When saharareporters.com was created, it was seen as a website that would promote good governance and social Justice by removing the veil that gave some governments and government officials cover to do things that did not promote the well being of the citizens and the nation they governed.
The site quickly established a reputation as a medium for ground breaking news and Nigerians flocked to the site making it the most popular website in Nigeria as at 2009.
But as the British Philosopher, Lord Acton once noted, ‘power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely’.
Having had a taste of power, the power that control over the dissemination of information brings, those behind the website gradually began to metamorphose into those they had once targeted-power hungry tyrants who misuse power to serve a personal agenda while passing it off as a national agenda.
Once a watering hole for anybody who wants to know the truth that those in power do not want you to know, saharareporters.com has reduced itself to a site that is a massive gatherer of negative information on those whose political and ideological leanings differ from the operators of saharareporters.com.
Whether the information they publish is true or not isn’t the concern of the site. Their concern is that it tarnishes the government irrespective of the collateral damage to the nation called Nigeria.
And aiding this site are foundations like The Omidyar Foundation and the Ford foundation who have variously given grants to saharareporters.com
ostensibly to promote government transparency and Social Media advocacy. But have these foundations given any thought to the possibility that they may be funding the subversions of democratically elected governments and Social Media tyranny?
Let me use myself as an example.
On the 14th of February, 2015, saharareporters.com published an article about me entitled ‘Jonathan’s Aide, Omokri Burglarizes House In Delta, Carts Away N25Million Meant For Buying Of Votes’.
In the story, they alleged that in the company of armed men, I invaded a house in Delta State, burglarized it and stole 25 Million Naira.
One of the codes of the ethics of journalism is that journalists should take responsibility for the accuracy of their work by verifying information before releasing it and use original sources whenever possible.
From this code was coined the phrase ‘when in doubt, leave out’.
Saharareporters.com has my contact details and Omoyele Sowore has called me on previous occasions. Other members of the staff of saharareporters.com have either called me or exchanged emails with me. As Special Assistant on New Media to President Jonathan of Nigeria, I am very responsive to the media.
Yet, despite having my contact details, saharareporters.com did not contact me to verify the details in their story before going to press.
Even the most cursory investigations by saharareporters.com would have exposed the fact that this story is entirely false.
Saharareporters.com and Omoyele Sowore pride themselves on having sources within the Nigerian Presidency.
If this were true, those sources would have told them that on the day and time (the morning of Tuesday the 10th of February 2015) they alleged that I led armed men to burglarize a property in Warri, Delta state, I was actually at my office at the Aso Villa Presidential Complex.
I was seen by officials of the Directorate of State Security who man the entrance to the Villa complex. I was sighted by the policeman who mans the gate to my office. I was seen by support staff at in the premises. I had meetings with senior officials in my office. I received guests including a Director and later a youth pastor in a ministry located in Abuja.
Prior to that time, I had a transaction with my personal banker in the banking district of Abuja. I also interacted with a pastor of the Christ Embassy Church in Mpape.
On that same day, I also performed pastoral duties in my capacity as the pastor of a local church in Abuja.
Moreover, I have not visited Delta State since December of 2012 when I visited Delta state to arrange my travels with a clergy man living in that state.
Finally on this score, a record of both my cell phones would show that they triangulated only within the Federal Capital Territory.
It therefore beats the imagination why, with the preponderance of easily available information that showed that their story could not possibly be true, saharareporters.com went ahead to publish this libelous story against me.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, once said “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”.
It is impossible that saharareporters.com and Omoyele Sowore could not reach me to verify their story. This can only lead to the conclusion that malice was the motive of their story.
A number of prominent Nigerians have complained about the antics of saharareporters.com whose unethical and untruthful reporting has the capacity of severely eroding trust between the citizenry and the government.
The online site has reported that the President of Nigeria, President Jonathan had travelled at a critical time in the nation’s history even when he had not, has reported that the government of Nigeria had ordered gold plated iPhones as gifts even when this was untrue. These untruthful reports had the effect of inciting the citizens against their government and put the nation on edge until the reports were rebutted by the truth.
In all of these stories, the site and its promoters could have easily verified the truth but chose not to, preferring to publish lies.
Against the universally accepted journalistic ethic of seeking out truth and reporting it, saharareporters.com has sought out negative information without regard to whether or not it is true.
And what has been the result?
A site that was once the most popular site in Nigeria has slipped and is now not even featured amongst the top 30 sites in Nigeria (those in doubt can verify this information at alexa.com).
Its popularity has eroded and its infamy has resulted in more responsible newer sites such as Linda Ikeji’s blog (number 13) and naij.com (number 15) displacing it and pushing it to number 31 position in Nigeria.
The question at this juncture is this. Why have The Ford Foundation and The Omidyar Foundation as well as other philanthropic organizations continued to support this website?
Is it their aim to subvert the Nigerian state? Do they believe that by supporting this site financially they are promoting Good Governance? In their opinion, does good governance equate to supporting the opposition?
I encourage these organizations to invest a little sum on hiring an independent and objective media audit consultancy and have them appraise the activities of this site.
These organizations have much work to do in Africa and especially in its largest economy, Nigeria, and they must ask themselves how much of their other activities will be tainted by their involvement with this site.
Finally, let me remind the promoters of saharareporters.com of one truth that can never be suppressed- No matter how far falsehood has travelled, it must eventually be overtaken by truth.
Reno Omokri is Special Assistant on New Media to the Nigerian President.