Professor Ayo Olukotun of the Department of Political Science, Onabisi Onabanjo, University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, has said the Nigerian Media is one of the most repressed in the world.
According to him, the Nigerian media, though vibrant and audacious, suffers various infringements from state and non-state actors.
Olukotun expressed the view on Wednesday at a Stakeholders Forum on Journalists’ safety and Press Freedom Limitations in Nigeria, organised by the International Press Centre (IPC) in Lagos.
He spoke on the topic: “X-raying the encumberances of journalists’ safety and press freedom in Nigeria: Action point for stakeholders.”
According to Prof. Olukotun, who is the occupier of the Oba Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair on Governance, at Onabisi Onabanjo Onabanjo University, going by all available indices, “the Nigerian media is at the bottom league in terms of press freedom, very close to the actual bottle. And that’s because of the infringements that occur almost ritually now in terms of oppression.”
He said though the 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees press freedom, the same constitution, through what he termed “claw back clauses,” takes away the freedom.
“I think that Nigerian journalists believe that the freedom they have is not given to them because even though it is stated in the constitution, there are claw back clauses that take with the left hand what is given with the right,” he stated.
He also noted that the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, as presently operated in the country was largely “decorative.”
He said the Act should be enlivened while its scope is deepened.
The Professor contended that the FoI must be made to apply to all the states of the federation for it to be effective.
Speaking on the way forward, he said now was the time to call for the amendment of the constitution to expunge all claw back clauses.
Also, he said, the media must insist that all censorship be removed from the constitution.
Prof. Olukotun further proposed advocacy journalism “that advertises and markets good societies” as well as “penetrating the inners of Government through lobbying.”
Earlier, a report on “Journalists safety and press freedom limitations in Nigeria,” was presented by Mr. Francis Abayomi.
While noting that journalists are exposed to a lot of dangers in the discharge of their duties, he said those who make it unsafe for journalists to practice their profession must be prosecuted.
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He advocated for organisations to have legal departments to take up cases for journalists when they are harassed.
He noted also that the safety of journalists cannot be divorced from their welfare and urged media organisations and employers to pay more attention to the welfare of their staff especially their remuneration.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director, International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, noted that Nigeria was one of Africa’s worst countries to practice Journalism.
He disclosed that between January and October 2020, 59 instances of attacks on journalists were recorded.
The attacks according to him, were perpetrated by various actors such as the State Security Services personnel, Soldiers, Policemen, Customs officials armed robbers, LASTMA officials and members of Islamist movement.
Arogundade explained that the event, was organized under the auspices of the Nigerian Journalists Safety Initiative, as one of the components of a three-year project on ‘Safety Awareness and Impactful Reporting of Communities’ being implemented by IPC with the support of the Open Society Foundation (OSF).
He said the overall objective of the event was to improve the of safety of journalists and press freedom in Nigeria through continued sensitization of media professionals and other relevant stakeholders.
