By Tizhe Moses
I really cry for the noble profession of journalism whose sanctity has come under serious and consistent attacks by predatory journalists who do not care a hoot about the creed and ethos of the profession as far as the price is right.
To them journalism provides a gaping opportunity to make “easy cash” through blackmail, spread of fake news and dishing malicious and outright falsehoods against men with unblemished records of service.
While the world over, conscientious journalists with a bias for development are recording exploits and mileage by trailing the blaze and setting agenda for governments, some unscrupulous ones are busy destroying the illustrious profession through a new strand of “cash and carry journalism.”
The reason why these type of journalists are in the profession in the first place is to make quick and fast cash damning the inherent consequences.
To this group of journalists, one can situate an irresponsible blog called the finder; an inconsequential, measly and backward platform which has over time carved a niche for itself in the field of blackmail, half-truths, spreading of fake and malicious information and dishing outright lies with the intent to impugn or destroy the hard earned reputation of governments and personalities.
Such journalists without mincing words, portray everything that is wrong with journalism and have constituted themselves as malignant excrescences that must be ruthlessly dealt with for the eminent profession to regain its lost glory.
Leaving those yellow journalists to operate, is archetypal to giving life to terrorism. Indeed those class of journalists are worst than Boko Haram, bandits, Janjaweed and ISWAP combined together because while terrorists can only harm a section of the populace, those bankrupt journalists can destroy a nation and even the world because the destruction that can be wrought by a pen used wrongly, is better imagined than witnessed.
Indeed, I and other peace-loving youths of Michika we never wanted to join issues with such a crassly and lowly medium so as not to glorify its irresponsible and dreary tales but in view of the series of mischievous disinformation and intent to besmirch the personality of the executive chairman of Adamawa State Universal Basic Education (ADSUBEB) Dr. Salihu Ibrahim Ateequ, we would like to set the records clear in other to disabuse the minds of those who may be misled by the sordid online platform.
Suffice it to say that in its initial salvo aimed at destroying the hard earned record of excellence which Ateequ has earned over the years, finder stuck its neck by falsely reporting that pressure was being mounted on governor Fintiri to sack ADSUBEB chairman “over sacrilege committed against the district head of Michika, Ngidda Zakawa.”
The paper without the resort to the basic principle of self censorship, said the call was made by one amorphous group under the auspices of Good Governance Initiative.
One does not have to go deep to unearth that crass lie, as a click of the botton revealed that such group of faceless charlatans and scallywags only existed in the subconscious realm of finder as no such group is registered.
Secondly, it was curious to note that a group which prides itself to promote good governance will shamelessly engage in reporting conjectures about what transpired between two people even though there was nothing of such nature.
It is pertinent to school the so called finder to note that a group which promotes good governance should be business minded and a serious group of people that wish to checkmate maladministration through research based approach.
Such group of people will never waste time pushing frivolities and inanities such as what the so called Good Governance Initiative intended to achieve by trying to create a friction between two personalities where there was none.
But when their crass blackmail scattered like the badly arranged pack of cards that it was, as it couldn’t get the attention of our responsive and responsible governor who could not be swayed by sentiments, they resorted to the use of another technique, let’s we forget that His Excellency was at the ADSUBEB headquarters to flag off distributions of instructional materials to schools during which he applauded the giant strides of Dr Ateequ and his team as these pictures speak!
We urge the group (if it exists) to live up to its name by querying the activities of the institution which Ateequ has been managing with panache, accountability, transparency and fear of God.
When they do that, they will be surprised by the level of good governance embedded into ADSUBEB by its current chairman which is unprecedented in the annals of the board.
After their planned move to cause disaffection between the governor and the ADSUBEB chairman fell on its face, they mixed another odious concoction of lies with the aim of misleading the governor by weaving another mosaic of lies and unconvincing tales.
But as the true and conscientious leader that he is, governor Fintiri again dissed them by refusing to hanker to their selfish motive of causing disaffection between him and one of his most trusted allies in person of Dr. Ateequ.
It is high time to lecture those behind the sordid publication to in their own interest embrace the narrow path of truthful journalism which is the only way out for them as the path of self destruct they took is not yielding the desired premium.
Mr Tizhe Moses is a Michika based social commentator
