflicted defeatism achieved through selfish political wrangling. But any administration which has given back a people psychologically impoverished under the hammer of fascism its tongue, ears and eyes must not be surprised if they start ringing strange tunes, and seeing strange sights.
If the media should be highly reckoned with and congratulated, it should be the government, but where the government forms a regular habit of blaming the media and accusing it falsely without substantiating any fact, it spells nothing, but doom. For the avoidance of cumbersome ambiguity, let it be known that the media in Akwa Ibom State is presently under the umbrella of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). We can rightly attest to the fact that no media house in Akwa Ibom State under the aegis of the State NUJ has ever worked in paralleled with the state government. All government projects, activities and achievements are given prominence in the reportage of the Journalists. For anybody to stand up and blackmail the media of publishing falsehood about the government is as painful as it is devilish. Though, one may not be able to rule out the fact that “in every twelve, there must be a Judas”. There may be one, two, three or four media houses that may not have met the expectations of the government in their rating but that should not have attracted a generalized condemnation.
That is why we see the Governors pronouncement on the day after the Supreme Court; the Apex Court gave its ruling in favour of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom Sate as misleading and untrue. The Governor said, “99 per cent of what the media report about me and my administration is falsehood, the only truth in their reportage is that they can correctly spell my name”. This is pathetic, and goes on to portray the media in bad light. The media really requires a 100 per cent patronage and encouragement from the government, since we are partners in progress. The press/media in Akwa Ibom State have always striven to live up to expectation and we can do no less.
