It is not a secret that General Buhari places a ban on Africa Independent Television, AIT from covering his activities and events. The comment below is worth sharing because people in the media should be a little scared of what to expect in the coming days. If Buhari can do this to AIT, the biggest private television house in Nigeria, it is a sad signal to the rest media platforms. And before you know it, the media platforms will be afraid to publish the truth as it happened in 1984 through Buhari’s Decree 4. We just hope it would not get to that.Buhari is advised to ask the U.S. president, Barack Obama what he gets everyday from Fox news. He should therefore know that the rest of the world will be watching him. Again, Nigeria of 1984 is different from Nigeria of 2015 especially when it comes to information dissemination.
According to LIB, a lawyer, Gilbert Oladeinbo shares his opinion on the ban of AIT as follows:
“Maybe I should attempt to open our eyes just a little to what is actually going on: ‘Buhari bans AIT from covering his activities’. This is nothing for you to rejoice about that AIT sponsored hate campaign and so it’s a good response. No! It isn’t. It is just a true reflection of the 1984 hatred for critics and the press. Indeed, you may repackage a despot, but he is what he is
I laugh when I remember his words at Chatham house: “so I present to you, a former dictator and a ‘born-again’ democrat’. Like really? Do you realize that one Cardinal part of this democracy is the freedom of the press? Perhaps he understands the role of the media in bringing down GEJ and maybe scared of same.
Let me take you back a little, do you know the APC legislators, last year sponsored a bill to control the press? to be specific, social media? Do you realize that severally as a dictator, Mr. President-Elect called the media, ‘a distraction’.What then is the lesson?
Let me take you back a little, do you know the APC legislators, last year sponsored a bill to control the press? to be specific, social media? Do you realize that severally as a dictator, Mr. President-Elect called the media, ‘a distraction’.What then is the lesson?
While I do not subscribe to ANY form of unprofessionalism in the media, this is democracy, you can sue for defamation, except of cos you think they are saying the truth. Further you could prosecute for sedition (that’s what I’ll do to Sahara reporters if I were GEJ). You do not blacklist the media. It only starts with AIT and then possibly it will spread to other channels. Then we would have a ‘controlled media’.
But then again, let this cloud that is gathered yield us some fruits, ‘cos the NextGeneration is patiently waiting to kick all of you out. Just wait and see!
Gilbert Oladeinbo (Esq.)
GMB has been in politics for a very long, and am sure he knows much about Nigeria’s problem: corruption and unemployment. He will govern this country very well. However, if he must be successful, he needs to keep his integrity and avoid those people who are after their selfish interest. Again, we need freedom, so he should not try to intimidate anyone including press.