CHANNELS TV AND THE NATIONAL SHAME
Written by Saint-Olawale Jimoh

'It was a great surprise to me when I discovered that the ugliness I see in others is but a reflection of my very nature'.  -Anonymous


   This piece is not intended to nail anyone, as a matter of fact, it is not even a criticism rather, it is an observation, aimed at calling the attention of the general public to the excesses of some of our journalists and  media houses. Channels Television has been voted the best in Nigeria and Freedom Of Information (FOI) makes their journalistic exploits more enabling for them but would the FOI have covered or does it involve showcasing our shame?

     For several months early last year, the most popular slogan in Nigeria has been ‘my oga at the top’, a term generated from the ill-fated interview granted by Mr Obafaiye Shem, the former Lagos State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to Channels Television during its breakfast show on March 6, 2013. Comedians and musicians can’t crack a joke or sing a line without referring to it. T-shirts, baseball caps and movies have been inspired by it.  The situation was much that the wife of the victim was said to have barged into the premises of the television station, asking what they really stand to gain from over-publicizing her husband's mistake.
     Those who watched the interview would agree that the Channels Sunrise Daily interview team manipulated the situation. They clearly knew the man did not know what the NSCDC’s website was based on his first response,  rather than change the subject, they resorted to exploiting his ignorance.

    While I am not totally in support of Mr Shem, I still believe that those making the noise about the interview are not being fair to him. How many of our National Assembly members know the country’s national anthem, let alone its official website? Ijeoma Bristol, the current Ambassador of Nigeria to Portugal, could not sing the national anthem during her ambassadorial screening. When asked to explain the Geneva and Vienna Conventions, she said she was “confused”. And yet, she was confirmed by the senate. What is the real difference between him and today’s youths who know a thousand websites addresses, but are dumbfounded when asked for their house number? There are people out there who are educated, but do not know how to send you a message on their mobile phone. So tell me: is there a difference between such people and Mr Shem as far as technology is concerned?

    Before Mr Shem's saga, there was what Channels TV tagged 'River State House Of Thugs,' a video clip that showed the violent and kangaroo impeachment drama within the River State House Of Assembly complex in which one lawmaker hit the on the head with House mace. The video clip generated controversies and attracted several negative comments from the international communities about our democratic system.

    It would be recalled that on the 17th of September, 2008, the late President Yar'Adua lenient as he was almost close down Channels when it carried the news that "President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua may resign after cabinet reshuffle, on health ground!" As expected, the local and international broadcast media quickly picked up the story and broadcast it to the whole world. Swiftly, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) disowned the story, while presidential spokesman at the time, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, emphatically denied the rumour, saying it was the handiwork of those who do not wish Nigeria well. Yet Channels TV was the source of the news!

    The latest this year from Channels Television is the one tagged 'there is God o'. A video clip about Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan, the first lady of this nation! Whoever watch the clip would acknowledge that it's a calculated attempt to expose the woman's flaw.  Channels had already made their point when they only reported about Mrs Patience's meeting with some concerned folks over Chibok abducted girls without the woman's voice and the annoying video. Question is, why did Channels had to go back and retrieve the video when they had said their news successfully without it?

   All these I consider too unprofessional for a media house that takes pride in being the best in the land and a very low sort of comedy. More than anything else, they have succeeded in generating further distrust between journalists and general public who will surely think twice before honouring invitations from them.
  This Channels folks need to be reminded that there are better things to do in enlightening, informing and educating the public rather than making mockery of the first lady and turning same to national pastime. It pride on being the best in the land yet the most incisive human-angle stories regarding Chibok abduction was the one  on the BBC website. What happened to investigative reporting/journalism? Has Channels ever taken up the challenge of researching how many people actually died in Nyanya? What about Chibok girls, how many girls were genuinely abducted? Do they have families? What are their names?  We now live in a society where newspapers and TV station rely on facebook postings by individuals for news updates.

   Nigerian newspapers and journalists have lost all sense of responsibility and shame, people are now mere hustlers, jobbers looking for rich and crooked sponsors at home and abroad, bullshit artists turning tricks, beheading the truth for pennies from the West.


-Saint-Olawale Jimoh
Observers' Reflections Int'l
www.saint-olawalejimoh.blogspot.com