LESE MAJESTE MAY BE DESTROYING THE ESSENCE OF THE THAILAND PRESS. IS THE NIGERIAN PRESS NOT IGNORANTLY TILTING TOWARDS A LESE MAJESTE ON MR PRESIDENT'S HEALTH?
The events within the Nigerian socio-political arena in the recent past have clearly shown that the Nigerian press is domicile in vague fear especially when discharging their duties on controversial issues to the public who they ethically owe information and enlightenment on issues of public interest such as the president's health. It a pity that the Nigerian Press is unknowingly operating a "Lese Majeste" system yet they claim to be one of the freest press in Africa.
The Nigeria press has posed in this issue is their own definition of democracy . The media outfit based on this issue weight their level of exisitance and success based on the ability to intrude on leadership affairs in the country . The different sides of reportage on the present's illness unconsciously can be categorized towards the LESE MAJESTE . OBIESIE OGOCHUKWU 07BE05523
when we talk about a free press, personally i think there is a limit to how free a press can be,talking about the president's(yar'adua)health, i think it's very unfair that they are not letting us in on this isssue, we have every right to know what is going on with the president so that necessary steps will be taken. how can we(a whole nation) be without a president? 07BE05542; Quao patience Mansah
Patience,point of correction we have a president in the person of Jonathan Good luck. Though he is serving in the capacity of an acting president, Nigeria is not without a president. Make sure you contribute valid points.
The Nigerian administration unlike the Thailand's haven't gone overboard in the harassment or stifling of expression of the press over the president's health.And despite the conflicting reports on the President's health, the Nigerian press if provided with the right information do not hesitate to report or publish such information to the Nigerian citizens.so i would say the Nigerian press is not tilting towards Lese Majeste(when compared to what the Thailand press is undergoing).UDOCOR EMEM B. 06BE03936
The Nigerian administration is not operating or even drifting towards the "Lese Majesty" system because the press is not holding information about the president's health. This information are not provided to them. The Nigerian administration cannot be compared to the Thailand's case because they have not gotten to that level. EKEZIE JUDITH, 07BE05505
The Nigeria press has refused to exercise the rights given to them by the constitution.Lese Maajeste that ought to only be in a Monarch society has shown its ugly head in the Nigerian society.In a society that claims to have a free press it is not shown as most of the media houses present information in fear. The president's illness has presented stories and views that are plain lies, half-truths and sometimes total misconceptions. The Nigeria press could be said to be restricted by the government and other people in high places that have ditched out this information which in turn the press serves the public. However, i must say that our press is free only on paper.There is still restriction on the press by the government and other forces which has led to the present state the country is in.Indeed, the press of Nigeria is moving towards Lese Majeste.Ibada Omu.07BE05537
lese majeste in the first place is an offense against the dignity of a reigning soverign. in the case of nigeria, it is Yar adua. i believe the press is ignorantly tilting towards a lese majeste. no one knows for sure what is happening to the president. so every one has their own informattion which is totally different from anothers. the press is not letting us in on what is happening. even the minister of information, Dora Akuluyi said she heard from CNN that the president had returned. this lack of information will gradually lead us into a state of lese majeste as different groups of people are having different information about the current status of the president Adubi Tope 07BE05487
well, we are literally running a free press system in this country, and the public has the right to know what exactly is going on in the government which in the this case is the presidents health because it determines whether he is able to perform his duties or not if the press are not able to give the public information on this issue, that means they are scared and afraid of the consequences which means that they are ignorantly tilting towards LESE MAJESTE. they claim to be the freest press in Africa and they cannot share vital information such as this, free press indeed. the Nigerian press needs help and they cant achieve much until they really become a free press.they need help and also we need good government, who will actually abide by the constitution. EZEGWO IFEOMA, 07BE05508
Nigeria is already getting to that stage of lesse majeste, if information about the president's health is withdrawn from the publics and the press don't have any information about his health, then its as good as gradually taking up the lesse majeste law, and saying that we have a free press is just very contradictory.07BE05542
The nigerian press is fast tilting to the lese majeste direction as we do not have any valid information on the ill health of our president and can not even find out as informations on this situation is being hoarded by people that feel we the public don't deserve it. The information on the ill health of mr.president cannot be claimed from the press because they do not even have the right information and this has led the entire nation to a guess party on what they do not know and apparently not sure of. Without any form of doubt i believe that Nigeria is fast tilting to lese majeste. Even the minister of information is in the dark, what a country. TOMBIA ONYEKA 07BE05545
Nigeria is definately heading in the direction of "lasse majeste". lets not forget that Nigeria never had a free press if the Dele Giwa and other incidents are anthing to go by. The way that Mr presidents health issue is being handled is not even making matters better. Nigeria is exhibiting serious traits and if nothing is done what is happening in thailand will be childs play.
The term " LESTE MAJESTE" means injured majesty and it is the act f violating the majesty of a state or country. Based on the issue of the health of our president Yar'Adua, i believe that the press isnt hiding any information because they equally don't have detailed information about the health of the president. I am of the opinion that accurate and detailed information concerning the health of the president lies with the first lady and the president, even members of his immediate family and government don't have good information because they were not allowed to see him. Even the minister of information, gives her information based on what she gets from CNN. In conclusion, i dont see the Nigerian press tilting toward LESTE MAJESTE ,Oluboyede Oluwadamilola, 07BE05535
The issue of lese majeste in Thailand is now very controversial because the modern thailand has relise that the law does not deserve a place in there country.The Nigeria government has decided to keep this information without trail, even the tiniest picture about the failing health of the president is not available which makes the press handicapped...if there is no information, there will be no news, on this issue that is what the Nigeria press are facing.In thailand,there press have The news but cant report but in Nigeria especially on the failing health of the president, am sure the Nigeria press cannot wait to give factual information on this delimma
ignorantly, the Nigerian press is tilting towards that direction but just imbibing a little of it. the media is controlled by the people in power therefore whatever information they feel like taking public, they do.thus these people are doing their possible best to protect themselves and still remain in power because of the level of corruption and sentiments. the point is,the right of the freedom of the press has been abused and the media should be informed about anything that is going on, the people have a right to know and be heard. this lese majeste would not be accepted in Nigeria if the media protects the interest of the people by voicing out.Oyegbade Olufunmilola 07BE05541
Well we say we are in a free press era but i would say we are not because if we were the public has a right to know what is up with the where about of the president and unfortunately they know nothing about so what are we saying and when the public don't know the true story behind the president's health they tend to say all kinds of things and when they are caught they are fined for committing treason which is the Lese Majeste we are talking about so getting the public well informed will prevent this Lese Majeste so in a plain simple term i would say Nigeria is moving towards Lese Majeste because we don't have free press. Etidiakaba Blessing 07BE05507
Nigeria is definately heading in the direction of "lasse majeste". lets not forget that Nigeria never had a free press if the Dele Giwa and other incidents are anthing to go by. The way that Mr presidents health issue is being handled is not even making matters better. Nigeria is exhibiting serious traits and if nothing is done what is happening in thailand will be childs play.Bamgboye Moyinoluwa 07BE05501
There is a yes and a no to whether the nigerian press is tilting towards the lese majeste system on mr president's health as the nigerian press has tried its best to give us information on mr presidents' health as the problem is with the Government whom is withholding information and not letting us know anything that is happening with the government. i belive that there are some journalists who will go the extra mile to get information, but mr prseident's health is a much ado about nothing, it is merely cosmectic as it is an information that is with the Government. Turai is using our nigerian money to make sure that the press does not hear anything about yardua. On the other hand i think our press is also tilting towrads the lese majste system in a way because i feel that they are not putting enough effort on this issue.they have given up and are not on their toes or having sleepless nights. An EXAMPLE can be seen when yar'dua's body was brought to the country, no nigerian journalist got the news, It was CNN that sccoped the news that our president was brought to the country in the morning by 1am or so. When they interviewed the minister of information, she said she heard it form CNN. That is a shame as a reporter had to come all the way form atlanta to give us news on our prseident. It was after that that the nigerian press started reporting the news.The Queston, is that what was our reporters doing when yardua arrived that someone frrom atlanta got the scoop. what were they doing in the comfort of their wives or husbands when the are meant to be prepared. I personally think that the nigerian press is not practicing the lese majeste system as they are not even prepared to get information on his health, they are being lazy as the information is there and they are not willing to go the extra mile . Bello Aminat Omorinsola. 07BE05502
i think the nigerian press is and was never practicing a free press at least the FOIB has not yet been approved. in my own opinion, i think that the press is also as left out in the presidents health issue just as the rest of the country but we should face the fact squarely even if the press knew, they would never report the truth due to fear or losing their jobs and also, there is the brown envelope syndrome to deal with but i don't think ours is as bad as thailand. 07CK06330 Chuks-Eboka Amara
First of all, the law of lese majeste in thailand states "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years." I do not think that the nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste because they have so far has said anything offensive to the government concerning the issues of yaradua's health. They have not prrinted anything libelous about yaradua's health. the rumor abut yaradua's ddeath was just a rumor and not taken seriously. The press have only talked on the unknown whereabouts of yaradua. They have nothing to say as nobody knows where he is nor the status of his health, not even the minister of information. So i do not belive that the nigerian press have done anything that will head them towards the lese majeste direction. OKAFOR CHIDINMA 07BE05530
My point of view is that at the Nigerian press operates according to its view of the nation's government even though it seems like the nation's press is drifting towards LESE MAJESTE, I think it really isnt. yes, the Nigerian press is not really a free one but atleast it is not so controlled by the presidentor the government. but even at that Mr'.president's illness is the business of the nation both press and should be treated as such. in as much as we have an acting president the nation needs its elected president. some thing has to be done iin that area and fast too. 07BE05547 UMOLU KOSISO
i don't agree with the fact that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste because the issue here is that there is no information on the presidents health and where about but it is important to note that it is the government that is hoarding this information and not the press. if the press had asses to this information i believe that someway somehow the information would have definatly gone out. EGBOMEADE OSEDE . 07BE05504
i want to add and reaffirm my belief that Nigeria is not tilting towards lese majeste.reading articles on what the Thailand press is going through as well as individuals cannot be compared to our administration.in the late 80's and early 90's,id have agreed to Nigeria tilting towards lese majeste but now i want to say that we are in a fairly democratic society where expression of views is free at least to a reasonable extent.If the Nigerian press have information on the president's health, they'll definitely report. Udocor Emem B 06be03936
Nigeria and the Nigerian press system is tilting towards numerous undemocratic laws that are not contained in the constitution.lese Majeste is one of them but not the sole problem. The Nigerian press is handicapped on the issue of the state of health of Mr president. The press can only give out information they have.The Nigerian press do not have access to the state of health of the president not even some members of the senate. The scenario was relived when a team (which comprised of some members of the senate)was sent to visit the president in Saudi Arabia and find out his state of health but were denied access to where the president was.What can the press do if the legislative arm of government are domicile. Nigeria is living out her personality caused by the existence of a fusion of several negative components that has been since Independence.A squabbled leadership system would yield a squabbled press system it can not just be viewed in the light of a les majeste system.A lese majeste system is a law against publishing or airing any information that might tarnish the royal image of Thailand it does not deny anyone nor the press access to information, you can have the information don't talk about it,but for Nigeria, it is a case of twisted mysteries we created ourselves and only god can help us.ANENE OBIAGELI HENRIETTA 07BE05495.
Lèse majesté literally means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. in my opinion the nigerian press is gradually tilting towards the notion of "lese majeste". because even though the government claims that our consitution is one of the only african countries with a free press, anytime someone says something negetive bout the government, they either get arrested or exiled. But in terms of Yaradua's health, i cant really say that the Nigerian press is leaning towards lese majeste, because the government is so well hiding the case of his illness that the pres doesn't even have any information to disseminate or hide. so concerning Yardua's health "no", no lese majeste. Mahogany Obodozie 07BE05524
the Nigerian media has always been limited on what to publish by government in other to protect their interests.the press can only publish what it is given and allowed by the law. the inability of the press to provide information concerning the president a dearth in the level of investigative journalism in Nigeria. Most media outlets in nigeria are owned or funded by politicians whose interests must be protected like that of the Thailand king. thus, it can be said that Nigeria operates the African form of Lese Majeste. Jacobs Babafemi 06BE03908
LESE MAJESTE it is just the same thing with no free press,the issue of mr president's illness should have been reported to the public if they are not operating the LESE MAJESTE system. Nigeria has never operated free press if they are claiming to be a free press that mean they don't even know the meaning of free press. they are yet to understand what free press entails, they shld be able to disseminate information without any hindrance from the government or anybody.until this can be done there is no free press. lawal cynthia, 07be05517.
If there is any relationship between lese majeste and the Nigerian press role on Yar'adua's health, it is a movement away from Lese Majeste. After independence from the British colonial government, the first strings of Lese Majeste left the shores of the country along with the British monarchy.
Lese Majeste originally means "injured majesty". Nigeria, unlike Thailand is not ruled by a monarch. Despite the obvious challenges, Nigeria is tilting towards a democratic society.A democratic society is not synonymous with a monarch. Therefore, the Nigerian press cannot lean on the same side of the measuring scale as lese majeste.
It is true that in the past, freedom of the press has suffered a great deal in Nigeria, considering the times of Ken Saro Wiwa, Isioma Daniels, etc. But Lese Majeste? That is too extreme. things are getting better, the girl who was beaten up by soldiers sued a high ranking officer and the court swung in her favour. That is the Nigeria that we live in.
Yes the government has with held information on the president's health. But apart from that, no reporters have been arrested, no media houses have been closed down and no properties have been confiscated in relation to the press' quest for truth on the
Lese Majeste is practiced in Thailand where the system of government is monarchy. this means that no remarks or actions that are deafamtory or appear insulting should performed against any member of the royal family. such actions are punishable by imprisonment of 3 to 15 years. Nigeria operates federal system of government in which the press is "free" and we're all aware that its not the case. today the Nigerian press is beign controlled by the government, its a known issue that journalists and persons who have made defamatory statement against the ruling government and people of very high social class with connectionshave either been thrown into jail, sent on exile or given other grave punishment. i've come to a conclusion that the nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste on Yaradua's health{ the president}, this is because the media is well aware that making comments agains the president who has the backing of other leaders will put them into serious trouble. AGBANUSI NNEKA, 07BE05489
LESE MAJESTE!Hmn.thatwhich means'the crime comitted against its majesty,more orless coined TREASON'can aswell describe what the Nigerian press is doin right now,becos they are supposedly'the people's voice'&so if they decide to keep'mute'or beta put'reshapen'the story;though this isnt entirely their fault as they have little or no info.about the president's state of health,then Ican rightly say they're tilting towards aLESE MAJESTE kind of press obligation.OGUNKO TOLULOPE 06BE03925
I believe that Nigeria has started its own share of lese majeste not only because of the corrupt situation of Nigeria but due to the lack of press freedom, an example is the discussion we had in class on the issue of press freedom shackling a nation, I believe secrets that is met to be share, that isn’t can end up destroying any nation. The issue of the president has become a case of money in exchange of a picture of his present situation, no country can stand without the support of its people, this situation has reached its peak and solution has to be made on time, we just want to be sure if the president is okay, we just want to be sure of what of his present situation and move forward, it should always be not that we are in the democracy era and lese majeste belong to another, freedom of press is meant to help both the people and the government in power. OGUNKUA FOLU, 07BE05527
i believe the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste because the press is not free since the government is yet to pass the freedom of information bill which they are deliberately delaying. The president has been out of the country for a long time and no media house was able to get a picture of him in Saudi Arabia nor could they get a first hand information. It is a pity to know that even the minister of information had to get information from CNN. No one in Nigeria knows the real state of the president or what he looks like. OKAFOR IFUNANYA 07BE05531
i believe the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste because the press is not free since the government is yet to pass the freedom of information bill which they are deliberately delaying. The president has been out of the country for a long time and no media house was able to get a picture of him in Saudi Arabia nor could they get a first hand information. It is a pity to know that even the minister of information had to get information from CNN. No one in Nigeria knows the real state of the president or what he looks like. OKAFOR IFUNANYA 07BE05531
l honestly feel that if a country that claims democracy and sovereignty cannot make some certain decisions without annoying the whole federation- decisions like replacing Mr president even after months of absence- then that country has issues... big issues. if this 'lese majeste' term means one cannot publish or say anything negative {even when that thing is true}against one's ruler, king or president- then Nigeria is definitely heading towards that direction.. and fast. for instance, newspapers of prominence up till date cant even give a lucid description of our president's health.. how 'lese majeste-ish' is that? CHINWEUBA BLESSING NNENNA- 07BE05503
well, personally i do not think Nigeria is heading in the lese majeste direction. i strongly think so because for us to say we are tilting towards lese majeste as regards the health of President Yar'Adua, the press first has to possess information that will be offensive to the government or the ruler. i think that the press doesn't even know what is going on with Yar'Adua's health so we cannot say that they are withholding information from the public that will be defamatory to the president. I think that we all are in the dark concering Yar'Adua's health and so maybe if the press was priviledged to possess some information that may be negative about Yar'Adua which they are not letting us know about, i might just agree that we are headed in the direction of lese majeste just like Thailand. But in the absence of such, i stand to say i strongly disagreethat Nigeria is tilting towards the lese majeste system. Aguda Amiola 07BE05490
I think the Nigerian press is afraid of the consequences of trying to pry into mr. presidents health. In the past there have been reportings of beatings and arrests of press officials by the government. The state of the presidents health is being protected by both his family and high ranking government officials who are doing this to save their necks when or if he returns to power. There are of course sections in our constitution which allow for the press to express themselves but I think the main reason for their refusal to dig deep is fear of reprimand from the government. This is also what is going on in Thailand in the form of lese majeste. Our press is indeed leaning towards the lese majeste system and there is our political and economic situation of our economy is not helping at all due to corruption in high places. CHIAMAKA ONU-OKPARA 07BE05539
It will be right to say that Nigeria is a democratic state and is suppose to practice a free press system but the truth is that free press cant be possible without access to information. the issue of President Umaru Yar'dua's health reported in the nigerian press is based on speculation or what they think is happening. Nigeria is far from Lese Majeste because they dont have access to information about the health of President Yar'Adua and if they did i will say it is well hidden since the minister of information claimed to have heard about the arrival of the president on CNN. President's health is still a mystery to us all. OKAKA SARAH C. 07BE05532
NIGERIAN PRESS IS ACTUALLY TILTING IGNORANTLY TOWARDS A LESE MAJESTE USING THE ISSUE ON MR PRESIDENT. AS AT PRESENT, THE PRESS CANNOT GIVE US VIVID INFORMATION ABOUT MR PRESIDENT HEALTH BOTH PREVIOUS AND PRESENT SITUATION. THE WAY IT IS EVEN THE ACTING PRESIDENT GOOD LUCK JONATHAN CAN NOT ACTUALLY TELL THE PRESS MUCH ABOUT THE MR PRESIDENT'S PRESENT HEALTH CONDITION. THE WAY IT IS NOW I REALLY DONT THINK THAT NO ONE CAN PUBLISH WHAT THEY ACTUALLY FEEL ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS CURRENT HEALTH SITUATION. WE CANT SAY THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY PRACTICING A FREE PRESS THE WAY IT IS WE ARE ACTUALLY PRACTICING LESE MAJESTE.07BE05513 IWEHA GLORY CHIDIADI.
One major function of the press is to keep the people aware of events happening in their environment.Looking at this function critically, i do not think the Nigerian press is tilting towards "LESTE MAJESTE" concerning the health of the president. The president is a public figure and anything about him is a public affair, so everything that has been published concerning his health, even though majority are mere speculations must not be seen as LESTE MAJESTE. I am of the opinion that more reports about the president's health should be made known to the public because they have a right to know if truly Nigeria is practising a true and credible democracy. jejeloye tolulope 07BE05515
first of all lese majeste as it operates in Thailand means "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years." Missing from the Code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult", of which this has alredy destroyed the essence of Thailand press. since this is the case in Thailand and we say it's stylishly tilting in Nigeria i think i quite agree with this assertion. lets take an example of the AIT and CHANNELS television closure as well as the Isioma Daniels assylum because of information published and we claim to operate a free press media system. i think whether we like it or not, free press is utopia and it doesnt exist anywhere in the world. even in our so called world power USA, there is still some kind of restrictions as regards press freedom. so the long short of this is that LESE MAJESTE is already a part and parcel of Nigeria press system and will continue to be. SUSAN ERHIRHIE 07BE05506
In my own opinion, i strongly believe the issue of Mr president's health and the information withdrawn from the public is not related to Lèse majesté, because it means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. What i would relate to Lèse majesté, in Nigeria is the shutting down of Channels T.V station on reports of the president's resignation, and subsequent killing of human activist Ken Saro-wiwa and other journalist in recent past. Though the withdrawal of information from the press and the public in general by Turai yar'adua is really disturbing to the nigerian situation and is not constitutional. The shocking part of the whole scenario is the fact that the law makers of "the giant of Africa" is doing notthing about it. AKINYEMI FUNMILOLA, 07BE05493.
oh well, everyone's certainly got a whole lot to say.........anywayzz I'd say Nigeria is certainly tilting to the Lasse Majeste system NAIVELY. Think 'bout it where exactly lies the dignity of this nation wen the truth is hidden from the people? this lovely nation has claimed unendlessly to be the freest press in the whole of Africa yet an issue as important as the livelihood of our very own leader is kept from us.......how free! truth is', to a certain extent, one can't exactly blame the press cuz they apparently don't seem to have the appropraite information on the exact condition of our darling Mr President but on the other hand ain't it the most important function of the press to actually ensure they inform us. i mean, without current information about government, there can be no representative democracy; therefore, this is the most important information that should be constantly available to us. in truth, i believe that the mere fact that such an important information has been kept form us is a large offense against the dignity of our nation which I'd term a preetty high jump towards Lasse Majeste! ALOKOLARO ADEOLA. 07BE05494.
i strongly and personally feel that the Nigerain press is ignorant when it comes to information about our President, Yar'dua's health and this is starting from the information minister who said that she heard it on CNN that the president is back when interviewed. the press do not possess information about the president and they can not publish what they do not know so they keep quiet and keep counting the days the president has been out of office. also the press do not have where to source for information from and the height of it is that NAN which is suppose to possess information do not even have the information. therefore before i can say that we are heading towards lese majeste then the press has to have the information about the president's health. since they don't, i therefore can't say or agree that we the press is heading towards lese majeste. Akinsunlola Adebanke 07BE05492
Nigerian press is gradually tilting towards a lese majeste . The say that we are operating a free press but the truth of the matter is that our press is not yet free and will never be free.The people in government are holding back information on the health of our president based on the fact that they are asked not to give out information or they are scared of disseminating information for fear of losing their jobs and the press knows about this, also even though the press have the required information, they are scared of giving it out to the public for fear of losing their lives, jobs and investments. 06be03904
I think we are digressing from the meaning and workings of lesse majeste. Nigeria cannot and should not be used as an example in explaining this owing to the fact that we are not even practicing a monarchical system of government to start with and there is nobody who has been 'punished' for saying anything about/against the president. It is sad though that the Nigerian people are actually kept in the dark when it comes to the health of their president but we should also know that we are ruled by a government and any government would always keep some information 'classified.' I guess we can only hope and pray for a relatively free press, given the Thai system. NGWODO MARYJANE 07BE05520
Although “lese mageste” is a term used to prosecute an individual that said something against the government and it is more pronounced in a monarchical system of government but can also be likened to the present day “treason”. Answering the question directly will have me saying that Nigeria is not tilting towards lese mageste because the system of government practiced in Thailand as I said above is monarchy; but if I should answer it like I think it should be, Nigeria, is definitely tilting towards that direction. I mean, why should the media not be able to carry stories concerning the health of the President, for all I care, democracy was supposed to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people which means that the people put the President in that post he is and if anything is hindering him from functioning as expected, the people also have the right to know and the only way this can be done is through the media. For goodness sake, it was already carried abroad that our President is dead but the best way the government think they can help matters is bringing the President back from Saudi Arabia without the media covering it and showing his face or even show him gasping for breath. Even the acting President, Goodluck Jonathan in the last month’s Guardian newspaper denied speaking to the President that the government made us believe is still alive. My answer therefore to the question would be YES because the government are not giving us enough reason to believe that the President is still alive and the information the media are getting from international sources is that he is dead; the unfortunate thing is that this cannot be reported because the medium or station that carries that story will not want a replica of what happened in channels television. Bamidele abayomi 06BE03901
Here in Nigeria, we don’t rule with monarchial system we operate a democratic system although this has been grossly bastardised. If people who claim to have our best interests at heart are withholding very vital information about Mr. president’s health, even after sneaking him into the country, then I must say that slowly, gradually and definetly, we are tilting towards a Lèse majesté. One day we might as well wake up and find out that we have all been sold. NA WA O! EMEFIELE ANITA-05BE02358
No. I do not think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste because first of all there is no freedom of press in this country and we have seen overtime the consequences of publishing anything on government officials or any one in power . These consequences range from jail time to death. But the problem is that the press does not even possess concrete information on the issue of the president talk less of releasing any publications on the issue. Any information that anyone has on this issue is all presumptuous and not factual so the press can’t even be tilting towards lesse majeste.07BE05499.Atuluku Ajifa.
lese majeste means injured majesty,this was and is still practiced in Thailand a nation in Asia.this is majorly practiced in nations where they follow the monarchy system of government.well i don't think Nigeria is tilting towards that direction we cant use the event of yar adua to draw conclusion.There can be a huge possibility that the press are not granted total access to the information and where about of yar adua. OLUPITAN HASSAN O, 05bf02414
LESE MAJESTE. Well thank God for second chances to be able to relay my well articulated, understood view on this issue. Yes the Nigerian Press is tilting towards the syndrome. Yes the knowledge about the state of the president is available but of out fear not desirable to the press for the common man. “I think it’s a bit difficult to say, because the information is coming from different sources, so it is not easy for us to navigate,” says Charles Dokubo, a government advisor and spokesman of the Nigerian Institute for Security Studies, a government think tank. “In this environment, you have to be careful what to say.”If a government official is been sceptical about how careful it is to let out pressing information about the government , then what liver does a supposed persistent journalist have to investigate the presidents state of health. The twist in focus has landed us on the affairs of the acting president whereby ignoring the main issue that poised such a decision . Like my other colleagues have posted we might not be practicing LESE MAJESTE but we are ignorantly tilting to such practices . Though on the bases of the NO FOI BILL we can afford to pretend to be law abiding journalist citizens but the fact still remains . Even to the extent While Nigeria has a vigorous free press, the emergence of stories reporting on the president’s health over the weekend marked a major turning point, since many Nigerians and the inner circle of the state house refuse to speak about a person’s failing health. Even Femi Falana, who has launched a lawsuit to clarify just who is in charge refuses to speculate publicly about the president’s health. This forces government spokesmen and correspondents to walk carefully when issuing statements to the media. OBIESIE OGOCHUKWU 07BE05523
After much consideration and critical analysis, I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards “LESTE MAJESTE”; royal law that forbids anything defamatory statement against the King or the monarchy. Though Nigeria is not operating under a monarchical Government but a democratic one that still does not dispute the fact that Nigeria is ignorantly tilting towards this Thailand’s royal law, concerning the health of President Yar’adua. All through his stay at the Arab hospital and even when he supposedly came back to the country, the Nigerian press is yet to say anything concrete but mere speculations about the situation, for fear of death, molestation or closure of such media outfits. In the Nigerian government, we have the “Inner caucus or Kitchen cabinet” who know everything happening in the country including the current health situation of the President; where he is presently, whether he would survive or not? But they are all refusing to talk because they have lives, jobs and families to protect. The truth is that, investigative journalism in Nigeria is a forgone issue, looking at past experiences of Journalists who have been maimed, abused and molested all in a bid to report important and factual information to the populace. A good example is the case of Dele Giwa, who was killed with a letter bomb some years back because of some his publications which the Government considered unfavourable. Another good example is the case of Hon. Abike Dabiri while at NTA, during an interview with the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, The former president got angry about a particular question raised by the anchor concerning the incessant fuel hike in the country, which led to her resignation barely 2 months after the interview. These and many more experiences have taught journalism to practice “SAFE JOURNALISM” concerning the President’s health. In conclusion, I would affirm once again that the Nigerian press is tilting towards “LESTE MAJESTE” because even the so-called Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) that ought to protect the freedom of the press will be passed with a lot of restriction attached to it. What then are we saying about press freedom in Nigeria? Jejeloye Tolulope 07BE05515
First and for mostly LESE MAJESTE says that you should not nobody must report anything against the ruler or make any publication that would put the ruler in a public light. Of course in Nigeria we are not practicing authoritarian government so we can not actually say that “we can’t publish anything against our ruler”, we should look at it from the point of view that there has been a lot of instances whee the press and even individuals are quite because they do not want to put their lives, career, and family in danger. Now back to Yar Adua and the Nigerians press, which is the issue at hand. Now there are individuals that have details about the president’s where about but would not speak out of fear. let’s take for instance when the former presidents wife died and AIT reported it and the outcome was that it was closed down with this and many other instances in mind nobody would want to say anything about yar’Adua’s health. We are truly tilting toward LESE MAJESTE because a lot of people know about the president but nobody is reporting it. The press is not even interested in reporting it (out of fear), because if they were one at least out of all the journalist in Nigeria would have acted as Amanpour and reported the case forgetting all the consequences. And I am very sure that media houses are waiting for who would report first if one media house braces up and reports something on this issue and nothing happens to it all other media houses would follow suit. OSEDE EGBOMEADE 07BE05504
The Nigerian press in my sincere opinion has been injured and battered, the true meaning of journalism has been altered. I would give a total nod to the opinion that the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards “lese majeste”. Let us not forget that part of the duty of any nation's press is to adequately inform the citizenry and if the citizenry can not get that information from their press, then such a press has a lot of questions to answer and should not yell about imbalance in the flow of information. Let me first explain the concept of "lese majeste. It is simply a French phrase which implies an "injured majesty", it is being presently practised in Thailand and it states that no one, either the press or public will utter or publish any thing which is not in favour of the king without going unpunished. the primary inhibiting factor as far as i am concerned,which is hindering the Nigerian press is fear. People who oppose this opinion may say that the press do not have the information but i would not vouch for anyone, in my opinion someone obviously knows something about the condition of our ailing, if not dead president. Mr. president spent over 80 days in absentia, has been in the country for over a month! it is a blatant lie that no one knows what is going on and where the president is. I strongly suggest that the press has buried the foundation of their profession and have let fear override them, no one wants to be shut down and lose money like CHANNELS, no on wants to be a Bayo Ohu or Ken Saro Wiwa, everyone would rather keep their lives than lose it. the concept of lese majeste as regards to the present condition of Mr. president is slowly becoming part and parcel of our press system. we cannot argue that we are a democratic nation with a free press and when we ask our Minister of INFORMATION if she is aware of the president's return, she replies in the affrimative, only that she "heard it from CNN"! It is very disturbing. Even if the acting president has decided to be fully ignorant, he must know something; even in the military era, nothing stopped any of our dictators from calling us and addressing us as "fellow Nigerians" concerning an issue. Is this not supposed to be a civilian era? Maybe we are even gradually tending towards the autocratic regime again. the press has to wake up, anything worth doing is what doing well. the Jos crisis and the Dropping of Ribadu's case are important but these seem to be swallowing up the dailies so no one ever bother about the condition of the No.1 citizen. I am saying that ignorantly, we have taken giant steps to becoming the African Thailand in terms of practising Lese mageste. SETON FOLU; 07BE05544
After my understanding of Lèse majesté, I can say that Nigerian is heading into that system. Nigeria claims to be one of the free countries in Africa to have a free press. In this issue of free press it exists only in out notes. Lèse majesté literally means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. In my own opinion, the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting to the “Lèse majesté” system because the press cannot say anything against the government. For instance when Isioma Daniels tried to report a story about Mohammed who was the president at that time was punished not allowed into the country. Some individuals might know about the president’s health but the problem is who would come up to give out such information. Even the people that are working in ASO ROCK are not bold enough to go to the press with such information let alone an ordinary person. Most of these people who are working in the Villa are sown under oath not to say anything concerning the president. Everybody is sacred of the outcome of things and nobody can stand up to give such classified information. The press are not to blame for not giving out information but the government. It’s not only the press that can get such information but also the people. In Thailand, it’s unless the president gives them the right to publish a story before it be published; this is also the case in Nigeria because a reporter can’t just go ahead and report the story on the president’s health, he knows what is at stake and he is also sacred of his life. This story about the president’s health is a big story and everybody wants to know about it but the problem now is who will stand out and report the story? Nobody wants to lose his/her life. Even though some one should report the story and the person is caught or everybody keeps quiet about it, the Nigerian press is still tilting towards the “Lèse majesté” system. The press can’t form their own laws; they have to be given the right to report a story before it is published. EKEZIE JUDITH, 07BE05505.
The term lese majeste has always been in practice in the Nigerian press system just that the press has been so ignorant of its practice. The term which means saying or publishing something against the dignity of a sovereign reign started right from the military era of babangida and abacha and this was one of the things that lead to the imprisonment and death of Dele Giwa. Even till date, no one knows the true source of Abacha’s death some say it was through a poisoned apple others say he died of a natural cause but the media never published the true cause of it. i think the Nigerian press is and was never practicing a free press at least the FOIB has not yet been approved. in my own opinion, i think that the press is also as left out in the president’s health issue just as the rest of the country but we should face the fact squarely even if the press knew, they would never report the truth due to fear or losing their jobs and this is where the practice of lese majeste comes in. An example is what happened to AIT and Channels television when they made a report on the president’s health some time last year. The press say that they have no way of getting information concerning the president because they don’t have any source and his place is thoroughly guarded but the truth is that what makes a good press in any country is the seeking for information especially one that is a national issue and has generated much controversy and disseminating such accurately to the information inquisitive audience. Taking the united states as an example of a country where a free press system is in use they are free to source and even publish any information they get as long as they know that it is of national interest take the president Nixon waterloo scandal, the bill Clinton sex scandal into consideration, the reporters were punished for publishing those articles but if it was in Nigeria i guess they would have been killed if not gone on asylum like Isioma Daniels. Even the swearing of the oath of secrecy of members of the presidential cabinet does not in any way help matters. All we as Nigerians want to know is how the president is doing and what his present state of health is like at least we have a right to be informed. 07CK06330 Chuks-Eboka Amara.
lèse majesté literarily means: ‘injured majesty’. It is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. In 1932, a new constitution was enacted in Thailand and it adopted the concept of lèse majesté . Even in the most recent constitution (in 2007), there was still a case of the adoption of the concept. Several examples can be cited on how lèse majesté has taken its toll on Thailand citizens including the particularly appalling cases of a Swiss national Oliver Jufer who was convicted of lèse majesté and sentenced to 10 years in jail for spray-painting graffiti on several portraits of the king while drunk in 2007; and Frenchman Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz allegedly committed lèse majesté in 1995 by making a derogatory remark about a Thai princess while on board a Thai Airways flight. Several examples can be cited on how lese majeste has taken its toll on Thailand citizens. The situation in Nigeria is quite similar; the difference being that lese majesty has not been adopted into the Nigerian constitution yet. The evidence of such is glaring in the fact that in Nigeria, no one has been able to provide any viable information as to the health and status of President Yar Adua. The fact is there are certain people guarding the truth about his status. However, no one, for now is willing to divulge any information for reasons which may include fear of loss of life. This implies that although there is a level of access to this information, there is still no way to report it. At this juncture, it becomes imperative to point out the similarities between the lese majeste practiced in Thailand and what is obtainable in Nigeria. In Thailand, everyone has a good knowledge of any challenge that there is but is mandated by law to keep mute lest they face grievous consequences. In Nigeria, some people know what is going on but the constrained from reporting it because the consequences are also not grievous- even when it is not stated in the constitution. The implication of this is that there is absolutely no press freedom in either of these countries. MOJEED RUTH 07BE05519
Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. It is a decree that hinders the freedom of the press in Thailand. this law states that "The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action" (Thai Constitution, Section 8) meaning that nothing shall be said against or for the king without the king's approval. The Nigerian media before and after independence has always been limited on what to publish by the government in power in other to protect their interests.the press can only publish what it is given and allowed by the various press laws created by the government of the day. The inability of the press to provide information concerning the president shows a dearth in the level of investigative journalism in Nigeria since the days of Dele Giwa. It is essential to note here that most journalists in Nigeria practice pack journalism instead of scoop journalism and as such lack in-depth investigative skills. Most media outlets in Nigeria are owned or funded by politicians (The Compass is owned by Governor Daniel, The Nation is owned by former governor Bola Tinubu, etc) whose interests must be protected like that of the Thailand king. the news being published is determined not by the journalist but by the editor who does only what his boss or owner of the media outlet approves. Thus, it can be said that Nigeria operates the African form of Lese Majeste despite the fact that it is reputed to be the freest in Africa. The situation presently in Nigeria is similar to that of Thailand in that both the king and the president are both sick and yet their health status has not been reported by the media who have probably not been given the right to publish or are scared of scooping for news that can lead to their death. Media outlets in Nigeria like AIT, Channels have been shut down and reopened for reporting controversial issues to the public likewise In September 2008, Harry Nicolaides from Melbourne, Australia, was arrested at Bangkok's international airport and charged with lèse majesté, for an offending passage in his self published book Verisimilitude. Subsequently, in January 2009, after pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three years in jail. On February 21, 2009, he was pardoned by the king and released. Jacobs Babafemi 06BE03908
Lese majeste is injured justice, it is an offence against a soverign dignity. NIgeria is naively tilting or heading towards that because we are supposed to be practicing democracy and democracy embraces free press. If truly there is a free press, why will journalists be afraid of loosing their lives over reporting a story or why wont journalist have access to all information and not some. we must remember that the media is socially responsible to us asper information and the government shouldnt be a hinderance. Lets take a look at yardua's case.No one is claiming to have information about his whereabout but how can that be? someone has it. people have it. infact i strongly believe that at least one journalist has it but the FEAR is what will be the aftermath of the reportage. the president and his family are protecting position and anything against that position is defamatory to them. In thailand, where lese majeste is fully vested, a reporter dares not report a story unless it is authorised by the king. Now, how different is this from the Yardua situation at hand? Obviously Yardua has given orders against the disclosure of his health state and nobody dares disobey the orders, at least its over a month now and yet no news on the condition of our president. For us in Nigeria, Lese majeste won't happen in a day. its a gradual process in which we are on the way. ADELEKE DOLAPO, 07BE05486
Lese majeste means an injured majeste, it is a system that is practice in Thailand. In this type of system you don’t go contrary to the system. it implies that nobody or press to publish against the king in Thailand. The Nigeria press is ignorantly titling towards lese majeste concerning the health condition of President Yar’Adua, the people of Nigeria have been kept in the dark for so long that they do not know the present health condition of president Yar’dua. We cannot operate in a government system that claims to be of, and for the people and people are ignorant about issues that concern their nations because the press has refused to say a word to either protect their identity or the president’s identity or image. The Nigeria press has abandoned their duty of informing the people. For existence was during an interview with the minister of information Dr Dora Akuyili who was asked if it was true that the president is back to the country and she said by saying she heard from CNN. The Nigeria press in my opinion is actually ignorantly titling towards lese majeste if not Nigerians will be allowed to say what is needed to be said,the press will speak on behalf of the people and the government will at least realize that it’s improper to keep the people in the dark as to whether the president who spent over 80 days in absentia from office is still alive but even though we have been made to believe that he is still alive. When the head is ill, the body is as well ill we can see that from the absence of the president which Nigerians suffered the increase and scarcity of fuel. I would entirely blame the press for not performing their functions and been afraid to carryout their functions. Nigeria claiming to be democratic is on the edge of the boat of democracy and sinking into anarchy. Even the whole idea of an acting president Jonathan good luck seems unnecessary, it simply feels ceremonial because if it was not we ought to know some things about the president we voted in to lead the country and the people. ORIBHABOR ANDREA ;07BE05540
Lese majeste is injured justice, an offence against a sovereign dignity. And i would say Nigeria is tilting towards the period of Lese Majeste because in the whole of Africa Nigeria is said to be the country operating on the freest press system ever but unfortunately they are not e.g last year in delta state the governor Emmanuel uduaghan went to launch project and on his way back, the militants harassing delta state then tried to kidnap him but failed because his security was tight and then the governor bribed the press men that were there not to report the story and then i asked myself if we were really operating this free press thing they governor would have allowed the reporters to report the story but he did not because then deltans would feel threaten knowing their lives are not secure which would cause a bigger crises in delta state.So all this boils down to my point there is no free press in Nigeria also in the case of Isioma Daniels who is on exile because she reported something against Olusegun. And now Yar Adua's issue is now on ground because they refuse to let anyone gain access to information concerning his health and when the public should start speculating and drawing various conclusions they would be punished for saying defamatory words against the president. The public can only say things the know and right now they are saying all kinds of things. So my conclusion is that Nigeria is definitely tilting towards Lese Majeste. Etidiakaba Blessing 07BE05507
Firstly,lese majeste simply means an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. If the press cant release valid information or don’t even have access to information about some certain things that are going in the country because they are trying to protect their lives then we can say boldly that there is no free press. The media organizations in the country are working under the complex and social system of the nation. Function of the press does not operate in reality in Nigeria as it does in more free and open societies. A non profit organization in NewYork called Committee to protect Journalists(CPJ) highlighted some critical events that has happen in Nigeria as a result of not having a free press. CPJ reported that shortly after the election of the former President, President Olusegun Obasanjo, police raided the editorial offices of the independent Lagos newspaper, Around the same time, Lanre Arogundade, chairman of the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), was arrested on charges that seemed to be politically motivated. Even government owned media employees experienced harassment. So with all these it is obvious that we are tilting towards lese Majeste. The freedom of the press will be greatly increased when the many ethnic and other conflicts raging in Nigeria are able to be resolved. OLORUNNIWO DAMILOLA 06BF03953
Lese majeste is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state and this behavior was first classified as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome. In relation to Thailand’s Lese Majeste and what obtains in the world at large, the press is meant to be socially responsible to the public: they are to be able to access information as well as report information to the public who aren’t to be left in the dark. The ugly appearance of lese majeste is back and freedom of speech and the press is again under attack just like the military era, the Nigerian press are to get the information on Yar’ádua’s health to the people but fear is making them with hold the information. In real terms, not only is Thailand's lese majeste law an international disgrace, but in perspective of personal freedoms, it is also barbaric. The fact that anyone can face an astounding 50-year sentence for exercising one of the most basic human rights is very astounding.
We in Nigeria are supposedly practicing a democratic government not Monarchy and there is supposed to be a free press, but, even till now the freedom of information bill hasn’t been passed by the National Assembly since Obasanjo’s regime and we want there to be a free press. Definitely some members of the cabinet, his staff and his family members have the details concerning the number one citizen’s health matters but aren’t willing to give it out to the public may be because they might have sworn oaths of secrecy or fear of being killed and also for political reasons because most of the people aware would have been paid millions to be quiet about the issue. For example when President Umaru Yar'Adua was sick in Saudi Arabia his wife restrained people from visiting him and no one knew the state of his health and even when he flew out of Jeddah to return to Nigeria, against all expectations, and with mum still the word from his close associates in the saga of three months that has continued to keep Nigeria on edge. Even some of his close confidants could be journalists but the fear of being punished or killed like Bayo Owu, Dele Giwa, Ken Saro Wiwa may be why they are mum over the case or could it be because they are all there for their own selfish reasons. Because if there were true investigative journalists in Nigeria the story would have leaked to the audience because the reporters would have developed the right sources and contacts that have valid information about the president. These same journalists in Nigeria were not even around to report his arrival into the country which CNN had a reporter on ground to do so and we are talking of getting information. Personally I feel the press is too relaxed with the situation on ground because if not at least one media house should have gotten the story across to the nation because they have the money to carry out the investigation. But the fear of what happened to Channels Television and AIT is what is definitely keeping every one away from the story. And whether we admit it or not Nigeria is heading or even practicing Lese Majeste. Odimayo Abimbola 07BE05525
The law, expressed in Article 112 of the Criminal Code, states, whoever defames insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years. In Nigeria, the practice of the likes of lese majeste is not very inherent because it is very subjective in the sense that there are circumstances surrounding It, for example, fear is not the only reason why the Nigerian press have not reported on his health; it is possible that they might have information regarding his health but we cannot just declare it is lese majeste based on that because I think that there are circumstances beyond their control; for all we know, in a society like our they might have been sworn to secrecy or something else. We should always bear in mind that there are clear differences between threats to free press and lese majeste because lese majeste is just one of the threats to press freedom and if we say the presidents case is a case of lese majeste then every country in the world is practicing because we cannot treat this case purely based on lese majeste, and in addition, we practice democracy unlike Thailand which is authoritarian; the political ideologies make a difference. Which means where it looks like lese majeste in Thailand it is something else entirely in Nigeria. In Thailand, it is a way of life which they are trying to abolish and they have it in their constitution, in Nigeria, we practice democracy and when this instance of the president’s health goes on, we should bear in mind that it is not ordinary neither is it something that usually happens, the press is not tilting towards lese majeste in any way except they look into the situations surrounding it, we cannot just conclude like that; there are strings attached. So before we analyze we should take into consideration these things. KANTIYOK RACHEAL 07BE05516
Nigeria is an extraordinarily important country to its friends and partners, and all of those in positions of responsibility should put (Yar'Adua's) health and the best interests of the country and people of Nigeria above personal ambition or gain.
"As a nation of 150 million people, Nigeria's democracy and its continued adherence to constitutional rule should be the highest priority." As regards the press, I won't say it is entirely their fault beacuse I believe one or two out of ten journalists or reporters will be itching to get a scoop of the Presidents'..at their own detriment; the problem has to do with the government of the day who claim they are practicing democracy- 'a government of the people, by the people and of the people'..Sadly, the term is not so in reality.
Considering the time of General Babangida and late Sanni Abacha,between 1992-1999 thereabout,it was a military 'freak show' then.Here,'lese majeste' was practiced, the press were being threatened and incapacitated fully to carry out their duties as stipulated beacuse the interests of the government of the day was supreme,there were very unfortunate cases like the cLosure of Channels tv& AIT,persons were arrested and tortured doin what they knew how to do best,other media stations were 'terrorized' in one form or the other,etc.
Today,even the President of The Nigerian Bar Association(NBA),Oluwarotimi Akeredolu reacted along with the Minister of Informationns and Communication; Prof. Dora Akunyili stated that the Acting President remains Jonathan until the President transmits a letter to the (NASS) informing it that he is back and well enough to resume his duties as President. "If the President feels that he is not strong enough to continue as President, the right thing for him to do is to resign. If he is not strong enough, Nigerians should appeal to him to resign, and not to disrupt the present equilibrium."
I saw from reports in the press that (Yar'Adua) came back under the cover of darkness with all the lights at the airport turned off, and soldiers taking over the entire environment.
According to reports,"We have not seen him, and I heard that not even journalists who were there were allowed to see him."Our major problem as a people lies in our inability to analyze unfolding events and issues pointedly. Everyone is talking about an ailing President who's turned himself into an 'Hudini' but no one is asking who gave the order to soldiers to file out in the middle of the night to condone off a part of the Federal Capital ahead of the President's purported return without the knowledge of our Acting President. It was a pure coup against the State'.
Therefore,Nigeria is indeed ignorantly tilting towards a'lese majeste' on the president's health. the simple truth is that Yar'adua is in a vegetative state and we,Nigerians are allowing ourselves to be fooled;yet,no one is ready to come out to perform a lese majeste on the president..we are indirectly inflicting a 'lese majeste' on ourselves as a people and nation as a whole.
May God help us indeed in this blessed country(Amen) OGUNKO TOLULOPE YEWANDE.06BE03925.
first and foremost let me start by defining the key term Lese majeste: it means that nobody must report anything against the ruler or make any publication that will put the ruler in a pulic light and it also means injured majesty. Though it isnt practised in nigeria due to the fact that we are not operating a monarchy system of government,the Nigeria press is ignorantly titling towards a lese mejeste. its been a while since our president returned from his unoffical leave and the press has still not been able to give us any tangible information about his health.Even though their are unwarranted government secrecy in which most government agencies and officals use to obstruct the jobs of journalist and the practise of press freedom,the government on their own part have failed to realise that they are the greatest source of news because its actions and inactions are of great consequence to a great number of people.it is therefore the duty of the press to source for this informations and news of whatever nature from anywhere and at anytime through any medium to the people in whose name the freedom is being exercised.journalist should not expect news and information to be posted on notice boards for them to copy, they should investigate and reveal what is hidden.Take the political sex scandal of Bill Clinton's unfamous affair with 22yr old Monica Lewinsky which took place from nov 1995 to march 1997. the press did a very detailed investigation on the story which himself and the country in an embarrassing situation and the press were criticised for over coverage of the issue. The press in Nigeria are holding back information inorder to avoid closure of their media houses in which channels and AIT was once a victim,inorder to avoid illegal Detention, harrassment and killings and a clear case is that of Dele Giwa, founder/editor of newsatch magazine who was killed by a mail bomb in his house on october 19 1986 during the Babangida Ibrahim regime. Also Fifty armed policemen stormed the International press Center in Lagos and arrested four journalists, held them for hours and without any charge released them. The police claimed they were acting on information that the militant group of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) was planning to address a press conference at the center. We may make sense from the claim, but when one remembered that the leader of the OPC, is “untouchable” the police claim becomes more of bunkum than dinkum. The Nigeria Police force seized the 4th March edition of Today Newspaper and Ayagu and sealed off their offices on grounds that it carried headlines that could threaten peace in Kaduna. A month later an armed detachment of the state security services (SSS) sealed off Leaders and company. Publishers of Thisday and warned the paper’s Editor-in-chief, Nduka Obaigbena from investigating the national security advicer,Obaigbenaought to have known: investigative journalism is only taught but not practiced in Nigeria.The Nigeria press are not abiding by the ethics of journalism which is against bribery and corruption.instead of them to fight against it, they have embraced it as a way of life.look at the case of Ishiekwene, known for his open and persistent criticism of corruption in Nigeria through his back page column in The Punch,he intimidated, displaced and forced about five editors and several other editorial staff out of their job in a bid to protect and promote several individuals including corrupt politicians he collects millions of naira from as well as organisations where he serves as a consultant or director designate. The latest of such that brought out the expose against him is the allegation that he collected N15 million among other benefits from the Lagos state government to entrap and sack the most senior editor of The Punch, Mr Steve Ayorinde over the latter’s failure to stop publishing negative stories against Lagos State government believed to have engaged Azu, as he is often called in Nigerian media circle, as a consultant.in conclusion,press freedom is not realistic in Nigeria. 06be03904
Let me start by defining Lese Majesteis the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state and this behavior was first classified as a criminal offense in the Roman republic in Ancient Rome. Okay i feel that the issue of the Presidents health issue is drawing us to one fact that we may be running a family owned country or is it not strange that the wife of the President has so much power even as to decide whether or not the president holds a meeting that may be beneficial to the whole nation.The Daily Trust reported on April 1st 2010 that the day before (31st) the president had some Muslim cleric guest Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque Ustaz Musa Mohammed Sheikh Isa Pantami, Sheik Yakubu Musa and the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, Sheik Ibrahim Datti Ahmed. According to them the President was getting better. it is funny that some people have actually seen him some of which are Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, who is his son-in-law, business mogul Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, who is a close political associate of Yar'adua's, as well as Alhaji Shehu Inuwa Imam. In earlier days, Yar'adua met with several members of his extended family, including his mother and sisters. He also met with several personal aides, including his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Olusegun Adeniyi, he was set to met with the Senate Prsident David Mark as well as the Speaker of the House of Representative Demeji Bankole but he turned down the suggestion of meeting with the Acting President Good luck Jonathan(his he keeping grudge with the man?) why has he not met with the Nigerian people. The first persons that need to hear from him should be the Nigerian People. We still do not get the meaning of Democracy "government for the people by the people" this government is not for the people because if it was i don't understand why a President has been in his own country after many months of absence and has refused to give a public speech if he can entertain guest why can't he give a minute speech? and what trips me is that Journalist who are the fourth estate of the realm who are meant to act as watch dogs are not doing anything about it. I support that we are "ignorantly" tilting towards Lese majeste. AINA OLUWADAMILOLA 07BE05491
Lese Majeste literally means "injured majesty" and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. I believe that the Nigerian press has been operating the lesse majeste system since the time of Abacha and Babangida.Let us not forget what happened to Dele Giwa. Maybe it reduced at a certain point, but i feel it has always been there. Presently Yar'adua's health condition is putting the country in a state of dilemma, in the sense that nobody has any information on his whereabouts, dead or alive. Its over a month now and yet no news about the President of a country.I strongly believe that the world is mocking and laughing at us. it is beyond the press, i believe that Nigerians are also involved, we should not fold our arms and wait for the press. we should also try to make efforts to get information that can help the press. It is EMBARRASSING to know that it was through CNN that the so called FREE NIGERIAN PRESS got to know about his return into the country. i believe that is highly unfortunate and sad for the Nigerian Press as reports about our own country came to us as a surprise. In conclusion, i strongly i believe that the Nigerian press is obviously affected by the Lesse Majeste VIRUS.This is so because both the press and Nigerians are not ready to go the extra mile in getting information and showcasing it to the world instead we are waiting for who would take the first STEP. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.
Lese Majeste literally means "injured majesty" and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. I believe that the Nigerian press has been operating the lesse majeste system since the time of Abacha and Babangida.Let us not forget what happened to Dele Giwa. Maybe it reduced at a certain point, but i feel it has always been there. Presently Yar'adua's health condition is putting the country in a state of dilemma, in the sense that nobody has any information on his whereabouts, dead or alive. Its over a month now and yet no news about the President of a country.I strongly believe that the world is mocking and laughing at us. it is beyond the press, i believe that Nigerians are also involved, we should not fold our arms and wait for the press. we should also try to make efforts to get information that can help the press. It is EMBARRASSING to know that it was through CNN that the so called FREE NIGERIAN PRESS got to know about his return into the country. i believe that is highly unfortunate and sad for the Nigerian Press as reports about our own country came to us as a surprise. In conclusion, i strongly i believe that the Nigerian press is obviously affected by the Lesse Majeste VIRUS.This is so because both the press and Nigerians are not ready to go the extra mile in getting information and showcasing it to the world instead we are waiting for who would take the first STEP. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.AYEESHA IBRAHIM
Well i think that the Nigerian press is gradually tilting towards lesse majeste because Nigeria as a nation claims to have a free press which is socially responsible but yet the issue of the presidents health is withheld from Nigerians it is over a month since the president arrived and all the lights of the international airport was turned off where is that done, or was there a power outage?were there no journalists to take at least a picture and we have not even heard him speak talk less of seeing him on air i think it is not fair enough. the media which is supposed to act as the fourth estate of the realm and speak for the voiceless citizens is keeping quiet and we all are just crossing our arms watching the issue go on does the press want to say that they don't know anything about the president's state of health? what then happened to the investigative journalism this is supposed to be a story that will shoot which ever media house that has any information to light but no they have refused to let us know or are they sticking to the principle of classified information? if they refer to themselves as a free press there should not be anything like classified information.this issue of the presidents health and Nigerians being ignorant should be a reason for the house of assembly to even pass the FOI bill so that the press will be able to report news freely and the citizens will be better informed i think its very unfortunate the state of the Nigerian press but there is hope for a good turn but this will take plenty of effort and more courage from the press system. ADEBISI OMOLOLA 07BE05485
i strongly and personally feel that the Nigerain press is not tilting. we claim we have a free press but we basically don't because the free press talked about is theoretical not practical but we have had people who were interested in the welfare of the people such as Dele Giwa who was killed and other noble people who could do anything to possess information but our journalist now aint like that, they are ignorant when it comes to information. they basically wait for information to come rather than sourcing for information. no one is ready to risk his life to get information. when it comes to the issue of the president, they do not possess information about him and are not ready to risk anything like they should.and this is starting from the "information minister" who said that she heard it on CNN that the president is back when interviewed. the press do not possess information about the president and they can not publish what they do not know so they keep quiet and keep on counting the days the president has been out of office. also the press do not have where to source for information from except from those that know about him like his immediate family and close friends who are not rready to disclose any information and the height of it is that NAN which is suppose to possess information do not even have the information. therefore before i can say that we are heading towards lese majeste then the press has to possess the information about the president's health. since they don't, i therefore can't say or agree that we the press is heading towards lese majeste. Akinsunlola Adebanke 07BE05492
According to the 2009 edition of Encarta dictionary 'lese majesty' can be defined as disrespect to authority i.e. disrespect toward the authority or dignity of somebody or something. It can also be defined as an act of treason i.e. a criminal offense against a ruler or head of state. In my opinion Nigeria is not ignorantly tilting to lese majesty,looking at the lack of reportage of the whereabouts of the Nigerian President, Musa Yar'Adua by media houses is not a qualification to conclude that Nigeria is tilting towards lese majesty. It's just an example in isolation of itself. I am of the opinion that investigating the whereabouts of President Musa Yar'Adua is not what would yield return in a short time, even the Watergate scandal that occurred in the United States of America, was not discovered until nearly after a year,which was after the efforts of persistent investigation by two reporters for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The Nigerian press has proven to be competent and not bounded by limitations. The past experiences that have occurred is enough to make us reconsider our thoughts. An example was during the military era when Tell magazine reported that Abacha was going to die of cancer, even though they were not closed down it didn't hinder them from continuing investigative reporting. During the tenure of former President Obasanjo and even presently media houses criticized him for junketing not stoping at that they created caricatures of him through their cartoons. Looking at the case of Channel Television when it were shut down for broadcasting that Yar'Adua going to resign. And when AIT was also shut down for live broadcasting of a plane crash. This two incidents should not be seen as another credential to conclude that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majesty but rater that the Nigerian press no matter what happens would always broadcast the truth. In the early stages of President Yar'Adua's tenure this same press that is supposedly ignorantly tilting to lese majesty reported Yar'Adua's health issues. Even the case of a picture of the Ogun state governor Gbenga Daniel at a shrine is another case to prove that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majesty. Ojewunmi Ezekiel 07BE05528
i strongly believe that Nigeria is tilting towards lesse majeste. lESE MAJESTE means a crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. Now relating this definition to Nigeria,the present situation of the country is that there is no free press that is the mass media cannot just report anything Citing examples President Yara Adua departure from Saudi Arabia and arrival in Nigeria is very dramatic.And so it is, that, after 93 days absence, and being away from presidential duties, President Umaru Musa YarAdua has returned to Nigeria, but his health conditions remain unclear, and it is unknown, whether is able or wiling to return to work immediately. And speculations are rife about scenarios and intrigues, which have conspired and culminated into the clandestine nighttime arrival in Nigeria, a couple of hours before dawn and daybreak, by Mr. President.
It will be recalled that President Umaru Musa YarAdua left Nigeria three whole months ago, precisely on November 23rd 2009, February 23rd, 2010; the president left in a medical emergency, to seek medical for his imperfect and rather precarious health condition which have persisted over these several years.Yar'adua's return plans were a tightly-kept secret,now Nigerians are not aware of this because everything as being kept secret and the media who even know about new development cannot even publish it becuase their life will be in danger and no body to back them up. In conclusion until all these secrets are kept open the mass media can never report such because they have to flow in line with the government. Odukale Bowale 07be05526
1. Is the disclosed ailment of the President curable or terminal?
2. Is the ailment such as to incapacitate a person from functioning at a high-level office like that of the President?
3. If it is curable, how long can it take for the victim to be fully back on his feet?
4. Have the Nigerian Medical Association made moves to send a team of its doctors to Saudi Arabia to, at least, see the President? The attempt to do this is important and patriotic even if they are finally denied access to the President.
5. Can the ailment be treated in Nigeria ? Al these cannot be known if the mass media donot report this .
Now the president has arrived for some time now and yet nobody knows his latest development, Nigerians donot even know how he looks. Now the government is blocking every means of allowing information to be heard.Even though any information is heard the fear of reporting it means a lot because the person giving out this news his or her life is at risk and will not even have any backup from any media organization until these secrets are kept open Nigeria is seriously tilting towards Lese Majeste
I still hold the view that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majeste except if we are saying that the absence of freedom of information and investigative journalism is the presence of lese majeste. The minister of information, Prof. Dora Akunyili said she heard on CNN on the 24th of February that the president was back saying the news was not officially announced.(I truly wonder who was supposed to announce it other than the information minister). After complaining about being fed up with lies about Yar' Adua, she mentioned that the people taking care of the the situation were not handling it well. She said all this in an interview with Vanguard newspaper. The Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Mohammed said in a press briefing on Wednesday 31st of March that he and 3 other muslim clerics that they visited the president and he went on to say they didn't sit close to him neither was he speaking well but after the prayers, he said amen with them. In Thailand or Turkey or Morocco where Lese majeste is being practised Dora Akunyili wouldn't say she's tired of the lies surrounding the president's health neither would the press have the guts to report it. Also, the press wouldn't have entertained comments from the chief imam saying that the president was not speaking well. Also if the press was tilting towards lese majeste, believe me, no newspaper would have mentioned the name Yar'Adua while he was in Saudi Arabia. There wouldn't be any news of Turai Yar'Adua leading a cabal in Aso Rock. If the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste, The Nation newspaper wouldn't have had an article titled "Is President Yar'Adua Still Alive?" on the 19th of March 2010 neither would the Nigerian Tribune have an article titled "Is President Yar'Adua Really Still Alive?" All this things the press has reported thus far would have injured the "king" and his family long time ago but the press has continued reporting what they like regarding the state of the president's health. I believe that an IN DEPTH study of lese majeste would help us understand the term and how it works but while we are on it, I still believe that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majeste. NGWODO MARYJANE 07BE05520
I strongly believe that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste because of the present situation concerning the Presidents health. information about this issue is being withheld from the public.not even a common picture to prove his existence. the media has no information about his whereabouts. I even heard that all the lights at the airports were shut when he arrived into the country. I believe that the owners of the media houses have collected a certain amount of bribe or maybe threatened not publish anything concerning the health of the president. i must say that press freedom in Nigeria is obviously not realistic..this can be seen in the case of Ishiekwene, known for his criticism of corruption in Nigeria through his back page column in The Punch. He forced about five editors and several other editorial staff out of their job in a bid to protect and promote several individuals including corrupt politicians he collects millions of naira from as well as organisations where he serves as a consultant or director designate. The latest of such that brought out the expose against him is the allegation that he collected N15 million among other benefits from the Lagos state government to entrap and sack the most senior editor of The Punch, Mr Steve Ayorinde over the latter’s failure to stop publishing negative stories against Lagos State government. NKECHI IBE.
i will like to start by saying Nigeria has embraced this concept a very long time ago it is just a pity that we are just realizing it now. to start with, during the colonial era when nationalist movement was raised towards fighting for independence, newspaper were owned by individuals who after writing against the colonialist wrote things to sooth themselves and any newspaper that does other wise was dealt with for example 1963 when obafemi awolowo was the premiere for the west he had a quarrel with his partner ladoke who later saw to his imprisonment and he did everything possible to shut daily times up because it was working against ladoke's government. another major example was herbert marculey and ernest who wrote against herbert and was severly dealt with. bringing it down to the situation at hand i believe AIT and Channels television have information about Yar'Adua but none of them are willing to go all the way because of the different challenges they had with the government. like channels when they reported Yar'Adua's decision to resign which cost them a whole lot. even AIT have suffered a lot from the government of the day from Abacha's tenure up until Obasanjo and the recent one that happened this last December. i believe lese majesta is currently in practice in this country it is not just visible because it's been like that since the 1960's. AFOLAYAN REBECCA 07BE05488
Considering the situation at hand, it is without doubt that the Nigerian Press is tilting towards Lese Majeste in no small measure. Whether issues and where about of Yar’Adua remains hidden or not, the truth remains that the press has succeeded in making this very big issue look as mild as possible. Probably due to fear of or manipulation by top government officials, the press which is supposed to inform and keep us updated has kept us in the dark about this all important issue on the very unacceptable basis that information about this has been well hidden and therefore can’t be accessed. Where then is the right to information of press we are talking about if something that affects all and sundry is treated like it’s no man’s business. Even if, there is no information available, how far has the press gone in sensitizing individuals or groups involved to divulge this information to them? Rather, everyone is scared, when they remember examples of heroes past who have tried such. Isn’t this the same thing happening in Thailand? An example of this is Suwicha Thakor who was detained and almost stripped of humanity for reporting against the majesty. Can anyone tell me the difference between this instanced and that of Abike Dabiri. Lese majeste is gradually eating into our press so much that they have to tag any comment, opinion and articles about the health of Yar’ adua to individuals before they can report them. An example of this was Next news paper’s headline posted on the 1st of April “CNPP says Yar’Adua is incapacitated”. Show me the day when the press will be able to stand up to their right and speak up and I will tell you the press isn’t tilting towards lese majeste. ADEBAYO BUKOLA. 07BE05484
I choose to agree with the fact that Nigeria is ignorantly tilting towards Lese Majeste especially with regards to Yar Adua’s health. Lese Majeste as a concept popularized by Thailand, doesn’t allow the press reveal anything that defames the govt of the day. It puts a restriction on the investigative function of journalists and this is very much present in the Nigerian press. Journalist here in Nigeria, are definitely able to get the necessary information concerning the state of Yar Adua’s health as this is what qualifies a journalist; however, they are too scared to disclose them. Some persons might claim that the journalists can’t access this information but the truth is that a journalist who can’t go out of his comfort zone to gather information is not fit to be one. However, the Journalists in the Nigerian press can’t go all the way, not because they are not fit but because Lese Majeste is at work and as always being at work in Nigeria. For example, some few years ago, AIT was shut down for airing the site of a plane crash which the govt didn’t want aired. This is a typical example of this concept as it restricts the rights of the press. Worthy of mention, is the freedom of information bill that is yet to be approved. This is just a way to ensure that the press is not bound by the law to say whatever they want to say and as such are liable to be punished by them, which exactly is what Lese Majeste preaches. There are a lot of transparent reasons to say that the Nigerian press is tilting towards Lese Majeste, ignorantly or not, nonetheless, I hope I have being able to drive home my point with this few.
Yes , I essentially agree with the notion and this is based on the following points i will expound upon progressively. Lese majeste is simply the crime of violating majesty. It is also an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. The behaviour was first classified as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome.However, since the disappearance of absolute monarchy,in modern times, this is viewed as less of a crime, although similar and more malicious acts are considered to be TREASON. The media in Thailand is not as free as those in the Western world. In Thailand, information about the king and the royal family is strictly controlled by one of the world’s harshest lese majeste laws, that makes it a crime to violate the defame the dignity of a ruler as stated in Section 112 of the Penal code which sanctions punishment for Lese majeste; “whosoever defames, insults,or threatens the king, queen, heir apparent or the regent shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding 3 years.’ This simply tells that no one shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action. Many cases of these sanctions in time past have been meted out to various individuals; one of such was the case of Frenchman, Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz who allegedly committed Lese majeste in 1995 by making derogatory remarks about a Thai princess on board a Thai airways flight. He was taken into custody at the Bangkok airport and was detained for 2 weeks on the grounds of offending the monarchy. But he was later released on bail and acquitted after tendering a letter of apology to the king. In the case of a country such as Nigeria; Nigeria is not just ignorantly tilting, we have already consciously titled not only regarding the issue of the President’s health but in all situations. The press is acting as if they don’t even know president Yar’ádua. All these are due to fear of death and sanction all proportionate to the law of lese majeste.Just like in the pre-independence days, the press still serves as a form of propaganda tool of the representatives of the state and those that have bravery to inform the public on certain issues are sanctioned and silenced. A typical example is the case of the television stations, AIT and CHANNELS. Both stations have been locked up at one point or the other all in the bid to exercise free press and adequately shed light on issues where darkness loomed.Equally on the case of the president , it is possible that some individual s know where the president is but due to fear of death or sanctions, as earlier stated, they would rather not say anything . The president has been back for close to a month and nine days and still the press have not reported any thing salty on his whereabout or his health conditions.Look at the western world, they report it as it is. A logical example is the Watergate scandal, Bill Clinton sex scandal, Clinton Health matters in 2009 and many other issues respectively. we have definitely tilted because if for fear of sanction, information is not given accurately, it is still a crystal clear case of Lese majeste. CHEERS!
without any iota of doubt, one can confidently say that Nigeria press has tilted towards lese majeste. the truth is whether we like it or not, in as much as we say we are operating a free press, there reall cannot be free press in the world. even the internet is getting restricted these days in some part of the world like China, Vietnam and so on. in Thailand where this lese majeste started, it is a law there that states that no one must say anything defarmatory about the ruling power or else, that person whether a press man or not, gets punished. in Nigeria, this has been the case for years especially during the military, even now that we say we are practicing democracy, we still see traces of dictatorship especially when it pertains with the media and this still rubs on our democracy. the only difference between that era and now is the absence of khaki uniform. all other things are still the same. in the case of Yar'Adua's health, we all know that more than a thousand and one people have information about his health situation. yet thay keep quiet because of the fear of being maimed as it was in the military era. in the real sense, journalists are afraid of their lives as there is no protection covering them for doing proper investigative journalism. between Januart 1st and March, there have been report of 52cases world wide of press freedom violation. the dominant country is Tehran, dominant gender are males, dominant region are the Asian region and the dominant media are newpaper and the internet bloggers. if you ask me, the newspaper and the internet blog are the most fastest way to air natinal public views and get immediate response, but because of lack of freedom, the medium are stylisly getting restricted just like the blog site on the sharia stuff about cutting the hand of a man has been blocked in Iran. i want to say that we have always been in this lese majeste since like forever but we never knew it. even though lese majeste is not imbedded in our constitution, we have been operating the mild form of it. APAPA YETUNDE 07BE05496
Yes I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste. Lese majeste simply means ‘injured majesty’. It’s a law that states nothing wrong can be said about the king or the ruling party or the person will be killed. I said yes because on the presidents health no single piece of information has been published (that is on the actual state of his health) and this is not because of the unavailability of the information but the fear of the reporters to source for the information talk less of even report on the story. this is because everyone is scared for their lives as they have seen overtime what has happened to different people who have reported things on governmentt officials these things range from jail time to even death. For example Dele Giwa was murdered because of something similar to this. So I feel we are more than tilting we are already leaning on it as it in our history and it has already been embedded in our constitution unconsciously whether we accept it or not . 07BE05499 Atuluku Ajifa.
Yes I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste. Lese majeste simply means ‘injured majesty’. It’s a law that states nothing wrong can be said about the king or the ruling party or the person will be killed. I said yes because on the presidents health no single piece of information has been published (that is on the actual state of his health) and this is not because of the unavailability of the information but the fear of the reporters to source for the information talk less of even report on the story. this is because everyone is scared for their lives as they have seen overtime what has happened to different people who have reported things on governmentt officials these things range from jail time to even death. For example Dele Giwa was murdered because of something similar to this. So I feel we are more than tilting we are already leaning on it as it in our history and it has already been embedded in our constitution unconsciously whether we accept it or not . 07BE05499 Atuluku Ajifa.
"The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action' This is the Thai definition of the Lese Majeste; the crime of violating majesty, an offense against dignity or a sovereign state.
In history and even in present times, most things have not changed in Nigeria. Among many of these things are the economy, the infrastructural state and the press seeming to have their tails in between their legs like oppressed animals. Well, in my own opinion Nigeria can not be said to be tilting towards a Lese Majeste press system like Thailand, it is already the order of the day, something like the fad. We can not heap the whole blame on the Nigerian press though , like Dr. Ekeanyanwu rightly stated in class, the Presidency must have gone the extra-mile in trying to make events surrounding the illness of the president a mirage; near-uncoverable and unfathomable by the Nigerian press; covering it with every possible means within their reach. As rightly said by my colleague, Yetunde Apapa above,we have always been in the Lese Majeste state since the time Nigeria was under military leadership although it has been subtle in our present democratic dispensation. Cases of press censorship, bribery and inability of the press to efficiently dispense their duties have been the order of the day. However, efforts have been made by the press to uncover the main truth of the matter but their efforts seem to be mainly speculations and counter speculations which can not be considered fact.
Lèse majesté is a term which means "injured majesty". It is a crime of which entails violating majesty, or is an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. There is a notion that the Nigerian government is naively tilting towards this enslaving press media practice as pertaining to the health of President Yaradua. I on the other hand feel very strongly against this. I feel that the lack of reportage of news concerning our president’s health, is due to the extreme handicap nature of our press and media sector. The Nigerian press sector firstly doe s not have enough well trained staff, who know the true essence of being a journalist (getting the news, no matter what it takes). They are all too used to the fact the government is the law, that even when the freedom of information bill has been passed their brains and behavior have been so characterized to thinking limited. And also , they are not technologically equipped to give an effective news reportage. Other developed countries have cutting edge technology, and research facilities. Apart from that they have basis amenities like water, electricity and roads, which all aid the movement and coving of news stories. Just because the news on Yaradua’s health has not been reported yet, does not mean it is not going to be reported. Before yaradua was flown abroad for treastment , the news papers were pouring with information and news. According to Lèse majesté those newspapers should have been closed down and the reporters arrested , banished ,or shot , but none of that happened. But since Yaradua’s return the Nigerian reporters have not been able to get the news published because the p Process of sourcing the news and information on an already heavily guarded case with the low level of technology and amenities they have would take twice the time. But seeing as CNN has all the above the got the news first. Which in turn the Nigerian reporters got from CNN head quarters in Atlanta. Which is a very huge shame. None the less it was still reported and nobody got punished. Can you see my point? The news is not being reported like it is supposed to. But when it is nobody gets hurt, which is the primary factor behind lèse-majesté. 07BE05524 Mahogany Obodozie
Lèse majesté is a term which means "injured majesty". It is a crime of which entails violating majesty, or is an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. There is a notion that the Nigerian government is naively tilting towards this enslaving press media practice as pertaining to the health of President Yaradua. I on the other hand feel very strongly against this. I feel that the lack of reportage of news concerning our president’s health, is due to the extreme handicap nature of our press and media sector. The Nigerian press sector firstly doe s not have enough well trained staff, who know the true essence of being a journalist (getting the news, no matter what it takes). They are all too used to the fact the government is the law, that even when the freedom of information bill has been passed their brains and behavior have been so characterized to thinking limited. And also , they are not technologically equipped to give an effective news reportage. Other developed countries have cutting edge technology, and research facilities. Apart from that they have basis amenities like water, electricity and roads, which all aid the movement and coving of news stories. Just because the news on Yaradua’s health has not been reported yet, does not mean it is not going to be reported. Before yaradua was flown abroad for treastment , the news papers were pouring with information and news. According to Lèse majesté those newspapers should have been closed down and the reporters arrested , banished ,or shot , but none of that happened. But since Yaradua’s return the Nigerian reporters have not been able to get the news published because the p Process of sourcing the news and information on an already heavily guarded case with the low level of technology and amenities they have would take twice the time. But seeing as CNN has all the above the got the news first. Which in turn the Nigerian reporters got from CNN head quarters in Atlanta. Which is a very huge shame. None the less it was still reported and nobody got punished. Can you see my point? The news is not being reported like it is supposed to. But when it is nobody gets hurt, which is the primary factor behind lèse-majesté. 07BE05524 Mahogany Obodozie
In response to the WSIS call to raise awareness of the potential of ICT for the world, the first World Information Society Day was celebrated on 17 May 2006. 17 May also marks the inception of the International Telecommunication Union over 140 years ago in 1865. On this important occasion, the first ITU World Information Society Award was presented to two distinguished and eminent personalities whose outstanding personal contributions have furthered the cause of building a more inclusive and equitable Information Society and helped close the digital divide. The inaugural ITU Award was given to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Professor Muhammad Yunus, Managing Director of Grameen Bank, Bangladesh. The WSIS action lines are Since ICT is very crucial for development, the first line of action is to get all public governance authorities involved in ICT The second line of action is to invest more in information and communication infrastructure and this can only be possible if the economy issues are settled first. The third line of action is to create access t information and knowledge. This has to do with making the our “globalize world” an information driven one i.e. every average person should have access and should be crazy about information. The forth line of action is capacity building and most times capacity is built by societies themselves, sometimes in the public, sometimes in the non-governmental and sometimes in the private sector. Many international organizations, often of the UN-family, have provided capacity building as a part of their programmes of technical cooperation with their member countries. The fifth one is about building confidence and security in the use of ICT, here the media has to come in by giving third party credibility to people so as to get rid of every biased ideas that they may have about ICT and begin to embrace it. The sixth one has to do with building or developing enabling environment for people (violence and disease free) and also creating a reasonable environment for the ICT. The seventh line of action has to do with creating ICT applications to make everything ICT driven so that we can now have E government, E business, E learning, E health, E employment, E environment, E agriculture and E science. The eight one has to do with enhancing globalization which has to do with enhancing cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and also local content. Number nine line of action is to improve the media but again I say it won’t be possible if there are still economy flaws. We have to tackle the economy and other things like media and ICT will naturally fall in place. The tenth one has to do with ethical dimensions of the information society And the last one is international and regional cooperation, this has to do with promoting building understanding and cooperation without which none of these action plans will be implementable. EGBOMEADE OSEDE 07BE05504
93 comments:
The events within the Nigerian socio-political arena in the recent past have clearly shown that the Nigerian press is domicile in vague fear especially when discharging their duties on controversial issues to the public who they ethically owe information and enlightenment on issues of public interest such as the president's health. It a pity that the Nigerian Press is unknowingly operating a "Lese Majeste" system yet they claim to be one of the freest press in Africa.
The Nigeria press has posed in this issue is their own definition of democracy . The media outfit based on this issue weight their level of exisitance and success based on the ability to intrude on leadership affairs in the country . The different sides of reportage on the present's illness unconsciously can be categorized towards the LESE MAJESTE . OBIESIE OGOCHUKWU 07BE05523
when we talk about a free press, personally i think there is a limit to how free a press can be,talking about the president's(yar'adua)health, i think it's very unfair that they are not letting us in on this isssue, we have every right to know what is going on with the president so that necessary steps will be taken. how can we(a whole nation) be without a president? 07BE05542; Quao patience Mansah
Patience,point of correction we have a president in the person of Jonathan Good luck. Though he is serving in the capacity of an acting president, Nigeria is not without a president. Make sure you contribute valid points.
The Nigerian administration unlike the Thailand's haven't gone overboard in the harassment or stifling of expression of the press over the president's health.And despite the conflicting reports on the President's health, the Nigerian press if provided with the right information do not hesitate to report or publish such information to the Nigerian citizens.so i would say the Nigerian press is not tilting towards Lese Majeste(when compared to what the Thailand press is undergoing).UDOCOR EMEM B. 06BE03936
The Nigerian administration is not operating or even drifting towards the "Lese Majesty" system because the press is not holding information about the president's health. This information are not provided to them. The Nigerian administration cannot be compared to the Thailand's case because they have not gotten to that level. EKEZIE JUDITH, 07BE05505
The Nigeria press has refused to exercise the rights given to them by the constitution.Lese Maajeste that ought to only be in a Monarch society has shown its ugly head in the Nigerian society.In a society that claims to have a free press it is not shown as most of the media houses present information in fear. The president's illness has presented stories and views that are plain lies, half-truths and sometimes total misconceptions. The Nigeria press could be said to be restricted by the government and other people in high places that have ditched out this information which in turn the press serves the public. However, i must say that our press is free only on paper.There is still restriction on the press by the government and other forces which has led to the present state the country is in.Indeed, the press of Nigeria is moving towards Lese Majeste.Ibada Omu.07BE05537
lese majeste in the first place is an offense against the dignity of a reigning soverign. in the case of nigeria, it is Yar adua. i believe the press is ignorantly tilting towards a lese majeste. no one knows for sure what is happening to the president. so every one has their own informattion which is totally different from anothers. the press is not letting us in on what is happening. even the minister of information, Dora Akuluyi said she heard from CNN that the president had returned. this lack of information will gradually lead us into a state of lese majeste as different groups of people are having different information about the current status of the president
Adubi Tope 07BE05487
well, we are literally running a free press system in this country, and the public has the right to know what exactly is going on in the government which in the this case is the presidents health because it determines whether he is able to perform his duties or not if the press are not able to give the public information on this issue, that means they are scared and afraid of the consequences which means that they are ignorantly tilting towards LESE MAJESTE. they claim to be the freest press in Africa and they cannot share vital information such as this, free press indeed. the Nigerian press needs help and they cant achieve much until they really become a free press.they need help and also we need good government, who will actually abide by the constitution. EZEGWO IFEOMA, 07BE05508
Nigeria is already getting to that stage of lesse majeste, if information about the president's health is withdrawn from the publics and the press don't have any information about his health, then its as good as gradually taking up the lesse majeste law, and saying that we have a free press is just very contradictory.07BE05542
The nigerian press is fast tilting to the lese majeste direction as we do not have any valid information on the ill health of our president and can not even find out as informations on this situation is being hoarded by people that feel we the public don't deserve it. The information on the ill health of mr.president cannot be claimed from the press because they do not even have the right information and this has led the entire nation to a guess party on what they do not know and apparently not sure of. Without any form of doubt i believe that Nigeria is fast tilting to lese majeste. Even the minister of information is in the dark, what a country. TOMBIA ONYEKA 07BE05545
Nigeria is definately heading in the direction of "lasse majeste". lets not forget that Nigeria never had a free press if the Dele Giwa and other incidents are anthing to go by. The way that Mr presidents health issue is being handled is not even making matters better. Nigeria is exhibiting serious traits and if nothing is done what is happening in thailand will be childs play.
The term " LESTE MAJESTE" means injured majesty and it is the act f violating the majesty of a state or country. Based on the issue of the health of our president Yar'Adua, i believe that the press isnt hiding any information because they equally don't have detailed information about the health of the president.
I am of the opinion that accurate and detailed information concerning the health of the president lies with the first lady and the president, even members of his immediate family and government don't have good information because they were not allowed to see him. Even the minister of information, gives her information based on what she gets from CNN.
In conclusion, i dont see the Nigerian press tilting toward LESTE MAJESTE ,Oluboyede Oluwadamilola, 07BE05535
The issue of lese majeste in Thailand is now very controversial because the modern thailand has relise that the law does not deserve a place in there country.The Nigeria government has decided to keep this information without trail, even the tiniest picture about the failing health of the president is not available which makes the press handicapped...if there is no information, there will be no news, on this issue that is what the Nigeria press are facing.In thailand,there press have The news but cant report but in Nigeria especially on the failing health of the president, am sure the Nigeria press cannot wait to give factual information on this delimma
ignorantly, the Nigerian press is tilting towards that direction but just imbibing a little of it. the media is controlled by the people in power therefore whatever information they feel like taking public, they do.thus these people are doing their possible best to protect themselves and still remain in power because of the level of corruption and sentiments.
the point is,the right of the freedom of the press has been abused and the media should be informed about anything that is going on, the people have a right to know and be heard. this lese majeste would not be accepted in Nigeria if the media protects the interest of the people by voicing out.Oyegbade Olufunmilola 07BE05541
Well we say we are in a free press era but i would say we are not because if we were the public has a right to know what is up with the where about of the president and unfortunately they know nothing about so what are we saying and when the public don't know the true story behind the president's health they tend to say all kinds of things and when they are caught they are fined for committing treason which is the Lese Majeste we are talking about so getting the public well informed will prevent this Lese Majeste so in a plain simple term i would say Nigeria is moving towards Lese Majeste because we don't have free press.
Etidiakaba Blessing 07BE05507
Nigeria is definately heading in the direction of "lasse majeste". lets not forget that Nigeria never had a free press if the Dele Giwa and other incidents are anthing to go by. The way that Mr presidents health issue is being handled is not even making matters better. Nigeria is exhibiting serious traits and if nothing is done what is happening in thailand will be childs play.Bamgboye Moyinoluwa
07BE05501
There is a yes and a no to whether the nigerian press is tilting towards the lese majeste system on mr president's health as the nigerian press has tried its best to give us information on mr presidents' health as the problem is with the Government whom is withholding information and not letting us know anything that is happening with the government. i belive that there are some journalists who will go the extra mile to get information, but mr prseident's health is a much ado about nothing, it is merely cosmectic as it is an information that is with the Government. Turai is using our nigerian money to make sure that the press does not hear anything about yardua. On the other hand i think our press is also tilting towrads the lese majste system in a way because i feel that they are not putting enough effort on this issue.they have given up and are not on their toes or having sleepless nights. An EXAMPLE can be seen when yar'dua's body was brought to the country, no nigerian journalist got the news, It was CNN that sccoped the news that our president was brought to the country in the morning by 1am or so. When they interviewed the minister of information, she said she heard it form CNN. That is a shame as a reporter had to come all the way form atlanta to give us news on our prseident. It was after that that the nigerian press started reporting the news.The Queston, is that what was our reporters doing when yardua arrived that someone frrom atlanta got the scoop. what were they doing in the comfort of their wives or husbands when the are meant to be prepared. I personally think that the nigerian press is not practicing the lese majeste system as they are not even prepared to get information on his health, they are being lazy as the information is there and they are not willing to go the extra mile . Bello Aminat Omorinsola. 07BE05502
i think the nigerian press is and was never practicing a free press at least the FOIB has not yet been approved. in my own opinion, i think that the press is also as left out in the presidents health issue just as the rest of the country but we should face the fact squarely even if the press knew, they would never report the truth due to fear or losing their jobs and also, there is the brown envelope syndrome to deal with but i don't think ours is as bad as thailand. 07CK06330 Chuks-Eboka Amara
First of all, the law of lese majeste in thailand states "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years." I do not think that the nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste because they have so far has said anything offensive to the government concerning the issues of yaradua's health. They have not prrinted anything libelous about yaradua's health. the rumor abut yaradua's ddeath was just a rumor and not taken seriously. The press have only talked on the unknown whereabouts of yaradua. They have nothing to say as nobody knows where he is nor the status of his health, not even the minister of information. So i do not belive that the nigerian press have done anything that will head them towards the lese majeste direction.
OKAFOR CHIDINMA 07BE05530
My point of view is that at the Nigerian press operates according to its view of the nation's government even though it seems like the nation's press is drifting towards LESE MAJESTE, I think it really isnt. yes, the Nigerian press is not really a free one but atleast it is not so controlled by the presidentor the government. but even at that Mr'.president's illness is the business of the nation both press and should be treated as such. in as much as we have an acting president the nation needs its elected president. some thing has to be done iin that area and fast too. 07BE05547 UMOLU KOSISO
i don't agree with the fact that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste because the issue here is that there is no information on the presidents health and where about but it is important to note that it is the government that is hoarding this information and not the press. if the press had asses to this information i believe that someway somehow the information would have definatly gone out. EGBOMEADE OSEDE . 07BE05504
i want to add and reaffirm my belief that Nigeria is not tilting towards lese majeste.reading articles on what the Thailand press is going through as well as individuals cannot be compared to our administration.in the late 80's and early 90's,id have agreed to Nigeria tilting towards lese majeste but now i want to say that we are in a fairly democratic society where expression of views is free at least to a reasonable extent.If the Nigerian press have information on the president's health, they'll definitely report. Udocor Emem B 06be03936
Nigeria and the Nigerian press system is tilting towards numerous undemocratic laws that are not contained in the constitution.lese Majeste is one of them but not the sole problem. The Nigerian press is handicapped on the issue of the state of health of Mr president. The press can only give out information they have.The Nigerian press do not have access to the state of health of the president not even some members of the senate. The scenario was relived when a team (which comprised of some members of the senate)was sent to visit the president in Saudi Arabia and find out his state of health but were denied access to where the president was.What can the press do if the legislative arm of government are domicile. Nigeria is living out her personality caused by the existence of a fusion of several negative components that has been since Independence.A squabbled leadership system would yield a squabbled press system it can not just be viewed in the light of a les majeste system.A lese majeste system is a law against publishing or airing any information that might tarnish the royal image of Thailand it does not deny anyone nor the press access to information, you can have the information don't talk about it,but for Nigeria, it is a case of twisted mysteries we created ourselves and only god can help us.ANENE OBIAGELI HENRIETTA 07BE05495.
Lèse majesté literally means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. in my opinion the nigerian press is gradually tilting towards the notion of "lese majeste". because even though the government claims that our consitution is one of the only african countries with a free press, anytime someone says something negetive bout the government, they either get arrested or exiled.
But in terms of Yaradua's health, i cant really say that the Nigerian press is leaning towards lese majeste, because the government is so well hiding the case of his illness that the pres doesn't even have any information to disseminate or hide. so concerning Yardua's health "no", no lese majeste.
Mahogany Obodozie 07BE05524
the Nigerian media has always been limited on what to publish by government in other to protect their interests.the press can only publish what it is given and allowed by the law. the inability of the press to provide information concerning the president a dearth in the level of investigative journalism in Nigeria. Most media outlets in nigeria are owned or funded by politicians whose interests must be protected like that of the Thailand king. thus, it can be said that Nigeria operates the African form of Lese Majeste.
Jacobs Babafemi 06BE03908
LESE MAJESTE it is just the same thing with no free press,the issue of mr president's illness should have been reported to the public if they are not operating the LESE MAJESTE system. Nigeria has never operated free press if they are claiming to be a free press that mean they don't even know the meaning of free press. they are yet to understand what free press entails, they shld be able to disseminate information without any hindrance from the government or anybody.until this can be done there is no free press. lawal cynthia, 07be05517.
If there is any relationship between lese majeste and the Nigerian press role on Yar'adua's health, it is a movement away from Lese Majeste. After independence from the British colonial government, the first strings of Lese Majeste left the shores of the country along with the British monarchy.
Lese Majeste originally means "injured majesty". Nigeria, unlike Thailand is not ruled by a monarch. Despite the obvious challenges, Nigeria is tilting towards a democratic society.A democratic society is not synonymous with a monarch. Therefore, the Nigerian press cannot lean on the same side of the measuring scale as lese majeste.
It is true that in the past, freedom of the press has suffered a great deal in Nigeria, considering the times of Ken Saro Wiwa, Isioma Daniels, etc. But Lese Majeste? That is too extreme. things are getting better, the girl who was beaten up by soldiers sued a high ranking officer and the court swung in her favour. That is the Nigeria that we live in.
Yes the government has with held information on the president's health. But apart from that, no reporters have been arrested, no media houses have been closed down and no properties have been confiscated in relation to the press' quest for truth on the
Lese Majeste is practiced in Thailand where the system of government is monarchy. this means that no remarks or actions that are deafamtory or appear insulting should performed against any member of the royal family. such actions are punishable by imprisonment of 3 to 15 years. Nigeria operates federal system of government in which the press is "free" and we're all aware that its not the case. today the Nigerian press is beign controlled by the government, its a known issue that journalists and persons who have made defamatory statement against the ruling government and people of very high social class with connectionshave either been thrown into jail, sent on exile or given other grave punishment. i've come to a conclusion that the nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste on Yaradua's health{ the president}, this is because the media is well aware that making comments agains the president who has the backing of other leaders will put them into serious trouble. AGBANUSI NNEKA, 07BE05489
LESE MAJESTE!Hmn.thatwhich means'the crime comitted against its majesty,more orless coined TREASON'can aswell describe what the Nigerian press is doin right now,becos they are supposedly'the people's voice'&so if they decide to keep'mute'or beta put'reshapen'the story;though this isnt entirely their fault as they have little or no info.about the president's state of health,then Ican rightly say they're tilting towards aLESE MAJESTE kind of press obligation.OGUNKO TOLULOPE 06BE03925
I believe that Nigeria has started its own share of lese majeste not only because of the corrupt situation of Nigeria but due to the lack of press freedom, an example is the discussion we had in class on the issue of press freedom shackling a nation, I believe secrets that is met to be share, that isn’t can end up destroying any nation. The issue of the president has become a case of money in exchange of a picture of his present situation, no country can stand without the support of its people, this situation has reached its peak and solution has to be made on time, we just want to be sure if the president is okay, we just want to be sure of what of his present situation and move forward, it should always be not that we are in the democracy era and lese majeste belong to another, freedom of press is meant to help both the people and the government in power. OGUNKUA FOLU, 07BE05527
i believe the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste because the press is not free since the government is yet to pass the freedom of information bill which they are deliberately delaying. The president has been out of the country for a long time and no media house was able to get a picture of him in Saudi Arabia nor could they get a first hand information. It is a pity to know that even the minister of information had to get information from CNN. No one in Nigeria knows the real state of the president or what he looks like. OKAFOR IFUNANYA 07BE05531
i believe the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards lese majeste because the press is not free since the government is yet to pass the freedom of information bill which they are deliberately delaying. The president has been out of the country for a long time and no media house was able to get a picture of him in Saudi Arabia nor could they get a first hand information. It is a pity to know that even the minister of information had to get information from CNN. No one in Nigeria knows the real state of the president or what he looks like. OKAFOR IFUNANYA 07BE05531
l honestly feel that if a country that claims democracy and sovereignty cannot make some certain decisions without annoying the whole federation- decisions like replacing Mr president even after months of absence- then that country has issues... big issues. if this 'lese majeste' term means one cannot publish or say anything negative {even when that thing is true}against one's ruler, king or president- then Nigeria is definitely heading towards that direction.. and fast. for instance, newspapers of prominence up till date cant even give a lucid description of our president's health.. how 'lese majeste-ish' is that? CHINWEUBA BLESSING NNENNA- 07BE05503
well, personally i do not think Nigeria is heading in the lese majeste direction. i strongly think so because for us to say we are tilting towards lese majeste as regards the health of President Yar'Adua, the press first has to possess information that will be offensive to the government or the ruler. i think that the press doesn't even know what is going on with Yar'Adua's health so we cannot say that they are withholding information from the public that will be defamatory to the president.
I think that we all are in the dark concering Yar'Adua's health and so maybe if the press was priviledged to possess some information that may be negative about Yar'Adua which they are not letting us know about, i might just agree that we are headed in the direction of lese majeste just like Thailand. But in the absence of such, i stand to say i strongly disagreethat Nigeria is tilting towards the lese majeste system.
Aguda Amiola 07BE05490
I think the Nigerian press is afraid of the consequences of trying to pry into mr. presidents health. In the past there have been reportings of beatings and arrests of press officials by the government. The state of the presidents health is being protected by both his family and high ranking government officials who are doing this to save their necks when or if he returns to power. There are of course sections in our constitution which allow for the press to express themselves but I think the main reason for their refusal to dig deep is fear of reprimand from the government. This is also what is going on in Thailand in the form of lese majeste. Our press is indeed leaning towards the lese majeste system and there is our political and economic situation of our economy is not helping at all due to corruption in high places. CHIAMAKA ONU-OKPARA 07BE05539
It will be right to say that Nigeria is a democratic state and is suppose to practice a free press system but the truth is that free press cant be possible without access to information. the issue of President Umaru Yar'dua's health reported in the nigerian press is based on speculation or what they think is happening. Nigeria is far from Lese Majeste because they dont have access to information about the health of President Yar'Adua and if they did i will say it is well hidden since the minister of information claimed to have heard about the arrival of the president on CNN. President's health is still a mystery to us all.
OKAKA SARAH C. 07BE05532
NIGERIAN PRESS IS ACTUALLY TILTING IGNORANTLY TOWARDS A LESE MAJESTE USING THE ISSUE ON MR PRESIDENT. AS AT PRESENT, THE PRESS CANNOT GIVE US VIVID INFORMATION ABOUT MR PRESIDENT HEALTH BOTH PREVIOUS AND PRESENT SITUATION. THE WAY IT IS EVEN THE ACTING PRESIDENT GOOD LUCK JONATHAN CAN NOT ACTUALLY TELL THE PRESS MUCH ABOUT THE MR PRESIDENT'S PRESENT HEALTH CONDITION. THE WAY IT IS NOW I REALLY DONT THINK THAT NO ONE CAN PUBLISH WHAT THEY ACTUALLY FEEL ABOUT THE PRESIDENTS CURRENT HEALTH SITUATION. WE CANT SAY THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY PRACTICING A FREE PRESS THE WAY IT IS WE ARE ACTUALLY PRACTICING LESE MAJESTE.07BE05513 IWEHA GLORY CHIDIADI.
One major function of the press is to keep the people aware of events happening in their environment.Looking at this function critically, i do not think the Nigerian press is tilting towards "LESTE MAJESTE" concerning the health of the president. The president is a public figure and anything about him is a public affair, so everything that has been published concerning his health, even though majority are mere speculations must not be seen as LESTE MAJESTE. I am of the opinion that more reports about the president's health should be made known to the public because they have a right to know if truly Nigeria is practising a true and credible democracy. jejeloye tolulope 07BE05515
first of all lese majeste as it operates in Thailand means "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years." Missing from the Code, however, is a definition of what actions constitute "defamation" or "insult", of which this has alredy destroyed the essence of Thailand press. since this is the case in Thailand and we say it's stylishly tilting in Nigeria i think i quite agree with this assertion. lets take an example of the AIT and CHANNELS television closure as well as the Isioma Daniels assylum because of information published and we claim to operate a free press media system. i think whether we like it or not, free press is utopia and it doesnt exist anywhere in the world. even in our so called world power USA, there is still some kind of restrictions as regards press freedom. so the long short of this is that LESE MAJESTE is already a part and parcel of Nigeria press system and will continue to be. SUSAN ERHIRHIE 07BE05506
In my own opinion, i strongly believe the issue of Mr president's health and the information withdrawn from the public is not related to Lèse majesté, because it means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. What i would relate to Lèse majesté, in Nigeria is the shutting down of Channels T.V station on reports of the president's resignation, and subsequent killing of human activist Ken Saro-wiwa and other journalist in recent past. Though the withdrawal of information from the press and the public in general by Turai yar'adua is really disturbing to the nigerian situation and is not constitutional. The shocking part of the whole scenario is the fact that the law makers of "the giant of Africa" is doing notthing about it. AKINYEMI FUNMILOLA, 07BE05493.
oh well, everyone's certainly got a whole lot to say.........anywayzz I'd say Nigeria is certainly tilting to the Lasse Majeste system NAIVELY. Think 'bout it where exactly lies the dignity of this nation wen the truth is hidden from the people? this lovely nation has claimed unendlessly to be the freest press in the whole of Africa yet an issue as important as the livelihood of our very own leader is kept from us.......how free! truth is', to a certain extent, one can't exactly blame the press cuz they apparently don't seem to have the appropraite information on the exact condition of our darling Mr President but on the other hand ain't it the most important function of the press to actually ensure they inform us. i mean, without current information about government, there can be no representative democracy; therefore, this is the most important information that should be constantly available to us. in truth, i believe that the mere fact that such an important information has been kept form us is a large offense against the dignity of our nation which I'd term a preetty high jump towards Lasse Majeste! ALOKOLARO ADEOLA. 07BE05494.
i strongly and personally feel that the Nigerain press is ignorant when it comes to information about our President, Yar'dua's health and this is starting from the information minister who said that she heard it on CNN that the president is back when interviewed. the press do not possess information about the president and they can not publish what they do not know so they keep quiet and keep counting the days the president has been out of office. also the press do not have where to source for information from and the height of it is that NAN which is suppose to possess information do not even have the information. therefore before i can say that we are heading towards lese majeste then the press has to have the information about the president's health. since they don't, i therefore can't say or agree that we the press is heading towards lese majeste. Akinsunlola Adebanke 07BE05492
Nigerian press is gradually tilting towards a lese majeste . The say that we are operating a free press but the truth of the matter is that our press is not yet free and will never be free.The people in government are holding back information on the health of our president based on the fact that they are asked not to give out information or they are scared of disseminating information for fear of losing their jobs and the press knows about this, also even though the press have the required information, they are scared of giving it out to the public for fear of losing their lives, jobs and investments. 06be03904
I think we are digressing from the meaning and workings of lesse majeste. Nigeria cannot and should not be used as an example in explaining this owing to the fact that we are not even practicing a monarchical system of government to start with and there is nobody who has been 'punished' for saying anything about/against the president. It is sad though that the Nigerian people are actually kept in the dark when it comes to the health of their president but we should also know that we are ruled by a government and any government would always keep some information 'classified.' I guess we can only hope and pray for a relatively free press, given the Thai system. NGWODO MARYJANE 07BE05520
Although “lese mageste” is a term used to prosecute an individual that said something against the government and it is more pronounced in a monarchical system of government but can also be likened to the present day “treason”. Answering the question directly will have me saying that Nigeria is not tilting towards lese mageste because the system of government practiced in Thailand as I said above is monarchy; but if I should answer it like I think it should be, Nigeria, is definitely tilting towards that direction. I mean, why should the media not be able to carry stories concerning the health of the President, for all I care, democracy was supposed to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people which means that the people put the President in that post he is and if anything is hindering him from functioning as expected, the people also have the right to know and the only way this can be done is through the media. For goodness sake, it was already carried abroad that our President is dead but the best way the government think they can help matters is bringing the President back from Saudi Arabia without the media covering it and showing his face or even show him gasping for breath. Even the acting President, Goodluck Jonathan in the last month’s Guardian newspaper denied speaking to the President that the government made us believe is still alive. My answer therefore to the question would be YES because the government are not giving us enough reason to believe that the President is still alive and the information the media are getting from international sources is that he is dead; the unfortunate thing is that this cannot be reported because the medium or station that carries that story will not want a replica of what happened in channels television.
Bamidele abayomi 06BE03901
Here in Nigeria, we don’t rule with monarchial system we operate a democratic system although this has been grossly bastardised. If people who claim to have our best interests at heart are withholding very vital information about Mr. president’s health, even after sneaking him into the country, then I must say that slowly, gradually and definetly, we are tilting towards a Lèse majesté. One day we might as well wake up and find out that we have all been sold. NA WA O! EMEFIELE ANITA-05BE02358
No. I do not think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste because first of all there is no freedom of press in this country and we have seen overtime the consequences of publishing anything on government officials or any one in power . These consequences range from jail time to death. But the problem is that the press does not even possess concrete information on the issue of the president talk less of releasing any publications on the issue. Any information that anyone has on this issue is all presumptuous and not factual so the press can’t even be tilting towards lesse majeste.07BE05499.Atuluku Ajifa.
lese majeste means injured majesty,this was and is still practiced in Thailand a nation in Asia.this is majorly practiced in nations where they follow the monarchy system of government.well i don't think Nigeria is tilting towards that direction we cant use the event of yar adua to draw conclusion.There can be a huge possibility that the press are not granted total access to the information and where about of yar adua.
OLUPITAN HASSAN O, 05bf02414
LESE MAJESTE. Well thank God for second chances to be able to relay my well articulated, understood view on this issue. Yes the Nigerian Press is tilting towards the syndrome. Yes the knowledge about the state of the president is available but of out fear not desirable to the press for the common man. “I think it’s a bit difficult to say, because the information is coming from different sources, so it is not easy for us to navigate,” says Charles Dokubo, a government advisor and spokesman of the Nigerian Institute for Security Studies, a government think tank. “In this environment, you have to be careful what to say.”If a government official is been sceptical about how careful it is to let out pressing information about the government , then what liver does a supposed persistent journalist have to investigate the presidents state of health. The twist in focus has landed us on the affairs of the acting president whereby ignoring the main issue that poised such a decision . Like my other colleagues have posted we might not be practicing LESE MAJESTE but we are ignorantly tilting to such practices . Though on the bases of the NO FOI BILL we can afford to pretend to be law abiding journalist citizens but the fact still remains .
Even to the extent While Nigeria has a vigorous free press, the emergence of stories reporting on the president’s health over the weekend marked a major turning point, since many Nigerians and the inner circle of the state house refuse to speak about a person’s failing health. Even Femi Falana, who has launched a lawsuit to clarify just who is in charge refuses to speculate publicly about the president’s health. This forces government spokesmen and correspondents to walk carefully when issuing statements to the media.
OBIESIE OGOCHUKWU 07BE05523
After much consideration and critical analysis, I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards “LESTE MAJESTE”; royal law that forbids anything defamatory statement against the King or the monarchy.
Though Nigeria is not operating under a monarchical Government but a democratic one that still does not dispute the fact that Nigeria is ignorantly tilting towards this Thailand’s royal law, concerning the health of President Yar’adua. All through his stay at the Arab hospital and even when he supposedly came back to the country, the Nigerian press is yet to say anything concrete but mere speculations about the situation, for fear of death, molestation or closure of such media outfits.
In the Nigerian government, we have the “Inner caucus or Kitchen cabinet” who know everything happening in the country including the current health situation of the President; where he is presently, whether he would survive or not? But they are all refusing to talk because they have lives, jobs and families to protect.
The truth is that, investigative journalism in Nigeria is a forgone issue, looking at past experiences of Journalists who have been maimed, abused and molested all in a bid to report important and factual information to the populace. A good example is the case of Dele Giwa, who was killed with a letter bomb some years back because of some his publications which the Government considered unfavourable. Another good example is the case of Hon. Abike Dabiri while at NTA, during an interview with the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, The former president got angry about a particular question raised by the anchor concerning the incessant fuel hike in the country, which led to her resignation barely 2 months after the interview. These and many more experiences have taught journalism to practice “SAFE JOURNALISM” concerning the President’s health.
In conclusion, I would affirm once again that the Nigerian press is tilting towards “LESTE MAJESTE” because even the so-called Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) that ought to protect the freedom of the press will be passed with a lot of restriction attached to it. What then are we saying about press freedom in Nigeria? Jejeloye Tolulope 07BE05515
First and for mostly LESE MAJESTE says that you should not nobody must report anything against the ruler or make any publication that would put the ruler in a public light. Of course in Nigeria we are not practicing authoritarian government so we can not actually say that “we can’t publish anything against our ruler”, we should look at it from the point of view that there has been a lot of instances whee the press and even individuals are quite because they do not want to put their lives, career, and family in danger.
Now back to Yar Adua and the Nigerians press, which is the issue at hand. Now there are individuals that have details about the president’s where about but would not speak out of fear. let’s take for instance when the former presidents wife died and AIT reported it and the outcome was that it was closed down with this and many other instances in mind nobody would want to say anything about yar’Adua’s health.
We are truly tilting toward LESE MAJESTE because a lot of people know about the president but nobody is reporting it. The press is not even interested in reporting it (out of fear), because if they were one at least out of all the journalist in Nigeria would have acted as Amanpour and reported the case forgetting all the consequences. And I am very sure that media houses are waiting for who would report first if one media house braces up and reports something on this issue and nothing happens to it all other media houses would follow suit. OSEDE EGBOMEADE 07BE05504
The Nigerian press in my sincere opinion has been injured and battered, the true meaning of journalism has been altered. I would give a total nod to the opinion that the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting towards “lese majeste”. Let us not forget that part of the duty of any nation's press is to adequately inform the citizenry and if the citizenry can not get that information from their press, then such a press has a lot of questions to answer and should not yell about imbalance in the flow of information. Let me first explain the concept of "lese majeste. It is simply a French phrase which implies an "injured majesty", it is being presently practised in Thailand and it states that no one, either the press or public will utter or publish any thing which is not in favour of the king without going unpunished. the primary inhibiting factor as far as i am concerned,which is hindering the Nigerian press is fear. People who oppose this opinion may say that the press do not have the information but i would not vouch for anyone, in my opinion someone obviously knows something about the condition of our ailing, if not dead president. Mr. president spent over 80 days in absentia, has been in the country for over a month! it is a blatant lie that no one knows what is going on and where the president is. I strongly suggest that the press has buried the foundation of their profession and have let fear override them, no one wants to be shut down and lose money like CHANNELS, no on wants to be a Bayo Ohu or Ken Saro Wiwa, everyone would rather keep their lives than lose it. the concept of lese majeste as regards to the present condition of Mr. president is slowly becoming part and parcel of our press system. we cannot argue that we are a democratic nation with a free press and when we ask our Minister of INFORMATION if she is aware of the president's return, she replies in the affrimative, only that she "heard it from CNN"! It is very disturbing. Even if the acting president has decided to be fully ignorant, he must know something; even in the military era, nothing stopped any of our dictators from calling us and addressing us as "fellow Nigerians" concerning an issue. Is this not supposed to be a civilian era? Maybe we are even gradually tending towards the autocratic regime again. the press has to wake up, anything worth doing is what doing well. the Jos crisis and the Dropping of Ribadu's case are important but these seem to be swallowing up the dailies so no one ever bother about the condition of the No.1 citizen. I am saying that ignorantly, we have taken giant steps to becoming the African Thailand in terms of practising Lese mageste. SETON FOLU; 07BE05544
After my understanding of Lèse majesté, I can say that Nigerian is heading into that system. Nigeria claims to be one of the free countries in Africa to have a free press. In this issue of free press it exists only in out notes. Lèse majesté literally means "injured majesty"; and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. In my own opinion, the Nigerian press is ignorantly tilting to the “Lèse majesté” system because the press cannot say anything against the government. For instance when Isioma Daniels tried to report a story about Mohammed who was the president at that time was punished not allowed into the country. Some individuals might know about the president’s health but the problem is who would come up to give out such information. Even the people that are working in ASO ROCK are not bold enough to go to the press with such information let alone an ordinary person. Most of these people who are working in the Villa are sown under oath not to say anything concerning the president. Everybody is sacred of the outcome of things and nobody can stand up to give such classified information. The press are not to blame for not giving out information but the government. It’s not only the press that can get such information but also the people.
In Thailand, it’s unless the president gives them the right to publish a story before it be published; this is also the case in Nigeria because a reporter can’t just go ahead and report the story on the president’s health, he knows what is at stake and he is also sacred of his life. This story about the president’s health is a big story and everybody wants to know about it but the problem now is who will stand out and report the story? Nobody wants to lose his/her life. Even though some one should report the story and the person is caught or everybody keeps quiet about it, the Nigerian press is still tilting towards the “Lèse majesté” system. The press can’t form their own laws; they have to be given the right to report a story before it is published. EKEZIE JUDITH, 07BE05505.
The term lese majeste has always been in practice in the Nigerian press system just that the press has been so ignorant of its practice. The term which means saying or publishing something against the dignity of a sovereign reign started right from the military era of babangida and abacha and this was one of the things that lead to the imprisonment and death of Dele Giwa. Even till date, no one knows the true source of Abacha’s death some say it was through a poisoned apple others say he died of a natural cause but the media never published the true cause of it. i think the Nigerian press is and was never practicing a free press at least the FOIB has not yet been approved. in my own opinion, i think that the press is also as left out in the president’s health issue just as the rest of the country but we should face the fact squarely even if the press knew, they would never report the truth due to fear or losing their jobs and this is where the practice of lese majeste comes in. An example is what happened to AIT and Channels television when they made a report on the president’s health some time last year. The press say that they have no way of getting information concerning the president because they don’t have any source and his place is thoroughly guarded but the truth is that what makes a good press in any country is the seeking for information especially one that is a national issue and has generated much controversy and disseminating such accurately to the information inquisitive audience. Taking the united states as an example of a country where a free press system is in use they are free to source and even publish any information they get as long as they know that it is of national interest take the president Nixon waterloo scandal, the bill Clinton sex scandal into consideration, the reporters were punished for publishing those articles but if it was in Nigeria i guess they would have been killed if not gone on asylum like Isioma Daniels. Even the swearing of the oath of secrecy of members of the presidential cabinet does not in any way help matters. All we as Nigerians want to know is how the president is doing and what his present state of health is like at least we have a right to be informed. 07CK06330 Chuks-Eboka Amara.
lèse majesté literarily means: ‘injured majesty’. It is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. In 1932, a new constitution was enacted in Thailand and it adopted the concept of lèse majesté . Even in the most recent constitution (in 2007), there was still a case of the adoption of the concept. Several examples can be cited on how lèse majesté has taken its toll on Thailand citizens including the particularly appalling cases of a Swiss national Oliver Jufer who was convicted of lèse majesté and sentenced to 10 years in jail for spray-painting graffiti on several portraits of the king while drunk in 2007; and Frenchman Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz allegedly committed lèse majesté in 1995 by making a derogatory remark about a Thai princess while on board a Thai Airways flight. Several examples can be cited on how lese majeste has taken its toll on Thailand citizens.
The situation in Nigeria is quite similar; the difference being that lese majesty has not been adopted into the Nigerian constitution yet. The evidence of such is glaring in the fact that in Nigeria, no one has been able to provide any viable information as to the health and status of President Yar Adua. The fact is there are certain people guarding the truth about his status. However, no one, for now is willing to divulge any information for reasons which may include fear of loss of life. This implies that although there is a level of access to this information, there is still no way to report it. At this juncture, it becomes imperative to point out the similarities between the lese majeste practiced in Thailand and what is obtainable in Nigeria. In Thailand, everyone has a good knowledge of any challenge that there is but is mandated by law to keep mute lest they face grievous consequences. In Nigeria, some people know what is going on but the constrained from reporting it because the consequences are also not grievous- even when it is not stated in the constitution.
The implication of this is that there is absolutely no press freedom in either of these countries. MOJEED RUTH 07BE05519
Lèse majesté is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. It is a decree that hinders the freedom of the press in Thailand. this law states that "The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action" (Thai Constitution, Section 8) meaning that nothing shall be said against or for the king without the king's approval.
The Nigerian media before and after independence has always been limited on what to publish by the government in power in other to protect their interests.the press can only publish what it is given and allowed by the various press laws created by the government of the day. The inability of the press to provide information concerning the president shows a dearth in the level of investigative journalism in Nigeria since the days of Dele Giwa. It is essential to note here that most journalists in Nigeria practice pack journalism instead of scoop journalism and as such lack in-depth investigative skills.
Most media outlets in Nigeria are owned or funded by politicians (The Compass is owned by Governor Daniel, The Nation is owned by former governor Bola Tinubu, etc) whose interests must be protected like that of the Thailand king. the news being published is determined not by the journalist but by the editor who does only what his boss or owner of the media outlet approves. Thus, it can be said that Nigeria operates the African form of Lese Majeste despite the fact that it is reputed to be the freest in Africa. The situation presently in Nigeria is similar to that of Thailand in that both the king and the president are both sick and yet their health status has not been reported by the media who have probably not been given the right to publish or are scared of scooping for news that can lead to their death. Media outlets in Nigeria like AIT, Channels have been shut down and reopened for reporting controversial issues to the public likewise In September 2008, Harry Nicolaides from Melbourne, Australia, was arrested at Bangkok's international airport and charged with lèse majesté, for an offending passage in his self published book Verisimilitude. Subsequently, in January 2009, after pleading guilty, he was sentenced to three years in jail. On February 21, 2009, he was pardoned by the king and released. Jacobs Babafemi 06BE03908
Lese majeste is injured justice, it is an offence against a soverign dignity. NIgeria is naively tilting or heading towards that because we are supposed to be practicing democracy and democracy embraces free press. If truly there is a free press, why will journalists be afraid of loosing their lives over reporting a story or why wont journalist have access to all information and not some.
we must remember that the media is socially responsible to us asper information and the government shouldnt be a hinderance.
Lets take a look at yardua's case.No one is claiming to have information about his whereabout but how can that be? someone has it. people have it. infact i strongly believe that at least one journalist has it but the FEAR is what will be the aftermath of the reportage. the president and his family are protecting position and anything against that position is defamatory to them.
In thailand, where lese majeste is fully vested, a reporter dares not report a story unless it is authorised by the king. Now, how different is this from the Yardua situation at hand? Obviously Yardua has given orders against the disclosure of his health state and nobody dares disobey the orders, at least its over a month now and yet no news on the condition of our president.
For us in Nigeria, Lese majeste won't happen in a day. its a gradual process in which we are on the way.
ADELEKE DOLAPO, 07BE05486
Lese majeste means an injured majeste, it is a system that is practice in Thailand. In this type of system you don’t go contrary to the system. it implies that nobody or press to publish against the king in Thailand.
The Nigeria press is ignorantly titling towards lese majeste concerning the health condition of President Yar’Adua, the people of Nigeria have been kept in the dark for so long that they do not know the present health condition of president Yar’dua. We cannot operate in a government system that claims to be of, and for the people and people are ignorant about issues that concern their nations because the press has refused to say a word to either protect their identity or the president’s identity or image. The Nigeria press has abandoned their duty of informing the people. For existence was during an interview with the minister of information Dr Dora Akuyili who was asked if it was true that the president is back to the country and she said by saying she heard from CNN. The Nigeria press in my opinion is actually ignorantly titling towards lese majeste if not Nigerians will be allowed to say what is needed to be said,the press will speak on behalf of the people and the government will at least realize that it’s improper to keep the people in the dark as to whether the president who spent over 80 days in absentia from office is still alive but even though we have been made to believe that he is still alive. When the head is ill, the body is as well ill we can see that from the absence of the president which Nigerians suffered the increase and scarcity of fuel. I would entirely blame the press for not performing their functions and been afraid to carryout their functions. Nigeria claiming to be democratic is on the edge of the boat of democracy and sinking into anarchy. Even the whole idea of an acting president Jonathan good luck seems unnecessary, it simply feels ceremonial because if it was not we ought to know some things about the president we voted in to lead the country and the people.
ORIBHABOR ANDREA ;07BE05540
Lese majeste is injured justice, an offence against a sovereign dignity. And i would say Nigeria is tilting towards the period of Lese Majeste because in the whole of Africa Nigeria is said to be the country operating on the freest press system ever but unfortunately they are not e.g last year in delta state the governor Emmanuel uduaghan went to launch project and on his way back, the militants harassing delta state then tried to kidnap him but failed because his security was tight and then the governor bribed the press men that were there not to report the story and then i asked myself if we were really operating this free press thing they governor would have allowed the reporters to report the story but he did not because then deltans would feel threaten knowing their lives are not secure which would cause a bigger crises in delta state.So all this boils down to my point there is no free press in Nigeria also in the case of Isioma Daniels who is on exile because she reported something against Olusegun.
And now Yar Adua's issue is now on ground because they refuse to let anyone gain access to information concerning his health and when the public should start speculating and drawing various conclusions they would be punished for saying defamatory words against the president. The public can only say things the know and right now they are saying all kinds of things. So my conclusion is that Nigeria is definitely tilting towards Lese Majeste.
Etidiakaba Blessing 07BE05507
Firstly,lese majeste simply means an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. If the press cant release valid information or don’t even have access to information about some certain things that are going in the country because they are trying to protect their lives then we can say boldly that there is no free press. The media organizations in the country are working under the complex and social system of the nation. Function of the press does not operate in reality in Nigeria as it does in more free and open societies. A non profit organization in NewYork called Committee to protect Journalists(CPJ) highlighted some critical events that has happen in Nigeria as a result of not having a free press. CPJ reported that shortly after the election of the former President, President Olusegun Obasanjo, police raided the editorial offices of the independent Lagos newspaper, Around the same time, Lanre Arogundade, chairman of the Lagos Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), was arrested on charges that seemed to be politically motivated. Even government owned media employees experienced harassment. So with all these it is obvious that we are tilting towards lese Majeste. The freedom of the press will be greatly increased when the many ethnic and other conflicts raging in Nigeria are able to be resolved. OLORUNNIWO DAMILOLA 06BF03953
Lese majeste is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state and this behavior was first classified as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome. In relation to Thailand’s Lese Majeste and what obtains in the world at large, the press is meant to be socially responsible to the public: they are to be able to access information as well as report information to the public who aren’t to be left in the dark. The ugly appearance of lese majeste is back and freedom of speech and the press is again under attack just like the military era, the Nigerian press are to get the information on Yar’ádua’s health to the people but fear is making them with hold the information. In real terms, not only is Thailand's lese majeste law an international disgrace, but in perspective of personal freedoms, it is also barbaric. The fact that anyone can face an astounding 50-year sentence for exercising one of the most basic human rights is very astounding.
We in Nigeria are supposedly practicing a democratic government not Monarchy and there is supposed to be a free press, but, even till now the freedom of information bill hasn’t been passed by the National Assembly since Obasanjo’s regime and we want there to be a free press. Definitely some members of the cabinet, his staff and his family members have the details concerning the number one citizen’s health matters but aren’t willing to give it out to the public may be because they might have sworn oaths of secrecy or fear of being killed and also for political reasons because most of the people aware would have been paid millions to be quiet about the issue. For example when President Umaru Yar'Adua was sick in Saudi Arabia his wife restrained people from visiting him and no one knew the state of his health and even when he flew out of Jeddah to return to Nigeria, against all expectations, and with mum still the word from his close associates in the saga of three months that has continued to keep Nigeria on edge.
Even some of his close confidants could be journalists but the fear of being punished or killed like Bayo Owu, Dele Giwa, Ken Saro Wiwa may be why they are mum over the case or could it be because they are all there for their own selfish reasons. Because if there were true investigative journalists in Nigeria the story would have leaked to the audience because the reporters would have developed the right sources and contacts that have valid information about the president. These same journalists in Nigeria were not even around to report his arrival into the country which CNN had a reporter on ground to do so and we are talking of getting information. Personally I feel the press is too relaxed with the situation on ground because if not at least one media house should have gotten the story across to the nation because they have the money to carry out the investigation. But the fear of what happened to Channels Television and AIT is what is definitely keeping every one away from the story. And whether we admit it or not Nigeria is heading or even practicing Lese Majeste.
Odimayo Abimbola 07BE05525
The law, expressed in Article 112 of the Criminal Code, states, whoever defames insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished (with) imprisonment of three to fifteen years. In Nigeria, the practice of the likes of lese majeste is not very inherent because it is very subjective in the sense that there are circumstances surrounding It, for example, fear is not the only reason why the Nigerian press have not reported on his health; it is possible that they might have information regarding his health but we cannot just declare it is lese majeste based on that because I think that there are circumstances beyond their control; for all we know, in a society like our they might have been sworn to secrecy or something else.
We should always bear in mind that there are clear differences between threats to free press and lese majeste because lese majeste is just one of the threats to press freedom and if we say the presidents case is a case of lese majeste then every country in the world is practicing because we cannot treat this case purely based on lese majeste, and in addition, we practice democracy unlike Thailand which is authoritarian; the political ideologies make a difference. Which means where it looks like lese majeste in Thailand it is something else entirely in Nigeria.
In Thailand, it is a way of life which they are trying to abolish and they have it in their constitution, in Nigeria, we practice democracy and when this instance of the president’s health goes on, we should bear in mind that it is not ordinary neither is it something that usually happens, the press is not tilting towards lese majeste in any way except they look into the situations surrounding it, we cannot just conclude like that; there are strings attached. So before we analyze we should take into consideration these things.
KANTIYOK RACHEAL 07BE05516
Nigeria is an extraordinarily important country to its friends and partners, and all of those in positions of responsibility should put (Yar'Adua's) health and the best interests of the country and people of Nigeria above personal ambition or gain.
"As a nation of 150 million people, Nigeria's democracy and its continued adherence to constitutional rule should be the highest priority."
As regards the press, I won't say it is entirely their fault beacuse I believe one or two out of ten journalists or reporters will be itching to get a scoop of the Presidents'..at their own detriment; the problem has to do with the government of the day who claim they are practicing democracy- 'a government of the people, by the people and of the people'..Sadly, the term is not so in reality.
Considering the time of General Babangida and late Sanni Abacha,between 1992-1999 thereabout,it was a military 'freak show' then.Here,'lese majeste' was practiced, the press were being threatened and incapacitated fully to carry out their duties as stipulated beacuse the interests of the government of the day was supreme,there were very unfortunate cases like the cLosure of Channels tv& AIT,persons were arrested and tortured doin what they knew how to do best,other media stations were 'terrorized' in one form or the other,etc.
Today,even the President of The Nigerian Bar Association(NBA),Oluwarotimi Akeredolu reacted along with the Minister of Informationns and Communication; Prof. Dora Akunyili stated that the Acting President remains Jonathan until the President transmits a letter to the (NASS) informing it that he is back and well enough to resume his duties as President.
"If the President feels that he is not strong enough to continue as President, the right thing for him to do is to resign. If he is not strong enough, Nigerians should appeal to him to resign, and not to disrupt the present equilibrium."
I saw from reports in the press that (Yar'Adua) came back under the cover of darkness with all the lights at the airport turned off, and soldiers taking over the entire environment.
According to reports,"We have not seen him, and I heard that not even journalists who were there were allowed to see him."Our major problem as a people lies in our inability to analyze unfolding events and issues pointedly. Everyone is talking about an ailing President who's turned himself into an 'Hudini' but no one is asking who gave the order to soldiers to file out in the middle of the night to condone off a part of the Federal Capital ahead of the President's purported return without the knowledge of our Acting President. It was a pure coup against the State'.
Therefore,Nigeria is indeed ignorantly tilting towards a'lese majeste' on the president's health.
the simple truth is that Yar'adua is in a vegetative state and we,Nigerians are allowing ourselves to be fooled;yet,no one is ready to come out to perform a lese majeste on the president..we are indirectly inflicting a 'lese majeste' on ourselves as a people and nation as a whole.
May God help us indeed in this blessed country(Amen)
OGUNKO TOLULOPE YEWANDE.06BE03925.
first and foremost let me start by defining the key term Lese majeste: it means that nobody must report anything against the ruler or make any publication that will put the ruler in a pulic light and it also means injured majesty. Though it isnt practised in nigeria due to the fact that we are not operating a monarchy system of government,the Nigeria press is ignorantly titling towards a lese mejeste. its been a while since our president returned from his unoffical leave and the press has still not been able to give us any tangible information about his health.Even though their are unwarranted government secrecy in which most government agencies and officals use to obstruct the jobs of journalist and the practise of press freedom,the government on their own part have failed to realise that they are the greatest source of news because its actions and inactions are of great consequence to a great number of people.it is therefore the duty of the press to source for this informations and news of whatever nature from anywhere and at anytime through any medium to the people in whose name the freedom is being exercised.journalist should not expect news and information to be posted on notice boards for them to copy, they should investigate and reveal what is hidden.Take the political sex scandal of Bill Clinton's unfamous affair with 22yr old Monica Lewinsky which took place from nov 1995 to march 1997. the press did a very detailed investigation on the story which himself and the country in an embarrassing situation and the press were criticised for over coverage of the issue. The press in Nigeria are holding back information inorder to avoid closure of their media houses in which channels and AIT was once a victim,inorder to avoid illegal Detention, harrassment and killings and a clear case is that of Dele Giwa, founder/editor of newsatch magazine who was killed by a mail bomb in his house on october 19 1986 during the Babangida Ibrahim regime. Also Fifty armed policemen stormed the International press Center in Lagos and arrested four journalists, held them for hours and without any charge released them. The police claimed they were acting on information that the militant group of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) was planning to address a press conference at the center. We may make sense from the claim, but when one remembered that the leader of the OPC, is “untouchable” the police claim becomes more of bunkum than dinkum. The Nigeria Police force seized the 4th March edition of Today Newspaper and Ayagu and sealed off their offices on grounds that it carried headlines that could threaten peace in Kaduna. A month later an armed detachment of the state security services (SSS) sealed off Leaders and company. Publishers of Thisday and warned the paper’s Editor-in-chief, Nduka Obaigbena from investigating the national security advicer,Obaigbenaought to have known: investigative journalism is only taught but not practiced in Nigeria.The Nigeria press are not abiding by the ethics of journalism which is against bribery and corruption.instead of them to fight against it, they have embraced it as a way of life.look at the case of Ishiekwene, known for his open and persistent criticism of corruption in Nigeria through his back page column in The Punch,he intimidated, displaced and forced about five editors and several other editorial staff out of their job in a bid to protect and promote several individuals including corrupt politicians he collects millions of naira from as well as organisations where he serves as a consultant or director designate. The latest of such that brought out the expose against him is the allegation that he collected N15 million among other benefits from the Lagos state government to entrap and sack the most senior editor of The Punch, Mr Steve Ayorinde over the latter’s failure to stop publishing negative stories against Lagos State government believed to have engaged Azu, as he is often called in Nigerian media circle, as a consultant.in conclusion,press freedom is not realistic in Nigeria. 06be03904
Let me start by defining Lese Majesteis the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state and this behavior was first classified as a criminal offense in the Roman republic in Ancient Rome. Okay i feel that the issue of the Presidents health issue is drawing us to one fact that we may be running a family owned country or is it not strange that the wife of the President has so much power even as to decide whether or not the president holds a meeting that may be beneficial to the whole nation.The Daily Trust reported on April 1st 2010 that the day before (31st) the president had some Muslim cleric guest Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque Ustaz Musa Mohammed Sheikh Isa Pantami, Sheik Yakubu Musa and the President of the Supreme Council of Sharia in Nigeria, Sheik Ibrahim Datti Ahmed. According to them the President was getting better. it is funny that some people have actually seen him some of which are Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, who is his son-in-law, business mogul Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, who is a close political associate of Yar'adua's, as well as Alhaji Shehu Inuwa Imam. In earlier days, Yar'adua met with several members of his extended family, including his mother and sisters. He also met with several personal aides, including his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Olusegun Adeniyi, he was set to met with the Senate Prsident David Mark as well as the Speaker of the House of Representative Demeji Bankole but he turned down the suggestion of meeting with the Acting President Good luck Jonathan(his he keeping grudge with the man?) why has he not met with the Nigerian people. The first persons that need to hear from him should be the Nigerian People. We still do not get the meaning of Democracy "government for the people by the people" this government is not for the people because if it was i don't understand why a President has been in his own country after many months of absence and has refused to give a public speech if he can entertain guest why can't he give a minute speech? and what trips me is that Journalist who are the fourth estate of the realm who are meant to act as watch dogs are not doing anything about it.
I support that we are "ignorantly" tilting towards Lese majeste.
AINA OLUWADAMILOLA 07BE05491
Lese Majeste literally means "injured majesty" and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. I believe that the Nigerian press has been operating the lesse majeste system since the time of Abacha and Babangida.Let us not forget what happened to Dele Giwa. Maybe it reduced at a certain point, but i feel it has always been there.
Presently Yar'adua's health condition is putting the country in a state of dilemma, in the sense that nobody has any information on his whereabouts, dead or alive. Its over a month now and yet no news about the President of a country.I strongly believe that the world is mocking and laughing at us. it is beyond the press, i believe that Nigerians are also involved, we should not fold our arms and wait for the press. we should also try to make efforts to get information that can help the press. It is EMBARRASSING to know that it was through CNN that the so called FREE NIGERIAN PRESS got to know about his return into the country. i believe that is highly unfortunate and sad for the Nigerian Press as reports about our own country came to us as a surprise.
In conclusion, i strongly i believe that the Nigerian press is obviously affected by the Lesse Majeste VIRUS.This is so because both the press and Nigerians are not ready to go the extra mile in getting information and showcasing it to the world instead we are waiting for who would take the first STEP. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.
Lese Majeste literally means "injured majesty" and politically means the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. I believe that the Nigerian press has been operating the lesse majeste system since the time of Abacha and Babangida.Let us not forget what happened to Dele Giwa. Maybe it reduced at a certain point, but i feel it has always been there.
Presently Yar'adua's health condition is putting the country in a state of dilemma, in the sense that nobody has any information on his whereabouts, dead or alive. Its over a month now and yet no news about the President of a country.I strongly believe that the world is mocking and laughing at us. it is beyond the press, i believe that Nigerians are also involved, we should not fold our arms and wait for the press. we should also try to make efforts to get information that can help the press. It is EMBARRASSING to know that it was through CNN that the so called FREE NIGERIAN PRESS got to know about his return into the country. i believe that is highly unfortunate and sad for the Nigerian Press as reports about our own country came to us as a surprise.
In conclusion, i strongly i believe that the Nigerian press is obviously affected by the Lesse Majeste VIRUS.This is so because both the press and Nigerians are not ready to go the extra mile in getting information and showcasing it to the world instead we are waiting for who would take the first STEP. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.AYEESHA IBRAHIM
Well i think that the Nigerian press is gradually tilting towards lesse majeste because Nigeria as a nation claims to have a free press which is socially responsible but yet the issue of the presidents health is withheld from Nigerians it is over a month since the president arrived and all the lights of the international airport was turned off where is that done, or was there a power outage?were there no journalists to take at least a picture and we have not even heard him speak talk less of seeing him on air i think it is not fair enough.
the media which is supposed to act as the fourth estate of the realm and speak for the voiceless citizens is keeping quiet and we all are just crossing our arms watching the issue go on does the press want to say that they don't know anything about the president's state of health? what then happened to the investigative journalism this is supposed to be a story that will shoot which ever media house that has any information to light but no they have refused to let us know or are they sticking to the principle of classified information? if they refer to themselves as a free press there should not be anything like classified information.this issue of the presidents health and Nigerians being ignorant should be a reason for the house of assembly to even pass the FOI bill so that the press will be able to report news freely and the citizens will be better informed i think its very unfortunate the state of the Nigerian press but there is hope for a good turn but this will take plenty of effort and more courage from the press system.
ADEBISI OMOLOLA 07BE05485
i strongly and personally feel that the Nigerain press is not tilting. we claim we have a free press but we basically don't because the free press talked about is theoretical not practical but we have had people who were interested in the welfare of the people such as Dele Giwa who was killed and other noble people who could do anything to possess information but our journalist now aint like that, they are ignorant when it comes to information. they basically wait for information to come rather than sourcing for information. no one is ready to risk his life to get information. when it comes to the issue of the president, they do not possess information about him and are not ready to risk anything like they should.and this is starting from the "information minister" who said that she heard it on CNN that the president is back when interviewed. the press do not possess information about the president and they can not publish what they do not know so they keep quiet and keep on counting the days the president has been out of office. also the press do not have where to source for information from except from those that know about him like his immediate family and close friends who are not rready to disclose any information and the height of it is that NAN which is suppose to possess information do not even have the information. therefore before i can say that we are heading towards lese majeste then the press has to possess the information about the president's health. since they don't, i therefore can't say or agree that we the press is heading towards lese majeste. Akinsunlola Adebanke 07BE05492
According to the 2009 edition of Encarta dictionary 'lese majesty' can be defined as disrespect to authority i.e. disrespect toward the authority or dignity of somebody or something. It can also be defined as an act of treason i.e. a criminal offense against a ruler or head of state.
In my opinion Nigeria is not ignorantly tilting to lese majesty,looking at the lack of reportage of the whereabouts of the Nigerian President, Musa Yar'Adua by media houses is not a qualification to conclude that Nigeria is tilting towards lese majesty. It's just an example in isolation of itself. I am of the opinion that investigating the whereabouts of President Musa Yar'Adua is not what would yield return in a short time, even the Watergate scandal that occurred in the United States of America, was not discovered until nearly after a year,which was after the efforts of persistent investigation by two reporters for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
The Nigerian press has proven to be competent and not bounded by limitations. The past experiences that have occurred is enough to make us reconsider our thoughts. An example was during the military era when Tell magazine reported that Abacha was going to die of cancer, even though they were not closed down it didn't hinder them from continuing investigative reporting.
During the tenure of former President Obasanjo and even presently media houses criticized him for junketing not stoping at that they created caricatures of him through their cartoons.
Looking at the case of Channel Television when it were shut down for broadcasting that Yar'Adua going to resign. And when AIT was also shut down for live broadcasting of a plane crash. This two incidents should not be seen as another credential to conclude that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majesty but rater that the Nigerian press no matter what happens would always broadcast the truth.
In the early stages of President Yar'Adua's tenure this same press that is supposedly ignorantly tilting to lese majesty reported Yar'Adua's health issues. Even the case of a picture of the Ogun state governor Gbenga Daniel at a shrine is another case to prove that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majesty.
Ojewunmi Ezekiel 07BE05528
i strongly believe that Nigeria is tilting towards lesse majeste. lESE MAJESTE means a crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.
Now relating this definition to Nigeria,the present situation of the country is that there is no free press that is the mass media cannot just report anything
Citing examples President Yara Adua departure from Saudi Arabia and arrival in Nigeria is very dramatic.And so it is, that, after 93 days absence, and being away from presidential duties, President Umaru Musa YarAdua has returned to Nigeria, but his health conditions remain unclear, and it is unknown, whether is able or wiling to return to work immediately. And speculations are rife about scenarios and intrigues, which have conspired and culminated into the clandestine nighttime arrival in Nigeria, a couple of hours before dawn and daybreak, by Mr. President.
It will be recalled that President Umaru Musa YarAdua left Nigeria three whole months ago, precisely on November 23rd 2009, February 23rd, 2010; the president left in a medical emergency, to seek medical for his imperfect and rather precarious health condition which have persisted over these several years.Yar'adua's return plans were a tightly-kept secret,now Nigerians are not aware of this because everything as being kept secret and the media who even know about new development cannot even publish it becuase their life will be in danger and no body to back them up.
In conclusion until all these secrets are kept open the mass media can never report such because they have to flow in line with the government.
Odukale Bowale 07be05526
Specifically, Nigerian wants to know:
1. Is the disclosed ailment of the President curable or terminal?
2. Is the ailment such as to incapacitate a person from functioning at a high-level office like that of the President?
3. If it is curable, how long can it take for the victim to be fully back on his feet?
4. Have the Nigerian Medical Association made moves to send a team of its doctors to Saudi Arabia to, at least, see the President? The attempt to do this is important and patriotic even if they are finally denied access to the President.
5. Can the ailment be treated in Nigeria ?
Al these cannot be known if the mass media donot report this .
Now the president has arrived for some time now and yet nobody knows his latest development, Nigerians donot even know how he looks. Now the government is blocking every means of allowing information to be heard.Even though any information is heard the fear of reporting it means a lot because the person giving out this news his or her life is at risk and will not even have any backup from any media organization until these secrets are kept open Nigeria is seriously tilting towards Lese Majeste
I still hold the view that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majeste except if we are saying that the absence of freedom of information and investigative journalism is the presence of lese majeste.
The minister of information, Prof. Dora Akunyili said she heard on CNN on the 24th of February that the president was back saying the news was not officially announced.(I truly wonder who was supposed to announce it other than the information minister). After complaining about being fed up with lies about Yar' Adua, she mentioned that the people taking care of the the situation were not handling it well. She said all this in an interview with Vanguard newspaper.
The Chief Imam of the Abuja National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Mohammed said in a press briefing on Wednesday 31st of March that he and 3 other muslim clerics that they visited the president and he went on to say they didn't sit close to him neither was he speaking well but after the prayers, he said amen with them.
In Thailand or Turkey or Morocco where Lese majeste is being practised Dora Akunyili wouldn't say she's tired of the lies surrounding the president's health neither would the press have the guts to report it. Also, the press wouldn't have entertained comments from the chief imam saying that the president was not speaking well. Also if the press was tilting towards lese majeste, believe me, no newspaper would have mentioned the name Yar'Adua while he was in Saudi Arabia. There wouldn't be any news of Turai Yar'Adua leading a cabal in Aso Rock. If the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste, The Nation newspaper wouldn't have had an article titled "Is President Yar'Adua Still Alive?" on the 19th of March 2010 neither would the Nigerian Tribune have an article titled "Is President Yar'Adua Really Still Alive?"
All this things the press has reported thus far would have injured the "king" and his family long time ago but the press has continued reporting what they like regarding the state of the president's health. I believe that an IN DEPTH study of lese majeste would help us understand the term and how it works but while we are on it, I still believe that the Nigerian press is not tilting towards lese majeste. NGWODO MARYJANE 07BE05520
I strongly believe that the Nigerian press is tilting towards lesse majeste because of the present situation concerning the Presidents health. information about this issue is being withheld from the public.not even a common picture to prove his existence. the media has no information about his whereabouts. I even heard that all the lights at the airports were shut when he arrived into the country.
I believe that the owners of the media houses have collected a certain amount of bribe or maybe threatened not publish anything concerning the health of the president. i must say that press freedom in Nigeria is obviously not realistic..this can be seen in the case of Ishiekwene, known for his criticism of corruption in Nigeria through his back page column in The Punch. He forced about five editors and several other editorial staff out of their job in a bid to protect and promote several individuals including corrupt politicians he collects millions of naira from as well as organisations where he serves as a consultant or director designate. The latest of such that brought out the expose against him is the allegation that he collected N15 million among other benefits from the Lagos state government to entrap and sack the most senior editor of The Punch, Mr Steve Ayorinde over the latter’s failure to stop publishing negative stories against Lagos State government. NKECHI IBE.
i will like to start by saying Nigeria has embraced this concept a very long time ago it is just a pity that we are just realizing it now. to start with, during the colonial era when nationalist movement was raised towards fighting for independence, newspaper were owned by individuals who after writing against the colonialist wrote things to sooth themselves and any newspaper that does other wise was dealt with for example 1963 when obafemi awolowo was the premiere for the west he had a quarrel with his partner ladoke who later saw to his imprisonment and he did everything possible to shut daily times up because it was working against ladoke's government. another major example was herbert marculey and ernest who wrote against herbert and was severly dealt with. bringing it down to the situation at hand i believe AIT and Channels television have information about Yar'Adua but none of them are willing to go all the way because of the different challenges they had with the government. like channels when they reported Yar'Adua's decision to resign which cost them a whole lot. even AIT have suffered a lot from the government of the day from Abacha's tenure up until Obasanjo and the recent one that happened this last December. i believe lese majesta is currently in practice in this country it is not just visible because it's been like that since the 1960's. AFOLAYAN REBECCA 07BE05488
Considering the situation at hand, it is without doubt that the Nigerian Press is tilting towards Lese Majeste in no small measure. Whether issues and where about of Yar’Adua remains hidden or not, the truth remains that the press has succeeded in making this very big issue look as mild as possible. Probably due to fear of or manipulation by top government officials, the press which is supposed to inform and keep us updated has kept us in the dark about this all important issue on the very unacceptable basis that information about this has been well hidden and therefore can’t be accessed. Where then is the right to information of press we are talking about if something that affects all and sundry is treated like it’s no man’s business.
Even if, there is no information available, how far has the press gone in sensitizing individuals or groups involved to divulge this information to them? Rather, everyone is scared, when they remember examples of heroes past who have tried such. Isn’t this the same thing happening in Thailand? An example of this is Suwicha Thakor who was detained and almost stripped of humanity for reporting against the majesty. Can anyone tell me the difference between this instanced and that of Abike Dabiri.
Lese majeste is gradually eating into our press so much that they have to tag any comment, opinion and articles about the health of Yar’ adua to individuals before they can report them. An example of this was Next news paper’s headline posted on the 1st of April “CNPP says Yar’Adua is incapacitated”.
Show me the day when the press will be able to stand up to their right and speak up and I will tell you the press isn’t tilting towards lese majeste. ADEBAYO BUKOLA. 07BE05484
I choose to agree with the fact that Nigeria is ignorantly tilting towards Lese Majeste especially with regards to Yar Adua’s health.
Lese Majeste as a concept popularized by Thailand, doesn’t allow the press reveal anything that defames the govt of the day. It puts a restriction on the investigative function of journalists and this is very much present in the Nigerian press. Journalist here in Nigeria, are definitely able to get the necessary information concerning the state of Yar Adua’s health as this is what qualifies a journalist; however, they are too scared to disclose them. Some persons might claim that the journalists can’t access this information but the truth is that a journalist who can’t go out of his comfort zone to gather information is not fit to be one. However, the Journalists in the Nigerian press can’t go all the way, not because they are not fit but because Lese Majeste is at work and as always being at work in Nigeria. For example, some few years ago, AIT was shut down for airing the site of a plane crash which the govt didn’t want aired. This is a typical example of this concept as it restricts the rights of the press. Worthy of mention, is the freedom of information bill that is yet to be approved. This is just a way to ensure that the press is not bound by the law to say whatever they want to say and as such are liable to be punished by them, which exactly is what Lese Majeste preaches.
There are a lot of transparent reasons to say that the Nigerian press is tilting towards Lese Majeste, ignorantly or not, nonetheless, I hope I have being able to drive home my point with this few.
Yes , I essentially agree with the notion and this is based on the following points i will expound upon progressively. Lese majeste is simply the crime of violating majesty. It is also an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. The behaviour was first classified as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic in Ancient Rome.However, since the disappearance of absolute monarchy,in modern times, this is viewed as less of a crime, although similar and more malicious acts are considered to be TREASON. The media in Thailand is not as free as those in the Western world. In Thailand, information about the king and the royal family is strictly controlled by one of the world’s harshest lese majeste laws, that makes it a crime to violate the defame the dignity of a ruler as stated in Section 112 of the Penal code which sanctions punishment for Lese majeste; “whosoever defames, insults,or threatens the king, queen, heir apparent or the regent shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding 3 years.’ This simply tells that no one shall expose the king to any sort of accusation or action. Many cases of these sanctions in time past have been meted out to various individuals; one of such was the case of Frenchman, Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz who allegedly committed Lese majeste in 1995 by making derogatory remarks about a Thai princess on board a Thai airways flight. He was taken into custody at the Bangkok airport and was detained for 2 weeks on the grounds of offending the monarchy. But he was later released on bail and acquitted after tendering a letter of apology to the king. In the case of a country such as Nigeria; Nigeria is not just ignorantly tilting, we have already consciously titled not only regarding the issue of the President’s health but in all situations. The press is acting as if they don’t even know president Yar’ádua. All these are due to fear of death and sanction all proportionate to the law of lese majeste.Just like in the pre-independence days, the press still serves as a form of propaganda tool of the representatives of the state and those that have bravery to inform the public on certain issues are sanctioned and silenced. A typical example is the case of the television stations, AIT and CHANNELS. Both stations have been locked up at one point or the other all in the bid to exercise free press and adequately shed light on issues where darkness loomed.Equally on the case of the president , it is possible that some individual s know where the president is but due to fear of death or sanctions, as earlier stated, they would rather not say anything . The president has been back for close to a month and nine days and still the press have not reported any thing salty on his whereabout or his health conditions.Look at the western world, they report it as it is. A logical example is the Watergate scandal, Bill Clinton sex scandal, Clinton Health matters in 2009 and many other issues respectively. we have definitely tilted because if for fear of sanction, information is not given accurately, it is still a crystal clear case of Lese majeste. CHEERS!
without any iota of doubt, one can confidently say that Nigeria press has tilted towards lese majeste. the truth is whether we like it or not, in as much as we say we are operating a free press, there reall cannot be free press in the world. even the internet is getting restricted these days in some part of the world like China, Vietnam and so on. in Thailand where this lese majeste started, it is a law there that states that no one must say anything defarmatory about the ruling power or else, that person whether a press man or not, gets punished. in Nigeria, this has been the case for years especially during the military, even now that we say we are practicing democracy, we still see traces of dictatorship especially when it pertains with the media and this still rubs on our democracy. the only difference between that era and now is the absence of khaki uniform. all other things are still the same. in the case of Yar'Adua's health, we all know that more than a thousand and one people have information about his health situation. yet thay keep quiet because of the fear of being maimed as it was in the military era. in the real sense, journalists are afraid of their lives as there is no protection covering them for doing proper investigative journalism. between Januart 1st and March, there have been report of 52cases world wide of press freedom violation. the dominant country is Tehran, dominant gender are males, dominant region are the Asian region and the dominant media are newpaper and the internet bloggers. if you ask me, the newspaper and the internet blog are the most fastest way to air natinal public views and get immediate response, but because of lack of freedom, the medium are stylisly getting restricted just like the blog site on the sharia stuff about cutting the hand of a man has been blocked in Iran. i want to say that we have always been in this lese majeste since like forever but we never knew it. even though lese majeste is not imbedded in our constitution, we have been operating the mild form of it. APAPA YETUNDE 07BE05496
Yes I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste. Lese majeste simply means ‘injured majesty’. It’s a law that states nothing wrong can be said about the king or the ruling party or the person will be killed. I said yes because on the presidents health no single piece of information has been published (that is on the actual state of his health) and this is not because of the unavailability of the information but the fear of the reporters to source for the information talk less of even report on the story. this is because everyone is scared for their lives as they have seen overtime what has happened to different people who have reported things on governmentt officials these things range from jail time to even death. For example Dele Giwa was murdered because of something similar to this. So I feel we are more than tilting we are already leaning on it as it in our history and it has already been embedded in our constitution unconsciously whether we accept it or not . 07BE05499 Atuluku Ajifa.
Yes I think the Nigerian press is tilting towards lese majeste. Lese majeste simply means ‘injured majesty’. It’s a law that states nothing wrong can be said about the king or the ruling party or the person will be killed. I said yes because on the presidents health no single piece of information has been published (that is on the actual state of his health) and this is not because of the unavailability of the information but the fear of the reporters to source for the information talk less of even report on the story. this is because everyone is scared for their lives as they have seen overtime what has happened to different people who have reported things on governmentt officials these things range from jail time to even death. For example Dele Giwa was murdered because of something similar to this. So I feel we are more than tilting we are already leaning on it as it in our history and it has already been embedded in our constitution unconsciously whether we accept it or not . 07BE05499 Atuluku Ajifa.
"The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action' This is the Thai definition of the Lese Majeste; the crime of violating majesty, an offense against dignity or a sovereign state.
In history and even in present times, most things have not changed in Nigeria. Among many of these things are the economy, the infrastructural state and the press seeming to have their tails in between their legs like oppressed animals.
Well, in my own opinion Nigeria can not be said to be tilting towards a Lese Majeste press system like Thailand, it is already the order of the day, something like the fad.
We can not heap the whole blame on the Nigerian press though , like Dr. Ekeanyanwu rightly stated in class, the Presidency must have gone the extra-mile in trying to make events surrounding the illness of the president a mirage; near-uncoverable and unfathomable by the Nigerian press; covering it with every possible means within their reach.
As rightly said by my colleague, Yetunde Apapa above,we have always been in the Lese Majeste state since the time Nigeria was under military leadership although it has been subtle in our present democratic dispensation. Cases of press censorship, bribery and inability of the press to efficiently dispense their duties have been the order of the day.
However, efforts have been made by the press to uncover the main truth of the matter but their efforts seem to be mainly speculations and counter speculations which can not be considered fact.
Onimole Oludolamu Ademola
o7be05538
Lèse majesté is a term which means "injured majesty". It is a crime of which entails violating majesty, or is an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. There is a notion that the Nigerian government is naively tilting towards this enslaving press media practice as pertaining to the health of President Yaradua. I on the other hand feel very strongly against this.
I feel that the lack of reportage of news concerning our president’s health, is due to the extreme handicap nature of our press and media sector. The Nigerian press sector firstly doe s not have enough well trained staff, who know the true essence of being a journalist (getting the news, no matter what it takes). They are all too used to the fact the government is the law, that even when the freedom of information bill has been passed their brains and behavior have been so characterized to thinking limited. And also , they are not technologically equipped to give an effective news reportage. Other developed countries have cutting edge technology, and research facilities. Apart from that they have basis amenities like water, electricity and roads, which all aid the movement and coving of news stories.
Just because the news on Yaradua’s health has not been reported yet, does not mean it is not going to be reported. Before yaradua was flown abroad for treastment , the news papers were pouring with information and news. According to Lèse majesté those newspapers should have been closed down and the reporters arrested , banished ,or shot , but none of that happened. But since Yaradua’s return the Nigerian reporters have not been able to get the news published because the p
Process of sourcing the news and information on an already heavily guarded case with the low level of technology and amenities they have would take twice the time. But seeing as CNN has all the above the got the news first. Which in turn the Nigerian reporters got from CNN head quarters in Atlanta. Which is a very huge shame. None the less it was still reported and nobody got punished. Can you see my point? The news is not being reported like it is supposed to. But when it is nobody gets hurt, which is the primary factor behind lèse-majesté. 07BE05524 Mahogany Obodozie
Lèse majesté is a term which means "injured majesty". It is a crime of which entails violating majesty, or is an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. There is a notion that the Nigerian government is naively tilting towards this enslaving press media practice as pertaining to the health of President Yaradua. I on the other hand feel very strongly against this.
I feel that the lack of reportage of news concerning our president’s health, is due to the extreme handicap nature of our press and media sector. The Nigerian press sector firstly doe s not have enough well trained staff, who know the true essence of being a journalist (getting the news, no matter what it takes). They are all too used to the fact the government is the law, that even when the freedom of information bill has been passed their brains and behavior have been so characterized to thinking limited. And also , they are not technologically equipped to give an effective news reportage. Other developed countries have cutting edge technology, and research facilities. Apart from that they have basis amenities like water, electricity and roads, which all aid the movement and coving of news stories.
Just because the news on Yaradua’s health has not been reported yet, does not mean it is not going to be reported. Before yaradua was flown abroad for treastment , the news papers were pouring with information and news. According to Lèse majesté those newspapers should have been closed down and the reporters arrested , banished ,or shot , but none of that happened. But since Yaradua’s return the Nigerian reporters have not been able to get the news published because the p
Process of sourcing the news and information on an already heavily guarded case with the low level of technology and amenities they have would take twice the time. But seeing as CNN has all the above the got the news first. Which in turn the Nigerian reporters got from CNN head quarters in Atlanta. Which is a very huge shame. None the less it was still reported and nobody got punished. Can you see my point? The news is not being reported like it is supposed to. But when it is nobody gets hurt, which is the primary factor behind lèse-majesté. 07BE05524 Mahogany Obodozie
In response to the WSIS call to raise awareness of the potential of ICT for the world, the first World Information Society Day was celebrated on 17 May 2006. 17 May also marks the inception of the International Telecommunication Union over 140 years ago in 1865. On this important occasion, the first ITU World Information Society Award was presented to two distinguished and eminent personalities whose outstanding personal contributions have furthered the cause of building a more inclusive and equitable Information Society and helped close the digital divide. The inaugural ITU Award was given to President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and Professor Muhammad Yunus, Managing Director of Grameen Bank, Bangladesh.
The WSIS action lines are
Since ICT is very crucial for development, the first line of action is to get all public governance authorities involved in ICT
The second line of action is to invest more in information and communication infrastructure and this can only be possible if the economy issues are settled first.
The third line of action is to create access t information and knowledge. This has to do with making the our “globalize world” an information driven one i.e. every average person should have access and should be crazy about information.
The forth line of action is capacity building and most times capacity is built by societies themselves, sometimes in the public, sometimes in the non-governmental and sometimes in the private sector. Many international organizations, often of the UN-family, have provided capacity building as a part of their programmes of technical cooperation with their member countries.
The fifth one is about building confidence and security in the use of ICT, here the media has to come in by giving third party credibility to people so as to get rid of every biased ideas that they may have about ICT and begin to embrace it.
The sixth one has to do with building or developing enabling environment for people (violence and disease free) and also creating a reasonable environment for the ICT.
The seventh line of action has to do with creating ICT applications to make everything ICT driven so that we can now have E government, E business, E learning, E health, E employment, E environment, E agriculture and E science.
The eight one has to do with enhancing globalization which has to do with enhancing cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and also local content.
Number nine line of action is to improve the media but again I say it won’t be possible if there are still economy flaws. We have to tackle the economy and other things like media and ICT will naturally fall in place.
The tenth one has to do with ethical dimensions of the information society
And the last one is international and regional cooperation, this has to do with promoting building understanding and cooperation without which none of these action plans will be implementable.
EGBOMEADE OSEDE 07BE05504
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