I often allude to Fela’s metaphors and outburst to which Nigerian’s dismal situation has consistently lent credence, even long after his demise over two decades ago. In his "Perambulator" - an epic album in which he bemoans Nigeria’s uncomfortable stagnation and wherein he likens our social system to a perambulator dangling back and forth on same location. “He hollered: “Perambulator dey come, perambulator dey go. He must to start to go . . . start to go for nothing. He must to start to come . . . start to come for nothing.” He gave a puncher: “If you look the man well, na the same place he dey. He no go anywhere . . . ”
Whether Nigeria has showed remorse and made any appreciable progress or not, especially since his death in August 1997 remains a mere conjecture. I am certain Fela would hurriedly go back to rest in his grave in deeper anguish if he were to resurrect today and see his most beloved Nigeria still languishing on the "perambulator". But one lesson we need to learn from his supposed outburst and expletives is that, unlike falsehood which changes colour like the chameleon does, truth always remains constant. It never changes colour. Thus, an erudite scholar and motivational speaker F. Emmanuel once wrote: “Truth is never outdated, but gimmicks keep changing. Nothing endures like truth.”
If effective leadership presupposes effective followership, then leadership must be exemplary in conducts, attitude and utterances. A preacher against the danger of alcoholism is taken for a jester if found consistently reveling from dusk till dawn on bottles of wine and beer. Thus, any system that preaches vehemently against false information and holds in strict abhorrence fake news peddling, must be seen to speak inviolable and untainted truth at all times. It must not also hoard information since the people reserve the right to know what goes on around them. This is moreso when the people are either the beneficiaries or victims of policy formulation and decisions.
At the heels of this COVID-19 pandemic disease was the arrival of the 15 Chinese doctors purported to have come to assist Nigeria to resolve the frightening public health challenges. Against mounting dissenting views on this visit, the Federal Government stuck to her gun and the doctors came in, while it was said that they would go on the usual mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
Kindly permit this little digression. Decades back, pressure was mounted on the Federal Government to allow private ownership of the media as a bastion of national development and catalyst of growth. Private ownership of the media thriving along with public media had been a practice in many advanced nations of the world. Indeed, writing on the topic "Radio & TV: Time to Allow for Private Ownership" (Daily Sketch, February 20, 1991), this writer had averred that: “The best press is that which has unrestricted latitude to inform, educate and entertain the people. It is then that the fundamental tasks, according to Harold Laswell, 'of surveying the environment, correcting parts of that environment, and transmitting culture' can be fully performed.”
While writing on the "Role of the Media", a communications expert, E.B. White corroborated the libertarian philosophy of the press thus: “The press in our free country is reliable and useful not because of its good character, but because of its great diversity. As long as there are many owners, each pursuing his own brands of truth, we the people have the opportunity to arrive at the truth and dwell in the light.” Thus, in a civilized society, the people have the right to be fed with nothing but truth and not falsehood. It is when true and accurate information thrive that a society lives in the light as opposed to utter darkness.
The quarantine period for these controversial 15-Chinese doctors had long expired, and quite expectedly the public is eager to see their roles in this scenario, as earlier promised by the government, who also dispelled public’s palpable fear on their arrival. It was like a doctor being alleged to have willfully administered a killer poison on his patient, but in another breathe pontificating on having the best solution to revive his victim. However, it was with utter disbelief and rude shock that few days ago “government magic” metaphor, like Fela sang in his “Unknown Soldier” surreptitiously re-emerged.
While fielding questions on Thursday, May 14, 2020 on the whereabouts of these Chinese medical team at the ongoing daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on containment of the Covid -19 in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Prof. Osagie Ehanire said: “I want to explain first of all that I think not all of them were doctors and I heard that some of them are technicians, but they are staff of CCECC, the Ministry of Health is not their host, so we can’t always explain what happened to them or where they are.”
Ehanire gave a puncher: “There seems to be a lot of interests in these doctors but they are the staff of a company and I think they are on the company visa. So I will be very happy if you don’t ask me about where they are because they are not really our guests in that sense. But we have been able to learn some things from them by interacting with them from their experience in their country; we shared ideas about what they did in their country in managing Covid -19.”
Haaa! Technicians and staff of CCECC? Ministry of Health not their host? Can't explain where they are, hence will be happy if questions are not asked about them? Perhaps old age is telling on my television set! Could it have been relaying fake news due to old age, or halve truth, which the government holds in derision and aberration!? I listened to subsequent late night news. The asphyxiating pronouncement was confirmed.
Aside from the troubling revelation, it is worthy of note that CCECC is the acronym for the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. It has its subsidiary in Nigeria providing construction and engineering services, but its other specialties include railway construction, engineering design, real estate development, hotel management, etc.
The bottom-line is that if truly the government does not want fake news to thrive, it must be bold at all times to tell clear, unambiguous and untainted truth about her affairs. Fake news thrives in a nation’s public space when truth appears elusive; since the people are entitled to be kept abreast of government activities. In reality, government is held in trust for the people, hence the office holders are accountable and responsible to the people. Half truth is deceptive. Fake news is disastrous. Yes. But it is only when the public has unrestrained access to accurate top-down “vertical information flow” and are fed with truth to enable them “dwell in the light” that the destructive scourge of speculations, rumors and gossips and fake news will be tempered to pave way for national development. Verbum Satis Sapienti.
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