Media veterans in Nigeria on Tuesday said that the President, Muhammadu Buhari, is not a born-again democrat as he claimed in his address before world leaders at the Chatham House in London during his campaign in February 2015.
The veteran journalists stated that the ex-military head of state is stifling freedom of speech.
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Buhari had said, “Let me say without sounding defensive that dictatorship goes with military rule, though some might be less dictatorial than others. I take responsibility for whatever happened under my watch. I cannot change the past. But I can change the present and the future.
“So, before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time.”
However, former Editor-In-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Ray Ekpu; Founder of TheNews Magazine, Bayo Onanuga; two-term President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Gbenga Adefaye; as well as NGE current President, Mustapha Isah; condemned the recent anti-media actions of the Buhari regime, and the role played by Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in separate interviews with PUNCH on Tuesday.
The Federal Government had announced the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria on June 4, 2021, citing “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
Last week, Mohammed urged the House of Representatives to pass laws regulating internet broadcasting and social media in Nigeria.
The government also seeks to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act that are currently before the National Assembly to have more control over the press.
Ray Ekpu, who is former Editor-In-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, said that the moves by the government would fail, adding that the media would fight “valiantly” to resist the anti-democratic actions of the Buhari administration.
The septuagenarian said, “Both military and civilian governments that we had in the past tried to muzzle the freedom of the press and the press has always fought valiantly. The people who are doing this have no idea of the historical significance of the struggle for press freedom and free speech in this country.
“What is happening is not strange because President Buhari is not a democrat even though he claims that he is a born-again democrat.”
Ekpu also said with the actions of his government, Buhari was bringing back the infamous Decree 4 of 1984, enacted during the dark days of military rule.
“Decree 4 is Buhari’s decree; he is bringing it back in a democratic form using people like Lai Mohammed. He has been talking about China – ‘In China you can’t use your phone, in China, you can’t do this and that’ but are we in China? We were in China before for many years during different military governments but that is no longer the case,” he said.
Ekpu further noted that the Nigerian Press Organisation, comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, as well as other media veterans in the country were meeting and would make their consensus and actions known soonest.
On his part, Bayo Onanuga, a former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria said that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, was treading “a very dangerous path” by muzzling free speech and press freedom in the country.
He said, “The Nigerian spirit is stronger than any attempt by the government to gag the media. The government has never succeeded and I don’t see it succeeding now and I hope that people in the National Assembly would resist all these attempts to gag the media, either electronic or print and respect press freedom and every Nigerian has a right to freedom of expression because all attempts to gag the media will fail.
“Lai (Mohammed) may not understand what he has done but it is a great assault on press freedom; the freedom to freely say anything you want to say under a democracy because that freedom is guaranteed under the constitution.”
Gbenga Adefaye, who is a former Editor-In-Chief of Vanguard Newspapers, said it was unfortunate that “we have people with bunker mentality in government; people who are obsessed with shrinking the public space and taking away the freedom we fought for with blood and sweat but I have the belief that they will not succeed.
“Shutting down Twitter and some clearly obnoxious laws are very frightening. Under no circumstance should any government do such. They want to return us to the dark age with the intended amendments.
“These are anachronistic moves that are reprehensible, condemnable and should be resisted and fought against. Those in government forget that they are in tenured appointment forgetting that their time will be up in 2023.”
Furthermore, NGE President, Mustapha Isah, said, “Presently, we are planning series of actions against the design to completely muzzle press freedom in this country and we will not allow it. We will not sit idly and allow them to do that.
“Freedom of expression is in our constitution. This is even beyond Decree 4 right now; what is happening is beyond Decree 4. In a democracy? This won’t be allowed. The NGE is already working with other organisations like the NUJ and other civil society organisations on actions.
“I don’t want to pre-empt our eventual agreement but we are not happy at all.”
Before his comeback as democratic ruler in 2015, Buhari was Nigeria’s military head of state from December 31, 1983, to August 27, 1985.
He had seized power through a coup on New Year’s Eve and took strong measures against the press, jailed journalists and intimidated many others.
On April 17, 1984, the military government issued a decree granting itself the power to close down newspapers, radio and television stations deemed to be acting in a manner detrimental to the interest of the Government.
It also assumed the power to imprison journalists for inaccurate reporting or for writing articles that bring government officials into ridicule or disrepute.