TVC News needs to apply the rein, somewhat -By Tunji Ajibade

Tunji Ajibade

I select this issue not just because of TVC News Nigeria. For the Lagos-based TV station has been doing well. Its progress since it came on air had been in leaps. The last time I met one of its reporters in the field, I had said so. So, I select this issue more for the opportunity it affords me to explore a malaise that’s on a national scale. Journalists’ Hangout is a discussion programme on TVC News Nigeria. Here, journalists gather to discuss current issues. I’m ever unable to bypass Journalists’ Hangout each time I search TV stations for a programme that can retain my attention. It’s good to listen to the opinion of fellow journalists, and I have found sessions on this programme enriching. But something happened in the course of its January 30, 2017 edition.

The issue on the table on this date were the happenings in the politics of Kogi State. Names of most of the political heavyweights from the state were mentioned – Governor Yahaya Bello, Senator Dino Melaye. I noticed that each time one of the discussants (name withheld out of respect) mentioned Melaye’s name, he made remarks about the senator that were uncomplimentary. At one point, he said Melaye was a man from Kogi who bore an Italian name, Dino. He repeated this same comment during the January 31, 2017 episode. It was as if this discussant disliked Melaye, and he couldn’t hide the fact. I thought his remarks in the public space about Melaye were inappropriate. What I wanted to watch was his insight, his incisive take on the politics in Kogi. Instead, uncomplimentary remarks about a senator of the Federal Republic were what the viewers were served. At that point, I began to appreciate something that presenters on Channels TV did fairly regularly. I could recall occasions when journalists such as Sulaiman Aledeh and Seun Okinbaloye stopped an analyst to state that they would want him to speak to the point, rather than make uncharitable comments about others.

I have never met Melaye. But I comment on this issue because I feel there’s a way a journalist should approach an issue, especially when millions of young Nigerians are watching. Some had probably laughed at some of the remarks about Melaye that the discussant made on Journalists’ Hangout. I’m sure though that many other Nigerians would have found them distasteful.

I’ve always been of the view that there’s a difference between speaking to an issue and making uncharitable remarks about the persons involved. I enjoy a good analysis. I clap when I hear superior argument, even when it sees things differently. As a matter of fact, I watch discussion programmes on TV in order to hear people speak about issues in a way that I haven’t thought about before. But once the speaker moves from intelligent analysis to something else, it’s a turn off.

I notice many young people who abuse others during argumentative discussions, even before they make one point that makes sense. This is a negative culture, and it comes from what they see around them. We haven’t been raising our young ones to speak to issues with clear objectivity and a perceptive mind, rather with emotion. Emotion isn’t always logical. We see it around us, and online where when one reads some people’s contributions to a discussion, they make one wonder. Such contributors don’t strive to make points to persuade others. Rather, they are abusive. That is the generation of Nigerians that we’ve raised. I hasten to add that it’s through avenues such as the one on January 30, 2017 on TVC News that we arrived here.

Sometimes, I wonder if the African culture is the cause of much of our intolerant attitude to others, or the years of military rule from which we haven’t recovered. Those in position of authority also exhibit it. I hope when the first set of Nigerians born after 1999 becomes adults we shall have a turnaround. As things stand, it’s necessary to point out the effect of having people in position of authority who’re intolerant, people who can’t stand the peculiarities of others. Most Nigerians don’t understand what diversity means, the fact that others cannot always see things the way they see it, and that people have different personalities and drives which may be way out of their own experience or disposition. Yet, this is the beauty of being humans. Variety. In temperament, drive, creativity. How to tap into variety to make our systems work better is a gap Nigeria needs to fill.

I had heard a minister of the Federal Republic under the immediate past administration criticise a member (a former minister) of the Bring Back Our Girls group for being in the group in the first place (The PUNCH – “It takes different courage, Madam Minister” – November 7, 2014). But a minister in the current cabinet had flown to the North-East with the same former minister and her group. We have many of Madam Minister in our high offices. Whoever sees things differently is odd. Whoever says things differently is the problem, the person dragging their programme back. Meanwhile, the real problem is the leadership deficit on their part. A leader who cannot accommodate all manner of people, and make the most of their peculiar nature and energy is deficient in a vital requirement of leadership.

I recall something that happened years ago as the General Secretary of Abuja Writers’ Forum. My president, Dr Emman Usman Shehu, and I were considering the person to be the judge of the entries for one of our literary prizes. A judge had disappointed so we needed a quick fix. Both of us knew the ability of each of our members, or people who had interacted with us at one stage or the other. There was one of our members who had a way of making his mind known, and he would not bother with the manner he presented his case. His approach was enough for one to assume (perhaps wrongly) that he was anti-executive. But I recognized his talent. He was good in literary matters. He was the best person under the circumstance because he didn’t make a submission for the contest. I suggested that the president should give him the task. He didn’t disagree. That’s the kind of person Shehu is. On such matters we’re ever on the same page. If a person is brilliant, he is brilliant. No other consideration would inform our decision. In any case, I feel it’s cheapening for anyone to allow grudge make him withhold what another person individual rightly deserves. The individual mentioned did the job, and I noticed from the reactions of some of our members that they couldn’t understand he was the person the executive gave the task.

The recognition of people with their peculiarities and the need to respect them accordingly is what I focus on. One may not like another person’s style, but it’s important one recognizes that the person has the right to be what he is. Melaye may not be the favourite of some, but his way of going about things speaks to the kind of person he is, the way he’s wired. A man won’t feel he’s doing anything worthwhile until he gives expression to how he’s wired. Melaye’s way of approaching national issues is what gives him fulfillment. I should know about fulfillment. Writing is what gives me mine; it’s where I get my kick. I’m odd to some when I spend so much time alone in order to focus on my writing. Yet I don’t feel fulfilled until I’ve poured what’s on my mind down on paper, or more appropriately on my computer. Melaye is the high-energy kind of person. He doesn’t mind being seen to be odd, or controversial, even. It’s the path he’s chosen to follow. He has the right to, so no one should talk down his style. As for presenters on TVC News Nigeria, they should take note when a discussant talks down fellow Nigerians, instead of analysing issues. When this happens, they should immediately apply the rein, calling the attention of the discussant concerned back to the issue on the table, letting it be known that making uncharitable remarks about others isn’t encouraged by the TV station.

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