By Adewale Kupoluyi
Democracy requires an active media to thrive. This is because the
parameters that constitute good governance, which is a common feature of a
vibrant civil rule, can be measured by the level of accountability,
transparency and rule of law that exist in a country. Ordinarily, it is a
difficult task for many governments to appraise itself whether it is doing well
or not. Hence, the importance of the media in serving as the prism to review
the performance of democratic rule parameters is ever relevant.
An attempt to stifle the media in carrying out these functions
would bring about dire consequences for good governance. A case under
contention is the Nigerian Press Council Amendment Bill, which has already been
debated at the public hearing stage. The bill seeks to regulate journalism
practice by creating a statutory body to arbitrate between the media and the
public. It is on this premise that the media can be compromised that Nigerians
were angered with the new media bill before the National Assembly has been
described as retrogressive, unconstitutional and anti-people.
The main justification that promoters of the
legislation are hinging on is the fact that today, proliferation of the media
is so severe that fake news and hate speech have dominated public spheres and
posing national security problems. We daily read false stories, recycled
information and outright falsehood, mostly in the social media that could
trigger violence, enmity and hatred among the people. Ordinarily, any
responsible government should be bothered about the flow of information,
fostered under an atmosphere of peace, sanity and tranquility.*President Buhari |
This is more important now that the general
elections are fast approaching. The media should, therefore, not be a weapon
for creating chaos, disaffection and intimidation in the land. Logical, is this
line of argument. Beyond this thought, introduction of the anti-media bill at
this time is not only curious but apprehensive. It is suggestive that there is
a deliberate plan to manipulate the media toward certain political advantage.
It is also instructive to say that the action is sub judice since a suit on the
subject-matter is still pending before the Supreme Court, which questions the
rationale behind why the bill should have been drafted in the first instance.
The lawmakers should have awaited the outcome of the court’s ruling without
acting in contempt of the court.
It is because of this constitutional crisis that many people feel that the
introduction of the bill is nothing, but a mere amalgamation of the obnoxious
Public Officers Protection Against False Accusation Decree No. 4 of 1984 and
Newspapers Registration Decree 43 of 1993, being brought back into our legal
system through the back-door; the draconian laws that were promulgated during
the totalitarian military rule in the country. Its existence would criminalise
journalism practice in Nigeria .
Do we need this? The answer is no. Already, there are several extant laws in
the country that can tame the excesses of media practitioners. The birth of the
imposed bill would make the Nigeria Press Council (NPC), a Federal Government
agency, usurp the powers of the courts by assuming extra-judicial powers in the
course of carrying out its statutory duties.
In addition, the bill is inconsistent with the
provisions of Sections 22, 39 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended)
and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification
and Enforcement Act) No. 2 of 1983 to which Nigeria is a signatory and is also
part of the country’s laws. That the bill, through some of its other obnoxious
provisions, intends to indoctrinate Nigerians, through the use and misuse of
educational curricula in the training of journalists and usurp the powers of
the regulatory bodies in the educational sector that are equipped and designed
to train courses in media and journalism such as the National Universities
Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) that
regulate the teaching and research in the fields of journalism, mass
communication and similar courses in the universities, polytechnics,
monotechnics and colleges of technology. This is unnecessary and a misplaced
priority.
This unwarranted censorship would encompass websites,
blogs and personal accounts in Egypt .
The council (similar to the NPC), would be authorised to suspend or block any
personal account that publishes or broadcasts fake news or anything inciting of
violating the law, violence or hatred. Article 29 of the bill states that
journalists should be jailed pending trial, if found guilty of inciting violence
or hatred or discrimination through their writings. Imprisonment before trial!
Many journalists are currently behind bars in Egypt . Social media platforms such
as Twitter and Facebook have become one of the last forums for public debate in
Egypt
since the 2013 ban on all gatherings without police approval. Over 500 websites
have allegedly been either blocked or closed down while those who administer
the websites have faced jail time or made to pay heavy fines.
We recall that Nigerians are more active in protecting the nation’s democracy
at all cost. A similar and controversial bill failed to sail through the
parliament in 2016, when the Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill (also known
as the Social Media Bill) was being pushed for passage into law before it died
at the Senate plenary. The bill was dropped during the celebration of the
International Technology Day, an event that offered an opportunity to users of
the Internet and service providers to examine the impact of the social media on
good governance. This is likely to be the same path that the new legislation is
bound to take going by criticisms that had trailed its incursion into our
political lexicon.
Already, the Nigerian Press Organisation
(NPO), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigerian Guild of
Editors (NGE), Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting Organisations
of Nigeria (BON) and other civil society organisations had decried the attempt
to pass the bill and calling for its suspension. While such internal mechanism
should be fully deployed to curb perceived excesses in the media, those on the
social media are uncontrollable; which remains a global source of concern for
all.
There are enough existing laws that can
guarantee against excesses by media practitioners. It should be stressed that
media houses and journalists are bound by the ethics of the journalism
profession. Citizens, bodies and organisations that feel injured or negatively
affected by the conduct or offensive publications can always approach the courts
for legal redress. This is what democracy is all about. Rather than waste
precious time debating the obnoxious NPC bill, further deliberations should be
suspended. The National Assembly has more than enough bills that it can work on
to enhance the quality of the lives of the people. This should be of paramount
importance to our legislators rather than promoting the new media bill.
*Kupoluyi wrote from Federal University of Agriculture,Abeokuta (FUNAAB).
*Kupoluyi wrote from Federal University of Agriculture,
No comments:
Post a Comment