The Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when it is a government classified information or matter as long as these information are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority of the citizens of the nation.
81 comments:
Well the removal of the impediments to the freedom of media organizations will lead to the disclosure of certain information which may harm the populace. Using the 2009 film, '2010'; the World's end' as a very good example, the US information minister was ordered by the Presidency not to disclose classified government information to media organizations and consequently to the public as it could lead to public unrest and more damage than was expected from the impending volcanaic eruptions. Also in the US, the citings of Unidentified flying objects, UFOs have been a great cause of debate among its citizens as to whether they disarray which could have otherwise been avoided if the media rights to publish classified information had been limited.
In relating this cited example to Nigeria, publishing or airing certain information on news might be of more harm than good. For example, doing a special documentary showing inside causes of the recent Jos crisis may bring Yorubas to war with Hausas over the killing of their innocent brothers and sisters.
In summary, the gag on the Nigerian press not to publish certain information is of benefit in no small measure to the masses although there hould be a limit to which these gags should be put in place. The media should have at least been allowed to at least have an insight into the condition of the Presidency instead of allowing speculations and counter-speculations.
Onimole Oludolamu Ademola
07be05538
well, it is all right for the press to fight for fredom to share information whether classified or notbut the question is are we ready for that in Nigeria? I believe there are certain thing that should be left classified in todays government because if every information should be spilled in a corrupt nation like ours, then it could even tear the nation apart or worse. lets not follow the foreign way of doing things or setting laws. We should make demands based present situation of the country. first thing first like our primary and basic amenities a developing nation like our need not passig the bill of press freedom
Well, I think that, no matter how free a press is they cannot be totally free, so I would say that whatever impediment or obstacle hindering the press media from reporting whatever information they have should remain, like I said earlier, the press can be free, but no matter how free, there are still limitations. Even in the USA, there are some news that cannot be aired,(this is a country that have a free press) because they are trying to maintain their good name.
We cannot say nothing bad happens in America, but they filter whatever information they air, but here in Nigeria, our journalists believe that bad news is news, so when they get bad information they are eager to report it. Another thing that journalists do is infringing on the private lives and affairs of known people. A typical example was when Governor Gbenga Daniels was seen offering sacrifice to a god somewhere in the outskirt of the town, the press did not waste time in reporting this, for goodness sakes, don't we have the right to worship whom we wish to? Whose business if the governor decides to worship or offer sacrifices to even the devil? My humble opinion is that the impediments to the freedom of media organizations should remain.
Well if we say we are operating a free press system then informations whether classified or otherwise should be let out to the public.A nation will be corrupt if it wants to be so i don't how keeping information from the public will actually stop that especially in a nation like ours.For example an incident occured in Delta State where the governor was almost kidnapped by the militants the governor refused the reporters that were present at the incident to report,based on this i think the rulers of this our nation are actually playing us for fools because i don't see the reason why they won't stories to be published and they are calling it classified information,i think they are forgetting the fact that they are serving us and the took an oath before entering the office they swore to serve us and they are not doing it.In summary keeping information from the masses is really not helping them because they have a right to know what is going on in their country so keeping information from them is not helping them at all.
Etidiakaba Blessing 07BE05507
The current state of access to information in Nigeria is rather very poor. Most government institutions are enmeshed in the culture of secrecy, which insulates governments and their actions from public scrutiny. In fact, there is hardly any law which permits access to official information. On the contrary, there are numerous legislations containing clauses forbidding the disclosure of official information by public servants.
I am up to the deal for the removal of impediments to the freedom of media organizations. There can be no doubt that Nigeria would have been better off had it institutionalised transparency and accountability in its government structures. In an article, I read on how British parliamentarians became implicated in an expenses scandal that has seen the resignation of the powerful House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, along with several members of Gordon Brown’s Cabinet.
All this became possible through the publication by the UK’s Daily Telegraph of damning evidence of how British parliamentarians across the political divide helped themselves to the public purse through outrageously corrupt expenses claims. As a result, Brown’s Labour Party has suffered a devastating loss of councils in the just-ended local election. This is what happens when societies become so democratically bankrupt that people feel their voices are not heard. This is the tragedy of liberal democracies which elevate a more formalistic or mechanistic democracy, with little or no real civic participation. People become disillusioned and soon turn to something else – something more sinister. It is a way of striking out at the elite system of democracy.
Our politicians’ understanding of national security is narrow, circumscribed around their party-political survival. Properly understood, national security includes protecting the country against grand corruption, which can result in any number of social upheavals. We have already begun to witness such upheavals the country. It would be foolhardy not to correlate the on-going undisclosed operations of the power house (ASO ROCK) with this issue. Not removing the impediments to the freedom of media organizations might be able to sustain according to dolamu the good health and pressure management. But the truth for sure hurts and heals according to the turn of Singapore from a third world to a first world country.
Finally though Some of the information kept by government is of a sensitive personal nature (such as medical records), and thus someone has to sort out which information should be available to the public and which should require a court order. I think that for the purposes of tracking down the bulk of potential corruption, freedom of information on budgetary matters and all others ought to be sufficient.
I understand that most people would feel that it is not good to keep some information away from the masses of a country but sometimes it is necessary because such information are always kept way for the good of the country.
Such information are called “classified” because it is only those at the government offices that are involved in the planning and managing of the country that should have access to this information.
In delta state sometime ago when the case of militants abducting rich people and government officials was the order of the day, the Governor was abducted for sometime but it was not let out, looking at this scenario closely we would notice that if it was publicly made known that the governor was missing it would have lead to a case of chaos in the state, as the popular saying goes what you don’t know won’t kill you. The government of the state avoided a lot of confusion in the state by keeping it away. it is not so bad to sometimes keep some information away from the public. EGBOMEADE OSEDE 07BE05504
Well i would say the impediments to the freedom of media organization should remain because in Nigeria information is the key.But what do we get if they are not hiding the information they are telling lies.Most media organizations are known for infringing on the rights of innocent people so if the government actually is hiding information from the media they have a right to their privacy for instance Gov Gbenga Daniels was seen offering sacrifice and it was reported fine he is a public figure but they should also know he has the right to worship what so ever he wishes to worship but no the next day he was all over the country because he was offering sacrifice and so what every body has a right to their god.But no they just want to make news to the inconvenience of people okay fine that is what they are for to report anything news but still i think the impediment on media organization is actually good.
Cynthia Lawal 07BE05517
The current state of access to information in Nigeria is rather very poor. Most government institutions are enmeshed in the culture of secrecy, which insulates governments and their actions from public scrutiny. In fact, there is hardly any law which permits access to official information. On the contrary, there are numerous legislations containing clauses forbidding the disclosure of official information by public servants.
I am up to the deal for the removal of impediments to the freedom of media organizations. There can be no doubt that Nigeria would have been better off had it institutionalised transparency and accountability in its government structures. In an article, I read on how British parliamentarians became implicated in an expenses scandal that has seen the resignation of the powerful House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, along with several members of Gordon Brown’s Cabinet.
All this became possible through the publication by the UK’s Daily Telegraph of damning evidence of how British parliamentarians across the political divide helped themselves to the public purse through outrageously corrupt expenses claims. As a result, Brown’s Labour Party has suffered a devastating loss of councils in the just-ended local election. This is what happens when societies become so democratically bankrupt that people feel their voices are not heard. This is the tragedy of liberal democracies which elevate a more formalistic or mechanistic democracy, with little or no real civic participation. People become disillusioned and soon turn to something else – something more sinister. It is a way of striking out at the elite system of democracy.
Our politicians’ understanding of national security is narrow, circumscribed around their party-political survival. Properly understood, national security includes protecting the country against grand corruption, which can result in any number of social upheavals. We have already begun to witness such upheavals the country. It would be foolhardy not to correlate the on-going undisclosed operations of the power house (ASO ROCK) with this issue. Not removing the impediments to the freedom of media organizations might be able to sustain according to dolamu the good health and pressure management. But the truth for sure hurts and heals according to the turn of Singapore from a third world to a first world country.
Finally though Some of the information kept by government is of a sensitive personal nature (such as medical records), and thus someone has to sort out which information should be available to the public and which should require a court order. I think that for the purposes of tracking down the bulk of potential corruption, freedom of information on budgetary matters and all others ought to be sufficient.
OBIESIE OGOCHUKWU 07BE05523
FIRSTLY, WHAT EXACTLY IS IMPEDIMENT? IMPEDIMENT ACCORDING TO ENCARTA IS SOMETHING THAT HINDERS PROGRESS THAT IS AN OBSTACLE. I FELL THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACTUALLY REMOVE THE OBSTACLE(IMPEDIMENT) TO THE FREEDOM OF MEDIA ORGANIZATION. A MEDIA ORGANIZATION CANNOT REALLY MOVE FORWARD OR PROGRESS IF THE GOVERNMENT DO NOT ALLOW THEM PUBLISH FACTUAL INFORMATION IF THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PUBLISH CERTAIN THINGS ALL BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT. TO ME MAJORITY OF INFORMATION AND NEWS THAT ARE RELEVANT ARE POLITICAL NEWS SO I DON’T SEE WHY THERE IS IMPEDIMENT TO GIVING INFORMATION WHEN IT IS FACTUAL.THE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD REALLY HAVE A RETHINK ABOUT THE CLAUSE BECAUSE IF WE CONTINUE THIS WAY MAJORITY OF THE MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS WILL ACTUALLY RUN DOWN.
07BE05513 IWEHA GLORY CHIDIADI
Giving some factual information is tearing the nation apart, some information are left to be unknown to the public because it can cause harm to the public. For example looking at the story of Isioma Daniels which wrote a story on Mohammed this has lead to religious crisis between the Muslims and the Christians. Even isioma is on exile due to the story she wrote on Mohammed. Another example can be seen when channels reported the news that President Yar’dua was resigning this lead the country into worries. The press is seen as the mouth and ear of the people whatever the press gives out that’s what the citizens follows and believes so indirectly the press decisions for people even though when they are bias. Having a free press is exposing the country to danger which all agenda of the government is known to the public and making way for other countries to intrude into the affair of the country. A country like Nigeria which is suffering from corruption, mismanagement and inefficient leadership should grant the press free because is like expanding the wound of the nation which has not been cured. The issue of free press may lead the press intruding into people’s privacy, caricature of political and religious leaders which is wrong. passing the bill of free press will give opportunity for different media to publish what is right and wrong because every media wants to gain credibility and sales to themselves. ORIBHABOR ANDREA 07BE05540
Critically scrutinizing the past events in the Nigerian socio-politico and economic atmosphere and the glaring injuustice metted out to the Nigerian media outfits, our claim to press freedom in Nigeria, is a mere nominal proclamation. the media outfits are at the mercy of the whims, caprices and discrertions of the government. looking at some Nigerian stations liks Channels, glaring detestable political issues and happenings are not subjected to outright condemnation but are subject to debate becaquse trheir freedom is briddled. the broadcast and media never have a firm grip on issues because they are neither here nor there. they just weigh political issues and tactifully 'speak'their 'minds' by establishing an angle to the story, thereby leaving it for public to debate on.
The Nigerian media is characterized with undue cautiousne3ss and fear because doggedness and efficiency in such an occupation is rewarded with query and intense hatred by the political subject concerned.
Last week's discussions dwelt on whether Nigeria is titling towards lese mageste or not and I wholeheartedly agreed that we were certainly ignorantly doing so.In my sincere opinion, these impediments should be ruled out. i sincerely feel that it is due to such impediments that we as Nigerians cannot say for sure if our president who spent over eighty days in absentia is well, ill, alive or dead. The people involved in the federal government probably see the information concerning Mr. President as 'classified' though they have the facts which are consequential to the whole Nigerian populace. this is the issue with the Freedom of Information bill in question which the Nigerian press is anxiously anticipating. this bill simply entails that the press is free to publish and report any information that is important to the public. freedom of information does not entail intrusion of privacy, rather it is supposed to make the populace better informed and avert such situations as the one in which we find ourselves in Nigeria. these impediments which are being put in place are what in my opinion will eventually let lese majeste settle in completely.
According to Eze Anaba (Vanguard newspaper, Thursday, 25 September 2008), most worrisome of the recommendation of the committee is the new section 2, which states that “Every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has a legally enforceable right to, and shall, on application be given access to any information or record under the control of a government or public institution or private companies performing public functions, provided the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s) shall not compromise national security and the applicant shall have satisfied a State or Federal High Court of the need for the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s). the above clause is evidently a hinderance to the free working of the FOI bill because if you as a journalist is expected to go through the federal or supreme court for a scoop you got to be allowed to be published, if the court sees it 'classified information', it may not see the light of day. The caveat that the Senate Committee added to Section 2 of the report makes the FOI Bill dead. I would stand on my ground that if the freedom of information bill is to be passed without any 'buts', then these impediments should be removed. SETON FOLU; 07BE05544
Critically scrutinizing the past events in the Nigerian socio-politico and economic atmosphere and the glaring injustice meted out to the Nigerian media outfits, our claim to press freedom in Nigeria, is a mere nominal proclamation. the media outfits are at the mercy of the whims, caprices and discretions of the government. looking at some Nigerian stations like Channels, glaring detestable political issues and happenings are not subjected to outright condemnation but are subject to debate because their freedom is bridled. the broadcast and media never have a firm grip on issues because they are neither here nor there. they just weigh political issues and tactfully 'speak'their 'minds' by establishing an angle to the story, thereby leaving it for public to debate on.
The Nigerian media is characterized with undue cautiousne3ss and fear because doggedness and efficiency in such an occupation is rewarded with query and intense hatred by the political subject concerned.
07BE05510 NKECHI E.IBE
In this country, the Freedom of the mass media organization to publish news and information has been a major debate. On television, radio, in periodicals and even in conversations, people are unanimous in their resolve to allow Press Freedom to prevail as a vital tool for the entrenchment of genuine democracy, probity and accountability in governance.We all know that freedom of Nigerian Press is not guaranteed by any formal document except the constitutional provision that task the fourth estate of the realm to defend accountability in governance. But the tools needed by the press to provide veritable space for the press to function are daily hoarded by the ruling class.
In my point of view,Government should remove the impediments to the freedom of the media organization reason being thatindividuals must be allowed to access information freely, so that accountability can be really be deepened through the publications by the mass media organization. This is important because at some point the press, depending on ownership and editorial interest can be a fetter to access to information even if public information is made available. Furthermore, press freedom will be worthless if socio-economic rights of the citizens are not guaranteed. There cannot be interest in governance, and in extension probity and accountability, if the populace is poor.
Citing the 1999 constitution of the country it brought about democracy which emphasizes on the freedom of mass media but unfortunately it is not practiced. According to Abraham Lincoln he defined democracy as government for the people, by the people and for the people which we just have to follow because it is backed in the constitution.Nigeria changed its method of governance from the military regime to the civilian government from Gen Abusalam Abubakar to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
In conclusion if the Federal Government remove this impediments is will open secret that majority of Nigerian politicians got to power through crooked means. Furthermore, the corrupt capitalist system that they defend cannot allow them to freely give these rights to the people. This places enormous task on the journalists, working people, professional associations and civil society to mount serious pressure on the national assembly to concede to this simple democratic right of the people
Odukale Bowale 07BE05526
Freedom of information legislation are rules that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Over a hundred media groups, business interests and human rights organisations have joined forces to press for the passage of the bill .It is annoying to know that most of these classified information are so ridiculous. In advanced countries, some of these classified information would ordinarily be found on the internet .The result of this is that journalists are denied access to information that is critical for accurate reporting, and unraveling the web of corruption in Nigeria. We cannot escape from the responsibility of the mass media as the conscience of the society.The year 2009 was unpleasant for some journalist like for instance, Mr. Olusola Fabiyi, The PUNCH correspondent in Abuja, who was arrested and detained by police in Abuja for reporting the allegation by the Action Congress that one governor from the North-Central zone was behind the plot to assassinate a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, which The PUNCH had published on March 23.Fabiyi, who was arrested around 2pm on March 25, 2009, was not released until 8.05pm for declining to write a statement about the source of his published story.Another is Francis Dufugha of the Niger Delta Herald who was brutalized by soldiers and policemen Bayelsa on the orders of a top security aide for daring to take shots of Governor Timpre Sylva at a public function with his mobile phone. His phone was forcibly seized and his glasses smashed by the overzealous security operatives on March 30, 2009. We are in an informati0n crazy society and I believe we have the right to have access to information and report them so the government should pass the FOI bill without further delay. Okafor I funanya 07BE05531
well my opinion is that the federal government should not remove the impediments to the freedom of information bill because the populace has a right to know what is happening and I think the so called classified information thing should be scrapped i think there should not be anything like that the press are supposed to be the voice of the people and give to us information that is factual it will help the development of a nation especially one like Nigeria for instance the bank saga if not for the press some government officials will see it as classified information and try to conceal it and so these people will escape punishment but now that the whole nation knows they have been punished they will serve as an example to others and hereby corruption can be eradicated if information is withheld from the public there will be little or no development like the issue on ground now the state of health of the president nobody knows anything because they are hoarding this information and everybody is keeping quiet including the media this is not fair at all the media is supposed to be the watch dog of the nation and if you restrict them how are they supposed to function perfectly?
I don’t think the government should put restrictions on information gathering and dissemination if there has to be rapid development as we all know is power and if we want to move to the information society we need the information and not restrictions
ADEBISI OMOLOLA 07BE05485
I am of the opinion that Nigerian press should be allowed to publish information freely, even when it concerns the government or it is government classified information as the case maybe, as long as such information is based on facts and its accuracy is proven.
The press being the 4th estate of the realm has the responsibility of keeping a check on the government and reporting events of importance to the populace. But this responsibility of the Nigerian press is not without several restrictions which has practically handicapped journalism practice in Nigeria. Journalism serves the public interest best when it is grounded on facts. Therefore, the press should engage in a relentless search for facts, and cultivate the nice sense of discrimination essential for distinguishing fact from rumour or gossip. Every information is regarded as official secrets which are hardly disclosed to Journalists and the Journalist who go the extra mile to source for such information stand the risk of harassment, kidnappings or even death from Government officials. A recent event was that of the staff of the Lagos-based 'Insider Weekly' newspaper that has been in hiding ever since SSS agents raided their headquarters recently, closed it down and confiscated its equipment for publishing "discourteous articles about the president and commander-in-chief, and other government personalities."
According to Longe Ayode of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a Lagos-based non-governmental organization (NGO) “Virtually all government information in Nigeria is classified as top secret. The veil of secrecy makes it difficult to get information from any state agency”. A plethora of laws prevents civil servants from divulging official facts and figures, notably the Official Secrets Act which makes it an offence not only for civil servants to give out government information - but also for anyone to receive or reproduce such information and because of this journalists are denied access to information that is critical for accurate reporting, and unraveling the web of corruption in Nigeria.
I do not want to be a prophet of doom, but if continuous unthinkable restrictions continue to ravage the Nigerian press thereby hindering accurate delivery of its journalistic operation, then the nation is at a great risk, which is evident in the failure of the press to properly scrutinize President. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s record, which landed the nation with a largely unknown person medically as president. In the same manner, it failed to scrutinize the records of gubernatorial, National Assembly and State Assembly candidates. This failure is in part responsible for the crisis of leadership that has crippled Nigeria at every level till date. Jejeloye Tolulope 07BE05515
This is what is referred to as press freedom in which means freedom to source for information of whatever nature and the freedom to report such information.This is acoording to the consitutional rights.Even if the report is factual, objective, and of consequence to majority of people, as far as its a government classified information, they will not report it. They claim they are practicing democracy but this democracy is only a thing of the mind as the government control what is said, there is freedom to report information or source for information. This can be seen as the case of the late Dele Giwa, a journalist who was killed through parcel bombing because of a story he reported.This is the case of many other journalists as they are scared and do not want to lose their lives. It is happenein all over the world as in China there is a new term called the new china in which the jouranlist do not report anything against the party or the governement od the day as they would be banned as journalists.So whether Nigeria removes impediments,there will still be abuse of press freedom as Nigeria is just a country and it is the government that is controlling the country. For instance, in honduras, jounalist were kidnapped and killed beacuse they reported news that was factual. This is the situation of journalists in Nigeria. When we say the federal republic of nigeria, do we mean the government or the people, because if it is the government. no changes will be made as they are the impediment that have to be removed. They conrol what the journalists say or do . I think that if they can they should remove the impediment as our fundamental human rights cannott be abused, we have the right to source for information or report such information. Bello AMINAT. O 07BE05502
it is important that the media publish news and information to the public which is their foremost responsibility.In order for these media organisatin to effectively perform their responsibilities it is imperative that the federal republic of Nigeria remove all forms of impediments to publications especially if lack of such information would eventually lead to grievious consequences to majority citizens of the naion. citizens of the nation look up to the media as their guide their source of information and education. it is important that the information that thee media publish to the public is Factual and objectives and above all it must be of consequence to a majority of the citizen of the nation. i aso think it important that even though the infromatiion is of importance to a minority group of persons, their cases should be held because they ae as much citizens of the nation as the minority. how do we handle the minority much less the majority.
Agbanusi nneka, 07BE05489
in addition to my already posted comments, i'lld like to add that we are in an information cazy society although Nigeria as a nation is not information crazy in all honesty but educated elites and even the common lay man desrvees the right to information about events and actions in and around our government and country. it is common knowledge that journalists who have attempted to fullfill his/her responsibility to the public has faced high level degree punishments for instance Francis Dufugha of the Niger Delta Herald who was brutalized by soldiers and policemen Bayelsa on the orders of a top security aide for daring to take shots of Governor Timpre Sylva at a public function with his mobile phone. His phone was forcibly seized and his glasses smashed by the overzealous security operatives on March 30, 2009. Agabanusi nneka, 07BE05489
The Freedom of information bill, 'A BILL FOR AN ACT TO MAKE PUBLIC RECORDS AND INFORMATION FREELY AVAILABLE, PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS AND INFORMATION, PROTECT PUBLIC RECORDS AND INFORMATION TO THE EXTENT CONSISTENT WITH THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL PRIVACY, PROTECT SERVING PUBLIC OFFICERS FROM ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES FOR DISCLOSING CERTAIN OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THOSE PURPOSES AND RELATED PURPOSES THEREOF, 2008' is still waiting to be passed. i for one think that this bill should be passed because it covers non publication of government classified information and privacy of people's lifes.
But, the removal of impediments to the freedom of media organization to publish news and information is okay but not when it is a government classified information will cause more harm than good. if the information or classified information is made known to the public, it might cause chaos and disaster. People have different reaction to things and the action they will take in response to that information might not be a good for them and it might interfer with the solutions the govermnent want to use to solve such challenges or actions they will take. in developed countries like US, classified information such as UFOs are not made known to the public to avoid people panicing and causing a lot of harm than good. Even when the press are given this freedom, they might still not report the truth or facts.free press is good, but there are just some things that are meant to be classified.
OKAFOR CHIDINMA 077BE05530
Virtually all government information in Nigeria is classified as top secret, this veil of secrecy makes it difficult to get information from any state agency.If you want useful information from a government department, they will not give it to you. They will tell you it is classified information.A plethora of laws prevents civil servants from divulging official facts and figures, notably the Official Secrets Act which makes it an offence not only for civil servants to give out government information - but also for anyone to receive or reproduce such information. Further restrictions are contained in the Evidence Act, the Public Complaints Commission Act, the Statistics Act and the Criminal Code - amongst others. The idea behind these laws is to protect vital government information, but the level of secrecy is so ridiculous that some classified government files contain ordinary information like newspaper cuttings which are already in the public domain
So impenetrable is the veil of secrecy that government departments withhold information from each other under the guise of official secrets legislation. There are also instances where civil servants refuse to give the National Assembly documentation after being asked to do so. The result of this is that journalists are denied access to information that is critical for accurate reporting, and unraveling the web of corruption in Nigeria.
Students also find themselves barred from reading documents necessary for their research.
When you are in public office and have soiled your hands in the pot of corruption, you will try to prevent your being exposed by classifying as top secret documents that can implicate you.In the name of official secrets, somebody sits on information that will benefit millions of people. In advanced countries, some of (this) classified information would ordinarily be found on the internet
Critically looking at the current situation in Nigeria, it would be of great benefit to allow the freedom of Information in this current stand. stemming from the fact that Nigeria is rated amongst the top of the worlds most corrupt countries, unveiling and safeguarding public information is a booster to corruption as practices by the so called leaders are concealed and with that these leaders have a place of refuge, where they can boldly maintain there corrupt practices and keep it secret.
If these secrecy laws are not there, people will sit up. If you know the public will get access to your fraudulent acts you will not do it. I would strongly advice that the media, should be given permission to publish/broadcast whatever they want to.
OMORARO GEORGE 07BE05536
Freedom of information legislation is rules that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Personally, I am of the opinion that such impediments have been put in place for a reason one of which I know of is to preserve the constitution and sovereignty of the state and should at no cost be revealed merely to satisfy the curiosity of citizens who at the end of the day might not need it for anything tangible. It is true that a knowledgeable society is a wealthy society but we must not forget that boundaries must be set especially where such information is tagged as classified. Too much of everything is bad. In our case, we should not even pursue it because I do not think we are ready for it; our socio- political cum economic status does not give us that luxury there are certain things that must be put in place before we can pursue it for example, let us look at the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, their socio-political cum economic status is very buoyant and they can take in whatever comes their way. Also taking the example of President Yar’Adua’s health, people are waiting for information regarding his health but then what happens? if they know exactly what is going on with him? The fact is that a hungry does not care about another man’s health when he has his to think about. Besides, we keep crying for freedom of information but there is no actual law that stops anyone from reporting information but is just fear unlike countries like America who have clauses restricting the media operations that are actually in the battle for the press freedom. Finally, what you do not know would not kill you, so Nigerians should focus on developing their nation than trying to find out classified information that would only make them worry. KANTIYOK RACHEAL, 07BE05516.
The removal of impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when its government classified information would be a bold step for Nigerians as a whole as long as this information are factual, objective and of consequence with the people that the message is being pass to.
Press freedom is immunity of the communications media including newspapers, books, magazines, radio, and television from government control or censorship. Freedom of the press is regarded as fundamental to individual rights. Looking at the change in power which took place in 1999, when the rule regime changed to democracy which is for the people, by the people and of the people, this explains that freedom of press should have taken place. During the days of the military men we could still pin point cases like that of Isioma Daniel as a crime due to no freedom of press but after our ex-president Olusegun obasanjo had come to power with the change of the ruling power, the bill of freedom of press should have been signed.
Our country has gotten to the state of secrecy, a major example is that of our President that has been keep a secret up to date, no one wants to talk about is present state where he is and how he is doing, this is where lese majeste has taken place because everybody is afraid to report anything about their president. The word “classified” has brought about division between people, one cannot talk about the required person without safe guarding his or her life, the barrier should be broken starting with the distribution of information regarding President Yar’adua present state.
An argument started with the new publication on the news paper concerning the fact that the president invited Pastor Adeboye and Bishop Oyedepo for a meeting with him which was tagged “confidential”. The press have come to the conclusion that they should disclose information, stating that they are also adding to the darkness that they have being left in for months, I feel it not the same thing, men of God do not lie and if they have given their words they have to stick to it.
I believe that freedom of the press is not absolute. The principle has long been established that the press may not be used in circumstances that would create a “clear and present danger” of bringing about serious consequences to some significant interest that the government has a right or duty to protect, instead of crying about our present situation, we should be thinking about how the law for press freedom will be approved.
Finally, I believe what is secret is so in order for Nigerian to stand and fight for their right. For this to be a complete reality should work with development along side with freedom of press because communication and development work hand in hand, then the bridge of classification of information will be broken. Their some information that should still be kept away from the public to protect their own interest even in USA that is believed to have complete press freedom, their constitution still has a “BUT”, in all I feel that freedom of press should take its place in the constitution but with morals and caution so as not to harm the people in question and the citizens of the country.
OGUNKUA FOLUWAKEMI 07BE05527
in a country where people are entitled to a particular information in the name of 'public', and they are not able to access these information, what would you say is becoming of the ''non-public' information that the government normally would hide? the freedom of information is supposed to help the people of Nigeria, scrutinize and curtail the activities of the government...(supposedly our government) by letting all their activities really PUBLIC. if we as a country who elected these people to rule us, are not able (through our media) to seek out and publish information that in the first place is rightfully ours because of the avoidance of a national instability, then what do we expect our media to get to us because the real issues are left underlay... some people, in the name of the government sit and make decisions that the masses follow..we need to know because knowledge is power, and it is this power that is going to be available to us that they are really afraid of. because in due time, the sun will always reveal day ... let us all remember that 'the road not taken is the road not known'. these information have issues that pertain to our health and general well being as a country, With the failure to pass the Freedom of Information Bill and the incessant harassment of journalists, Nigeria is still among countries where media practitioners are endangered species.
Journalism is one of the most hazardous professions in the world. This makes journalists to be endangered species. Cases abound all over the world about how journalists have been intimidated, harassed, maimed and even killed in the course of doing their job. okunbor hashim 07be05533.
Freedom of information legislation are rules that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions.
The Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information despite being government classified information as long as these information are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority of the citizens of the nation because according to Senator. S .N. Anyanwu, Chairman Senate committee on communications “The attitude of Nigerians and the publications in our media have not helped matters. No media criticize its government and people like our media does”. They are both wrong. The American media, for example, is more vibrant, more critical, more fact-digging,, more dust-raising and more nosy than the Nigerian media. They mould opinion, alter courses and dictate direction. The American press is more critical of its government than the Nigerian media is of its government.
It was the media in America that exposed the Nixonian Water gate scandal. It was the American press that exposed the Clintonian Irangate Contra scandal. It was also the media that disclosed the Guatemano bay scandal. As a nation whose media is meant to stand up and relate issues to us, we are being told to shut up and to see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil?
"Every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has a legally enforceable right to, and shall, on application be given access to any information or record under the control of a government or public institution or private companies performing public functions, provided the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s) shall not compromise national security and that the applicant shall have satisfied a state or federal high court of the need for the disclosure of such information or release of such record(s)". Therefore i see no reasons why we should have stress in accessing information unless the government has something to hide from the people.
In conclusion to the issue of whether to make classified government issues publicized or not Professor Jerry Gana former Minister of Finance during President Obasanjo’s regime in his remarks during one of his speeches on the FOI Bill stated thus “No state, especially a democratic state, can achieve any meaningful development if the citizens do not have access to information about matters that affect their everyday lives. It is, indeed, fundamental in any democratic governance.” Therefore no matter how classified these issues are they are to be made known to the public who voted them in as ‘there is nothing new under the sun’ and this would ensure tranquility, transparency and good governance in the economy and nation at large.
ODIMAYO ABIMBOLA 07BE05525
the federal republic of nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organisation to publish news and information.in most nations, there is a robust support for the principle that the media should be free of government control and that citizens should even have access to material from hostile countries. With just a few exceptions majorities say that the government should not have the right to limit access to the internet. But while most publics say the government should not have the right to prohibit publishing material it thinks will be politically destabilizing, a majority in several predominantly Muslim countries and nearly half of Russians say that governments should have such a right. In many countries, majorities want more media freedom. i believe that impediments to the freedom of media organisations should be removed and In spite of the framework that has been set in place for press freedom, Nigeria continues to fight to be able to publish opinions freely.Examples of cases in the past in which there were forms of silencing the press are found in the late 1970s and mid 1980s. Although newspapers and magazines were privately owned, the government prohibited them from expressing their editorial opinions. In 1977 Newbreed was closed down. In 1984 the government closed down the Tribune and four years later in 1988 Newswatch was a victim of government censorship. Also during this time period, government leaders harassed individual journalists. In 1971 Minere Amakiri, a reporter for the Nigerian Observer, was detained and had his hair shaved. Numerous other journalists experienced similar assaults.
Censorship is a recurring problem in Nigeria regardless of the supposed freedoms expressed in the constitution. Both during periods of civilian rule and military dictatorships, the nation has never experienced a complete assurance of a free press. Government philosophy and documents may state press freedoms exist, but in the day to day affairs of life such freedoms fluctuate widely.
in latin american this week, President Daniel Ortega called the media an echo box for the enemies of the people’s project.As Americas Quarterly’s Danielle Renwick writes, accusations of censorship and media blackouts erupted in Honduras since the June 28 overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya. In Colombia, after Cambio magazine linked a judge to an Italian criminal organization, the same judge issued an arrest warrant for the magazine’s publisher. The same judge has brought legal action against journalists from other prominent Colombian publications such as Semana and El Tiempo. And, in Brazil, after months in which media outlets covered a Senate scandal involving ex-President José Sarney, one of his relatives gained a court injunction preventing O Estado de São Paulo from publishing information about the former head of state.
on the 17th of november 2009, Media chiefs led by the former Lagos State governor and veteran journalist Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande yesterday insisted on the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI), which they said was the only way to achieve sustainable democracy.
The freedom of information act which exist in USA was signed into law by president Lyndon jjohnson on september 6,1966 and is still functioning till today.freedom of information in all area should be allowed. 06be03904
The press should not be given such information because it can make things worse in this country. There is a Free Press quite alright but there are also some laws restricting the amount of information that can be given out. These classified information’s are been kept away and hidden from the press for a reason; it’s not everything that the public and also the press is supposed to know
The Federal Republic of Nigeria should not remove the impediments because if the press given such information and its then published to the publics, there would be a lot of chaos in the country. The word “Classified” means it’s only available only to authorized people for the reasons of national security; the information is not supposed to be available to everybody even the press. The people are supposed to have information, that fact is true but not to an extent were the information been reported would harm them. The information is been hidden for the safety of the people, it is to protect them and the press is supposed to understand and not keep on yearning for freedom of information.
There should be a freedom of information but it has to be to the interest of the public and not out of the selfish reasons of the press to punish the government. For example- if there is something about the school that has been kept classified and the press wants to know about it, and if this information is been released it would hurt the students, will the story be released?. The story would not be released because the students have to be protected.
Looking at the issue of Isioma Daniels during Abacha’s era who reported a story that was classified and it caused her not to even return to her own country. Nobody is saying the public should not know about this information but some of these so called classified information is kept security reasons and also for the safety of the people. Virtually all government information in Nigeria is classified as top secret. Longe Ayode of Media Rights Agenda (MRA) says that the veil of secrecy makes it difficult to get information from any state agency. He also said that if the press wants useful information from a government department that it will not give it to them. They will tell them that its classified information. The information is classified for a specific reason not going around reporting it to the public. And also the case of Yar’Adua’s health, everybody is waiting to hear information about his. But the question after then what happens? Even though they know his health condition what can be done about it. Because the people have not heard on the president’s health means such information is classified and even though it is not, no press no matter the law guiding press freedom can report it.
In conclusion, classified information should not be given to the press in other to protect the publics from some particular things that are seen as harmful to them. EKEZIE JUDITH, 07BE05505.
According to the Wikipedia encyclopedia, Freedom of information legislation are rules that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. It is also variously referred to as open records or sunshine laws, governments are also typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness.
The situation in Nigeria regarding the freedom of information(FOI)bill has caused a lot of uproar among various media organizations as regards the clauses to the bill. The FOI bill should be passed without the clauses because government officials should be transparent in all doings and should stand credible among their voters.
Concerning the last week's topic on lese majeste, the lack of the passage of the FOI Bill is one of the restrictions to investigating the whereabouts of our President, Musa Yar'Adua.
If not for the insistence of Nigerian media organizations the FOI bill would not have reached the stage it is now.
During the tenure of our erstwhile president, Olusegun Obasanjo, there was a deliberate attempt to forestall the passage of the bill. According to Lanre Arogundade a member of the International Press Centre (IPC), former President Olusegun Obasanjo was a major opponent of the bill because he was afraid that the bill would give the media too much power to probe the activities of those in government.
In my opinion the FOI bill can be likened to a vacuum cleaner while the politicians can be portrayed as dirt on the floor. Until the vacuum cleaner is allowed to clan the floor, the stench (lack of development) caused by the dirt would remain.
Nigeria on the 1st of October 2010, would celebrate its 50th independence anniversary with nothing to show for the 50 years gone by. Therefore now is the time for the Nigerian people to be made known of the perpetual factors shrouded in secrecy that are causing stagnation to the country's development and growth, now is the time for change, now is the time for the dawning of a new era, now is the time for the passage of the FOI bill without any impediments or clauses to it.
OJEWUNMI EZEKIEL 07BE05528
the freedom of information bill to be passed into law next month will see to end the limitation by the law on what information to be published by the media. This limitation which started during the military era in which the military government did not want any thing published that will affect its image despite provision in the Nigerian Constitution which states that the Press must be free at all times to uphold the accountability of the government to the people. it should be noted that media personnel have since been limited, gagged, molested and imprisoned by the government due to information they published which the government saw as a threat to them and to the security of the Nigerian state.as at present, the media is doing all it can to move into law the freedom of information bill in order to grant them access to report any event or information whether it is government classified. i believe this bill should be passed but with conditions that will help check the power of the press so that they will not report any thing that can affect the sanity and peace in the society. this is in accordance with the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword. it should also be noted that the freedom of information bill allows the media to publish any thing as long as it is the truth. but considering the fact that major print media outlets are owned by people who have one interest or the other in government, what is the assurance that this people will not manipulate the existence of this bill for their own selfish purposes? what is the assurance that in publishing the truth and nothing but the truth, events and information that will affect someone from doing his job will not be published. a very good example is the case of The Nigerian Compass owned by Governor Gbenga Daniel who used his newspaper to publish the almost nude picture of one of his opponents on the cover page? how much more will be published if the FOI bill is passed considering the fact that 2011 general elections are right at the corner. conclusively it can be said that it is right for the freedom of information bill to be passed but i believe some impediments to check the power of the fourth estate of the realm should be included in it.Jacobs Babafemi 06BE03908
It is important that the media organizations publish news and information to the public especially if this type of information is beneficial to the public. If they withhold such information how do we know the ongoing in the country?
Besides these people in power, the government, the president and so on, were voted in by we the masses so they should be able to dish out such information to us, because the people make a nation not individuals.
Take for example, president yar’adua who left Nigeria on 23 November 2009, and was reported to be receiving treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi Arabia. He had not been seen in public since and his absence had created a dangerous power vacuum in Nigeria. He has since returned, on the 24th of February to be precise, yet these so called people in power did not deem it fit to report anything to us. How sad! Yet they won’t let the media houses do their jobs. I neva see this kind thing before o!
These media organizations are scared to reel out such information especially when it has to do with top government officials for the fear of being shut down worst of all the fear of their media house being burnt down. You never can tell, this might just be the big break Nigerian citizens are waiting for. A media house to break the ice and the masses, other media houses will back him up, just like in china recently, the reporter whose tape recorder was sized by Li Hongzhong, the governor of Hubei province, in response to a question being asked. The story saw the light of day with backings from journalists, lawyers, academics and activists
Then some of us might say, the reporters and media houses are supposed to be courageous enough to publish anything, but I disagree. This is where the free press system comes to play. But as we all know, there is nothing like free press system here in Nigeria. All we can do is pray!
I am definitely of the opinion that the Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when it is a government classified information or matter as long as these information are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority of the citizens of the nation.
EMEFIELE ANITA-05BE02358
The public has every right to information, but when this information can cause unrest, chaos, I think it is best kept from them, because the media being a very powerful tool can share an information which can really cause public unrest, although Professor Gana made a public declaration on behalf of the Executive to support the bill, the first by any senior member of the Obasanjo administration. In his remarks, he conceded: “No state, especially a democratic state, can achieve any meaningful development if the citizens do not have access to information about matters that affect their everyday lives. It is, indeed, fundamental in any democratic governance.” It is safer that way(withholding several information involving national defense information) because even In USA Under FOIA, agencies may withhold nine categories of records, ranging from national defense information and matters under litigation to medical files. Agencies may also leave out identifying details to avoid unwarranted invasions of personal privacy. Federal courts, however, have jurisdiction to block efforts to withhold records. The Office of Personnel Management also has the power to take disciplinary action against officials who withhold information contrary to the law. so I feel that even if there is freedom of information, it should be restricted. Ezegwo ifeoma, 07BE05508
The freedom of Information (FOI) Bill is a Bill that, if passed into law, will give every Nigerian a legal right of access to information, records, and documents held by government bodies and private bodies carrying out public functions. It applies to all arms of government and also to all tiers of government.
The FOI bill is for seeking and having access to information. Before the bill has being passed to law, there are certain categories of information that are exempted from the general right of access and include such information as: Defence/security matters’ the conduct of international affairs, Law enforcement investigation, Trade secrets, Financial, commercial, and technical and scientific information of economic value.
We should realize that freedom itself is not cumulative, meaning that freedom is relative to different set of people. In Nigeria, i believe that the impediments of media organizations to public is best removed because information that has being termed classified and is of public interest can't be published when this aw is passed. Looking back at the time when information was given to Channels Television that the President was going to resign in 2009 and was shut down. Many Nigeria journalist have being killed and imprisoned because they were trying to be factual like in October 17, 1989, Dele Giwa was invited by the State Security Service and accused him of gun running. Two days after, Dele Giwa was killed by parcel bomb. Two journalists, Gbenga Aruleba and Rotimi Durojaiye of African Independent Television (AIT) and Daily Independent newspaper respectively, were arrested and arraigned in June 2006 for calling the purchased Presidential Jet a fairly used or Tokunbo jet while the Federal government claimed the jet is brand-new, and were charge under a moribund law, the Sedition Act, a law that has been declared null and void by a competent court of law, the Court of Appeal, since 1983. this freedom of information bill even with out restriction, the government of the day will ensure that journalist in one way or the other are detained on revealing classified information if gotten. OKAKA SARAH 07BE05532
FIRSTLY, WHAT EXACTLY IS IMPEDIMENT? IMPEDIMENT ACCORDING TO ENCARTA IS SOMETHING THAT HINDERS PROGRESS THAT IS AN OBSTACLE. I FELL THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACTUALLY REMOVE THE OBSTACLE(IMPEDIMENT) TO THE FREEDOM OF MEDIA ORGANIZATION. A MEDIA ORGANIZATION CANNOT REALLY MOVE FORWARD OR PROGRESS IF THE GOVERNMENT DO NOT ALLOW THEM PUBLISH FACTUAL INFORMATION IF THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PUBLISH CERTAIN THINGS ALL BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT. TO ME MAJORITY OF INFORMATION AND NEWS THAT ARE RELEVANT ARE POLITICAL NEWS SO I DON’T SEE WHY THERE IS IMPEDIMENT TO GIVING INFORMATION WHEN IT IS FACTUAL.
LOOKING AT THE ISSUE OF ISIOMA DANIELS DURING THE YEAR 2000 WHO REPORTED A STORY THAT WAS CLASSIFIED AND IT CAUSED HER NOT TO EVEN RETURN TO HER OWN COUNTRY. IF THE PRESS ARE GIVEN THE FREEDOM SUCH INCIDENT WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. IF THE GOVERNMENT HAD BROUGHT OUT A LAW THAT THE PRESS ARE ALLOWED TO PUBLISH OR AIR ANY INFORMATION ONCE IT IS FACTUAL THEN WE WOULD REALLY NOT BE HAVING CHALLENGES LIKE WE ARE HAVING NOW.
AT THIS POINT WE ARE VIRTUALLY OUT OF INFORMATION BECAUSE ONCE THE PRESS PUBLISHES SOMETHING THAT IS FACTUAL BUT AGAINST WHAT AN ORGANIZATION OR RELIGION WANTS TO BE PUBLISHED THEY EITHER SUE THEM OR BRING UP ONE ISSUE OR THE OTHER. THEREFORE, THE LACK OF PRESS FREEDOM OR THE CLAUSE ASSOCIATED WITH PRESS FREEDOM IS ACTUALLY KEEPING THE PUBLIC THAT IS CITIZENS OF THE COUNTRY IN THE DARK BECAUSE THE PRESS THE PRESS ARE NOT REALLY GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE OUT SOME INFORMATION.
IWEHA GLORY CHIDIADI 07BE05513
According to Ekeanyanwu (2008), press freedom means the freedom to source for news and information of whatever nature, from anywhere and at any time, and the freedom to report such news and information in any form.
However some constraints are necessary so as to protect the public from press irresponsibility. Because if not, there will be situation of libelous information, information necessary for national security, invasion of privacy which the press are good at, they don’t know when it is necessary for privacy, e.g. the case of Clinton Monica sex scandal.
The public has every right to information, but when this information can cause unrest, chaos, I think it is best kept from them, because the media being a very powerful tool can share an information which can really cause public unrest, although Professor Gana made a public declaration on behalf of the Executive to support the bill, the first by any senior member of the Obasanjo administration.
In his remarks, he conceded: “No state, especially a democratic state, can achieve any meaningful development if the citizens do not have access to information about matters that affect their everyday lives. It is, indeed, fundamental in any democratic governance.” It is safer that way(withholding several information involving national defense information) because even In USA Under FOIA, agencies may withhold nine categories of records, ranging from national defense information and matters under litigation to medical files. Agencies may also leave out identifying details to avoid unwarranted invasions of personal privacy. Federal courts, however, have jurisdiction to block efforts to withhold records. The Office of Personnel Management also has the power to take disciplinary action against officials who withhold information contrary to the law. So I feel that even if there is freedom of information, it should be restricted. Ezegwo ifeoma, 07BE05508
Press freedom, has become the meter for measuring democracy and the tonic for self and national development. But what is this press freedom? According to Sean McBride et al in the book Many Voices, One World, press freedom is the collective enlargement of each citizen’s freedom of expression. It is not freedom to journalists alone, nor is it censorship or restraints only by government. It is free flow of information and access to it without restraints.
Saying today that as a country Nigeria has freedom of the press, we are just deceiving ourselves and no one else and this gross abuse/ lack of press freedom can be traced back to the last military regime. Knowing the power of the press, who has forced the military out, the military ensured that it put a solid ground for the abuse of press freedom before it left the scene. Three days before General Abdulsalam Abubakar handed over, he signed into law, Decree 60, creating again the press council, an anti press freedom body which has as penalties for defaulters of its codes, payment of N250,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years and N100,000 for publishers who failed to report their progress.
I am of the opinion that the press should be allowed to report every and any information as long as the public, which they are aimed at satisfying choose to know. The limitations should be reduced greatly or even removed and the sanctions and punishments that these journalists are being subjected to should be totally removed and thrown away.
For example, so many journalists have been maltreated and mishandled just because they want free flow and access of information to the public. To mention a few, Francis Dufugha of the Niger Delta Herald had his own dose of brutality against journalists on March 30, 2009 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. He was allegedly brutalized by soldiers and policemen on the orders of a top security aide for daring to take shots of Governor Timpre Sylva at a public function with his mobile phone. His phone was forcibly seized and his glasses got smashed by the overzealous security operatives. If he was beaten for wanting to take a common picture, so why then is there something called PHOTOJOURNALISM?
Also, a photojournalist with The PUNCH, Mr. Segun Bakare, escaped death by the whiskers when he was attacked by some assailants, some of whom are highly placed in the Peoples Democratic Party during the rerun election in Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State. Bakare, who was attacked in the presence of Senator Ayo Arise on April 26, 2009, was injured and had his NIKON D300 digital camera valued at N650, 000 seized.
In conclusion, all these things ought not to be and they should be stopped so the public can know what is going on in their country and as such be able to find ways to help the development of the nation. OLUBOYEDE OLUWADAMILOLA, 07BE05535.
WELL I agree that impediments should be removed because information encompasses ALL information not SOME information or classfied information. When an information is factual and true I dont see any reason why it should be hindered from being reported or published.
lets take the example of the Bill Clinton sex scandal.Bill Clinton was a respected president of the united states, He was the highest person in autority in terms of political leadership, yet the press putting aside his status still reported the truth, an information wether costly or not is deserved by the citizens of the country.
If we say we are operating a free press in Nigeria then why cant obvious restrictions be removed? Why should reporters be afraid of loosing their lives over a classified story.
Yes some information if released may cause cahos, but lets not forget that the way a repoter approaches a news story matters. If we are saying that impediments should not be removed because some information can cause crisis how about all the stories that have been released that might have caused crisis. Havent crisis been managed? BIll Clinton came and apologised infront of the world..these are ways of managing crisis.
Not until the government, the people, the news agencies come to the understanding that there is no 'some' information or 'classified information' and that journalists have the full right to source and report ANY information, I do not think that press freedom will thrive in Nigeria. ADELEKE DOLAPO 07BE05486
i believe the Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when it is a government classified information or matter as long as these information are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority of the citizens of the nation. these impediments should be removed because the public has the right to know no matter what the information is, so far it concerns Nigerian citizens, they have the right to know. if the information is likely to cause crisis, crisis can be curtailed or managed. for example the case of Ken saro Wiwa who was an activist, was killed because of the information he let out to the public. also Dele giwa was also killed through mail bomb in october 19 1986. these were people who were ready to let out information to the public no matter what. we should also note that whatever information the government do not want the public to know is because of their selfish gains. removing impediments wil even help the public to know better and wee should note that they have the right to choose whatever information they want to hear. therefore the people should be allowed to access information freely without any form of impediment. Akinsunlola Adebanke 07BE05492
Impediments are obstacles, hindrances, barriers etc. Nigeria in my opinion is not ready for total freedom of information. Nigeria as a nation is still crawling; we cannot therefore compare ourselves to those who are already walking or even flying. If we attempt this the implications would be very drastic.
Recently, Mr. President sent for three prominent men of God; Bishop David Oyedepo the President of Living Faith Ministries, Archbishop John Onaiyekan the national president of the Christian association of Nigeria, Pastor Immanuel Kure of Throne room trust, Professor Yusuf Obaje to pray for him. The outcome of the prayer session is yet to be made public notice. When asked one of the men of God said his visit to Mr. President was "private". Let us imagine what would happen if they had let us into the details of their visit. The Muslim community would not find it amusing at all. There would be a great uproar one that this country would not forget in a hurry.
Also, freedom of information would not make sense in a nation where the socio-economic rights of the citizens are not guaranteed. I would therefore like to conclude by suggesting that Nigeria focus on more pressing issues like education of its citizens, ensuring that the socio-economic rights of its citizens are guaranteed etc. before we can talk about freedom of information Nigeria cannot handle that now. Bamgboye Moyinoluwa, 07BE05501.
Removing the impediments to the freedom of press in Nig basically means 'free access to both source for and get information as a reporter and free access to receive this information gotten without any form of hindrance as an individual'. l feel that this issue is like a 'two sided coin'- it is totally awesome to practice a free press system even when the issues being reported is about the government- whether good or bad.. but is there really such a thing as a 'free press' in its total meaning in any country in this world of ours?? l don't think so.
l feel that there should be freedom of press all right- but these impediments should still be put in place to avoid occurrences like defamatory and libelous reports, interfering in people's private affairs, etc- take for instance, with the present state of Nigeria's press, if any media house was to report about the present state of Yar'adua, that media house will either be burnt down, or the journalists in question will languish in jail- along side their family members! the northerners will not let it go easily and the chaos in our nation will be unbearable. Another instance was when Gbenga Daniels was found naked in front of a ritual house with his fellow counterparts- this picture was reported and we saw the controversy it brought along with it. That, to me was an interference in his personal lifestyle! since we say there are three basic religion types practiced in Nigeria namely: Christianity, Islam and traditional worship, why should we be angry because we saw one of our governors in front of a traditional or ritual house {forget the fact that he was found naked- ashes to ashes and dust to dust you know..} couldn't it be that he was practicing his own traditional worship religion?
so l feel that total freedom of press has more disadvantages than advantages.. yes, we should have information about important issues and basically everything that concerns our country, but when that piece of information will be to the detriment of human lives.. NO NEED!.
Blessing Nnenna Chinweuba- 07BE05503
the federal republic of Nigeria can not remove the impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when it is government classified information, or factual, and otherwise.
removing the impediments is asking for absolute "FREE PRESS" which can never be in any part of the word because there is really no absolute freedom anywhere. the word "FREEDOM" is utopia.
Even the American government that is supposed to be a world standard for press freedom still restrict the press sometimes E.G prohibiting photos of caskets or embedding journalists with the military during the early stages of the Iraq war, therefore, the conclusion that "freer is better" may not necessarily be so
because recently, the American government has become an arbiter of "fair reporting" by placing a ban on Specially Designated Global Terrorist owned and operated stations that openly incite their audiences to commit acts of terrorism or violence against the United states and its citizens.
supporting this example,
According to Ekeanyanwu (2008:164),
"press freedom is not absolute in the west and nowhere in the world is freedom absolute. even individual freedom must be checked, otherwise they will conflict with the freedom of others. this could lead to chaos and lawlessness in the society, which is opposite of what freedom was supposed to help achieve".
I want to state that the reason the United States suffered so much in the hands of these terrorists is because they have always wanted to stick to their constitution which states that "the congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press" however since these so called freedom of press which wasn't even practiced in full is now hunting them, they had no choice than to place these ban on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.
In the case of Nigeria, it wasn't only the "freedom of information bill" (F.O.I) that was sent, the "freedom of press" (F.O.P) bill was also sent but it didn't see the light of the second day because no government official wants to hear that word "PRESS FREEDOM". However, the freedom of information bill was looked into with these same impediments we are talking about placed on it that there is no press freedom. it is so obvious that even if our political cum economic ideology is both democracy and capitalism which ordinarily should make us number one for free press in the third world nations, we are still not.
So if the impediments are removed in Nigeria, there will be chaos, and Nigerians will not even be able to handle it. As a way of safe guarding the citizens and journalists from being maimed, media houses from being shut down, i think the impediment should remain.
07BE05506 ERHIRHIE SUSAN
Before i press in my opinion, i would like to briefly look at the definition of free press. Free press could be seen as the freedom to source for news and information of whatever nature, from anywhere and anytime, and also the freedom to report such news and information in any form through any medium to the people. Free press has remained a controversial issue whenever it is mentioned, and two distinct issues come up, whenever there is a debate on free press, and they are
1. Freedom to source for information.
2. Freedom to report information.
Journalists around the world argued that there should be a legislation assisting them to source for information, especially in government agencies and establishments. Bringing this down to Nigeria, the current state of access to in formation in Nigeria is "very poor " i hope i am permitted to say that it is in a "state of calamity". Historically, Nigeria has boasted the most free and outspoken press of any African country, but also one which has consistently been the target of harassment by the past military dictatorships and now under the governance of Nigeria's current civilian president, Umaru Musa Yar'adua. Many agents of Nigeria's press have been imprisoned, exiled, tortured, or murdered as a result. Among them being Ogoni activist and television producer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed for treason by order of the Sani Abacha dictatorship in 1995, resulting in the expulsion of Nigeria from the Commonwealth of Nations and sanctions from abroad.Even under the somewhat less-oppressive current civilian government, journalists have continued to come under fire, be it from the government as with the June 2006 arrest of Gbenga Aruleba and Rotimi Durojaiye of African Independent Television under charges of sedition, or from other popular establishments, such as the self-imposed exile of Thisday's Isioma Daniel following the riots in Northern Nigeria over "sensitive comments" which she had made in an article regarding Muhammad and the 2002 Miss World pageant; a fatwa calling for her beheading was issued by the mullahs of northern Nigeria, but was declared null and void by the relevant religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, and the Obasanjo faced an international public relations smearing especially within journalistic circles in the aftermath, which was not helped by the Amina Lawal controversy which had occurred prior to the riots, which had seen over 200 dead. However, as with most other countries, blogging has increasingly become a much safer, and much easier, conduit for Nigeria's growing Internet-enabled minority to express their dissatisfactions with the current state of affairs in Nigeria. Also recently last year, Olusola Fabuyi, the Punch Correspondent of Abuja, was arrested for reporting allegation by the Action Congress that a Governor from the North Central Zone, was behind the plot to assassinate Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos state.
I am of the opinion that the impediments to the freedom of the media organizations should not be removed. This is because, if these impediments are removed, there would be chaos, and the nation would be in a disaster, everyone airing their opinion as they like, even when there are some that are not supposed to be aired. As a result of this chaos, media practitioners would be severely dealt with , giving very good examples of backing points as stated earlier above.
By APAPA YETUNDE 07BE05496
press freedom is the freedom of commuication as well as expression through the media; either print or broadcastwithout any constarints from the government which can be done through consitutional and legal protection. in the case of Nigeria, we are aware that there is no freedom of the press. it is evident in the way the case of our president is being handled. it is obvious that there is an impediment to the freedom of media organizations as they can not air the truth concerning the issue. a very important part that we should be aware of is that the media has information concerning our president but due to these impediments, we, the ctizens are kept in the dark. we are aware that every country has her own constraints as far as the press is concerned but in the case of Nigeria we have not been given that path up to the extent that a limitation will be required. If the water gate scandal can be reported, the Clinton-Monica case and the George Bush's drinking arrest can be reported why cant the prsent state of our president be reported? these impediments to the free flow of information from the press (which includes harrassments, withdrawal of licenses, reduction of news print,anit press laws, and unwarranted government secrecy as in the case of Nigeria) should be removed. i believe if you want to be great, you should walk the path that great people have walked. America, which is one of the first world countries and also one of the countries whose cultures we are adopting is practicing a free press system. why dont we walk in that path and see where it will lead us to. besides, what evil can ever come from having enough knowledge or information? we can not keep on approaching a matter from a particular angle expecting a different answer. we want to be called as one of the first world countries. why don't we start with adopting a free press system and removing these impediments for a start in our walk towards the first world?
Adubi Temitope, 07BE05487
In as much as it is the right for citizens to know all that is happening in their environment, it’s equally pertinent to note that the peace and tranquility of the society is of much more importance. Think about it, if we got information that is factual, objective and of significance to majority of the citizens and this information causes chaos, a great deal of the citizens would wish they were never informed. I sincerely believe that these impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information even when it is a government classified information shouldn’t be removed, I mean of what use is a society without peace.
Let’s go down the aisle with the worlds freest media- the U.S. press whose first amendment which is part of the Bill of Rights says:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”
Simply perfect, right? But it has been discovered of late that they have begun to tilt towards secrecy lately.
Example:
“When the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled last week that the European Union had violated international trade rules by blocking U.S. imports of genetically-modified (GM) crops, the news barely registered in the American media, with coverage limited to stories appearing in the business section of the New York Times and Washington Post. On the airwaves, the event was ignored by the television networks, though coverage did run on NPR’s Morning Edition and Marketplace. Across these news outlets, reporting was fairly technical and contextual, focusing on the specifics of the decision, the implications for trade, and the legal reasoning behind the WTO ruling.
The press left unchallenged the industry and U.S. government view that the health and environmental risks of GM agriculture are minimal. For example, the Washington Post characterized European public opposition as really a matter of social perceptions: “An overwhelming body of scientific opinion — including regulators at the European Food Safety Authority and scientific institutes in most European countries — holds that the crops are safe to eat and pose only minor environmental risks. But European consumers were burned by food-safety scandals in the 1990s involving dioxin-laced chickens, beef capable of causing a fatal brain disease, and other disasters in which they were initially assured that the foods were safe. Their trust in the opinion of European, much less American, scientists on such matters is low.””
In truth, it is basically clear here that the press coverage helped in limiting the controversy in the U.S. over Plant Biotechnology.
Now, if our very own leaders – (the US) in that they act as standard to our nation in almost everything – who happen to have always been the freest press in the world, would make light of a very important event so as to maintain peace, how much more we that are still struggling with underdevelopment?
ALOKOLARO ADEOLA 07BE05494
i will start by saying everything that has to do with governance and even the media itself in Nigeria are just a duplicate or copy of what is in existence in the western world, our way of life is even patterned towards their lifestyle;what am saying in essence is that if we are going to copy something that is working, we should study it properly and look for means to make it fit into our ways of life.
we say we want press freedom like what is in existence in the west but we want to refuse prohibition of classified information? this is not done because even in America, they have acts that prohibit the media's access to classified information. An example of such act is the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y)). which talks on both the civilian and the military uses of nuclear materials. It also covers the laws for the development and the regulation of the uses of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States; now tell me, if such sensitive information is been released to the media to let out, won't it bring about unnecessary chaos and unrest in the country?
coming down to Nigeria, a report about the death of president Yar'Adua was carried by Channels television which was false then; the television station claimed they got the story directly from News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) even with proofs but NAN officials blatantly denied the allegation levied against them; this led to the temporary closure of the station and battering of the staff of the station.
in conclusion, i believe the prohibition on the classified information should still hold water in Nigeria, because in actual sense, there can't be a free press, even the American government that said in their constitution that " the congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press" are about to change that now because they have found out that letting some information known to its citizens could affect their belief and way of thought. this is why a bill is being passed to check the viewing of some Taliban television stations in America. thank you.
bamidele abayomi 06BE03901
I quite agree that the Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information. This is because the media serves as the 4th estate of the realm, a watchdog on the government, checking on all the wrongdoings and letting the people know what their rulership is about. The removal of these impediments allows for transparency in the government and therefore allows for better management and governing n the state. I am of the opinion that the people or citizens of the country deserve to know what is going on in the state, not putting into consideration if it is at the detriment of the government at hand. If these impediments are taken out, there would even be no discussion as to whether Nigeria is tilting towards lese majeste or not.
An example of a positive side effect of a lift on the impediments to freedom of the press is the case of the “Bill Clinton-Monica” case. Here, the press exposed Bill Clinton’s affair with his white house intern, Monica and this even let the public know who they were voting for. An application of this in Nigeria will let the people know their leaders and also what happens in the state even if it is a government affair. It will indeed help Nigeria become a better place if these barriers are removed.
Aguda Amiola 07BE05490
Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. While such freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.
From the definition above one can see that the Federal Republic of Nigeria is lacking in fulfilling their mandate to free press. Despite their constitution law that states under Chapter VI, subsection 39.that (1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
Cleary that is not the case pertaining to our nation as issues like Isioma Daniel going on a permanent exile because of one statement that she made concerning ‘Prophet Mohammed taking one of the miss world contestants as his wife, if he were alive.” And the assignation of Dele Giwa on the 19th of October 1986 through a mail bomb because he was trying to get the truth out.
I feel that the federal The Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information. If the news information are factual, objective and of consequence to the majority of the citizens of the nation, I don’t see why we can not have access to and report even government classified information
Because once the implementations are lifted journalists would be able to do their job and act as the watch dogs of the government. Everyday we keep on complaining that the Nigerian government is corrupt , but we do not know that key to getting them in check, is by the journalists keeping tabs on them, thereby causing government transparency. Once the government knows that they are being watched, they get their act together.
Besides allowing the press to print information about the government (as for as it is factual, objective and of consequence to them) would allow for the people of Nigeria to know who they have put in leadership positions thereby giving them a chance to get him impeached or leave him there, thus creating a truly democratic society. An example of this would be when the American Press exposed Bush for his Driving under the Influence charges (DUI) of 1976 during his presidential run in 2000. He came out and had to explain himself on national television. This gave the people of America a choice to make; to forgive him and vote for him, or not. Democracy, the ball was in their court.
Some say we should concentrate on other sectors such as basic amentias and education, others say that we are not ready for press freedom because as a nation we are still crawling, but the only way to take a first step is through transparency of government, to abolish corruption and get the government to do what they are supposed to. And this would only happen when they remove the impediments on press freedom
Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. While such freedom mostly implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state, its preservation may be sought through constitutional or other legal protections.
From the definition above one can see that the Federal Republic of Nigeria is lacking in fulfilling their mandate to free press. Despite their constitution law that states under Chapter VI, subsection 39.that (1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
Cleary that is not the case pertaining to our nation as issues like Isioma Daniel going on a permanent exile because of one statement that she made concerning ‘Prophet Mohammed taking one of the miss world contestants as his wife, if he were alive.” And the assignation of Dele Giwa on the 19th of October 1986 through a mail bomb because he was trying to get the truth out.
I feel that the federal The Federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news and information. If the news information are factual, objective and of consequence to the majority of the citizens of the nation, I don’t see why we can not have access to and report even government classified information
Because once the implementations are lifted journalists would be able to do their job and act as the watch dogs of the government. Everyday we keep on complaining that the Nigerian government is corrupt , but we do not know that key to getting them in check, is by the journalists keeping tabs on them, thereby causing government transparency. Once the government knows that they are being watched, they get their act together.
Besides allowing the press to print information about the government (as for as it is factual, objective and of consequence to them) would allow for the people of Nigeria to know who they have put in leadership positions thereby giving them a chance to get him impeached or leave him there, thus creating a truly democratic society. An example of this would be when the American Press exposed Bush for his Driving under the Influence charges (DUI) of 1976 during his presidential run in 2000. He came out and had to explain himself on national television. This gave the people of America a choice to make; to forgive him and vote for him, or not. Democracy, the ball was in their court.
Some say we should concentrate on other sectors such as basic amentias and education, others say that we are not ready for press freedom because as a nation we are still crawling, but the only way to take a first step is through transparency of government, to abolish corruption and get the government to do what they are supposed to. And this would only happen when they remove the impediments on press freedom
Mahogany obodozie 07BE05524
Really, the government of the federal republic of Nigeria should remove impediments to the freedom of media organizations to publish news information and give the masses the necessary information they need to know even if the information is about the govemment. Since we are not in the military regime I don’t see why the media should be restricted. A fundamental premise for promotion of freedom of information is the tangible impact that the right to know can have on people’s lives, by facilitating the fulfillment of other rights. Timely access to information empowers people by allowing them to participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them, while also holding governments and others accountable. It enables individuals to learn about their rights and so exercise them and act against their infringement. Free flow of information can also help uncover the misuse of funds that should be allocated for public benefit and positively impact on the quality of delivery. But we all know that in Nigeria the reverse is the case, just recently at the national secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), journalists who went to cover the party’s caucus meeting, following the face off between the president and the then party’s national chairman, even when the journalists were not a threat to the peace of the meeting, security men did what frighten female journalists most (physical threat) for the journalists, instead of ending up in the news room with jottings to compile news, they ended up in the hospital. That is the prize of practicing journalism in a civilian regime we call ‘democracy’. The government should know they are accountable to the citizens and the major way the citizens can get to know what they are doing exactly is through the media so restricting the media to from giving information should be the last thing on their mind so they should not think of restricting media organizations even if they are giving information relating to the government because this is one major way the masses can say whatever is on their mind. OLORUNNIWO DAMILOLA 06BF03953.
The idea of removing impediments to the freedom of press sounds like, and is a good idea but i choose to look at it from the other side of the ocean.
The world is fast becoming a global villlage and all counteries in this global train are more than just nations. They are like companies or firms with a standard coperate image to protect.The western world are quite aware of this and that is why freedom of the press is still a theory in the western region and not in fact.
some times when the government classify some information it is not always to protect their selfish interest but to protect the image of the country they are governing. This is why absolute freedom of the press in fact can never be.The western world are aware of this, which is why they tend to report more on the ills in the third world nations than in theirs.Series of crimes and corrupt practices and more ills takes place constantly in this region but the press don't report it.
Have we considered the pecularities in cultural values,idealogies and belife system in the world today?, especially in Nigeria.Take for instance, the case of Isioma Daniels and the religiuos crisis that ensued.If that article was not published the people who died from that crisis would still be alive today. Infact, the crisis would have been avoided. sometimes, some information have to be highly classified to protect the country and ensure that peace reigns.
Have we looked at the destructive and mischievious nature in man.lets remember that we are practicing a democratic system which allows the existence of several political parties clamouring for differrent political positions.Opponents of the ruling party would do anything to influence the public this include owning media organistions and using propaganda on the public. The ruling party on the other hand could do thesame.
The public has the right to know, but some information are known to cause more harm than good.
Matters of national security can not be compromised with, as a leakage in this area would give the country out in times of war and infringe on her Sovereignty as a state. Also,
issues on some breakthrough in science,discovery and production of weaponry,and many more are to be kept from the public.
finally we should be aware of the fact media organisation can infiltrate and aultrate information to their whims.This has been in existence from time in memorial when news paper organisations where being owned by individuals(some politicians) and regions. you could see that these medium was used as a propaganda tool to manipulate the public.removing impediments would mean tilting towards freedom of the press and we all know that freedom of the press in practice is and will never be possible.
07BE05495 ANENE OBIGELI HENRIETTA.
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The mass media is an intrinsic part of everyday lives. people are exposed to television news, radio broadcasting, newspaper articles and new digital media as well. As forms of communication evolve, avenue of news reporting increases thus media ethics become an increasingly important issue in modern society.
i am of the opinion that the federal republic of Nigeria should not remove impediments to the freedom of the media to publish news and information even when it is a classified info or matter as longs as these info are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority to the citizens of the nation. my stand has to do with information that will not give its citizens peace of mind and harmful o them. and this is where the social responsibility media theory comes to play.
Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society at large.
Social Responsibility Theory represents a compromise between favoring government control of the media vs. favoring total press freedom.
The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech so that the press can remain fully free, and the public can be fully informed. This freedom may sometimes be hindered by corporate pressures and government control.
In countries without freedom of the press, messages are filtered through the government, allowing only what is considered acceptable information to be released to the public.which i feel is for the general safety of its citizens.
when it concerns information of man made disasters and conflicts that will in the process destroy the citizens, such news or information shouldn't be reported. take for instance the Lagos bomb blast that happened in ikeja in January 27 2000, people who were not at the scene of the incident jumped into the canal in the bid to save their lives and thus ended up killing themselves.these are Nigerians who do not handle bad news well.they'd end up freaking out at the slightest info they receive.i think the information sent over the various mediums available to us should be censored.
the journalist are accountable to the society in which they practice.The health and safety of every citizen is of utmost importance and should be taken into consideration by the press when reporting information.
so im against the federal government removing impediments to the freedom of the media to publish news even when the information is government classified.
UDOCOR EMEM BASSEY-06BE03936
joanna 07BE05512
It has been quite a number of years now since the Nigerian government judicially executed the Nigerian author and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists. Not only has Nigeria's Human Rights record not improved, but it has also deteriorated even more.
A transition to democracy should definately include freedom of expression and based on the current crack-down of the media, the international community cannot be deceived so much to believe that it is a genuine transition.
If information is factual, objective and of consequence to the majority of the citizens of a nation, then why must it be hidden from the people, even if the information belongs to the government? In any case, why should the government which is meant to be democratic have "classified" information which originally is the right of the public to know? A truly democratic government is a transparent one.
The press should be free to publish what they know is right without the fear of being punished or trying to save their lives from unecessary attack. Remember the case back then of some Nigerian political prisoners such as Chris Anyanwu of the now defunct "the Sunday Magazine", George Mbah of "Tell", Ben Charles Obi of "Weekend Classique" and Kunle Ajibade of "the News", who were imprisoned for fifteen years since 1995 till 2009 because they reported on a failed coup plot that was to take place during Abacha's regime.
The Nigerian government has put in place, press laws that severely restrict the media, and has introduced new laws, including ones that could create a press court that would try journalists who report "untruths". If the Nigerian government has established such courts, then why can't they leave the courts to handle the issues of fake stories instead of adding more unrealistic laws?
The NIgerian government has failed to show that it is serious about the change to democracy and it has attempted to silence those who promote it. Think about the numerous charges that were leveled against Nobel laurette winner, Wole Soyinka, this just goes to show the lengths to which the Nigerian government would go in silencing its critics.
Either the laws favour both the government and the media or they be erased completely!
frankly believe the impediments should be removed and my stance shall be expounded upon as this discussion progresses.First and foremost, i would like to reinstate the essence of press freedom which is basically the ability or freedom given to a country’s mass media to practice without undue and unnecessary inhibitions in whatever form they may appear(Ekeanyanwu,2008:147).Also i would like to state that most third world nations (under which Nigeria falls) subscribe to the Social Responsibility media theory and the Development media theory and these encourage the use of mass media for local developmental purposes as well as hold the press responsible for the consequences arising from their practice.As of these case even though the freedom of information bill has been passed it still has clauses and this should not be so because the press is supposed to adequately inform the public of happenings in the society as long as they can be attributed to a source and are factual as well as objective.even in the media system we operate which is partly established by the government , these impediments should be removed as without it the essence of the right of the public to know as well as the media to report is drastically lost.In Nigeria, lack of information (distorted information) has been a drastic problem, so these impediments have to be removed. Furthermore, without freedom of speech and expression and alternative sources of information (not the state sponsored radio and TV stations that distort information), the welfare of the people is in jeopardy. A society is better served by free and open reporting, because from robust debates grows a better understanding of issues confronting a nation. Thus, anything that hinders information affects governance and true democracy which the country claims to operate(Dike,2002 pp).therefore, in my honest estimation, these impediments should be removed becos if they accompany the passing of the bill into act it’s still a pure case of the government using the media as a propaganda tool. Whether the impediments check press irresponsibility or abuse of freedom,it should be logically stated that as the nature of the media system we practice, the press is responsible for the consequences arising from whatever is reported. Therefore, the impediments are just cosmetic solutions.
From my own point of view, I think the Nigerian government would not and might never remove the impediments to the press freedom because they know that if these are removed, the press would go a long way in revealing or disseminating what is called ‘government classified news’ to the public which on a normal day the public would not know about. In making comments about this subject, the first thing we should have in mind is that there is no freedom of information bill yet in place in our country and this is why it has not been approved since the regime of obasanjo in 1999. Secondly, these impediments to press freedom have even been incorporated in decree 4 of 1984 by gen. buhari and they are some sanctions attached to it. The decree was to prevent the press from publishing news categorized as government classified or any government secret and anything that would give a government official a bad image. The main reason the Nigerian government would give for doing this is that they want to put checks and balances in the press to ensure that they report only accurate and factual stories.
We are all looking at the Nigerian press and the impediments placed on it but if we take a closer look at other countries, we would find out that some countries like Russia, Australia, iran, Saudi Arabia, china, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan have started putting impediments in their press coverage these countries have started internet censorship. In some of this countries, journalists are jailed no matter how accurate, objective, factual and of great importance to a majority of the public the information is . even the united states wants to start a censorship on its programmes(television) that are aired by anti- American terrorist groups.
To this end and in my own view, the impediments to press freedom is in every country of the world and not only in Nigeria because these impediments are now seen as a necessity to curtail the excesses of the media in order to protect the interest of the public. CHUKS-EBOKA AMARA. 07CK06330
An information deprived nation is on the brink of destruction. Based on last weeks, topic of discussion, it is glaringly obvious that the Nigerian press is living in fear. I believe that all these ‘impediments’ should not only be ruled out but also eradicated. The Nigerian government should allow the Nigerian press to report news no matter how incredible or insulting it is as far as it is factual and meaning, this is because it only makes it fair on every one. The government’s news is also our news. I believe that there shouldn’t be any classified news in this nation, this more because the nation and its government are one and the same.
Looking back at previous happenings, the Nigerian press has been treated with injustice and similarly contempt. The press of any country is meant to be watch dog and the all seeing eyes of that country but in Nigeria, it can be said to be far fetched. In the past reporters and even firms have been punished for no due cause. Every one in Nigeria talks about development, free press, this and that, personally I believe that if a country wants to obtain development; economically or technologically then it has to be up to date and this is only possible when their media outfits are up to the task. There is almost no law that agrees with the press on its freedom. You can hardly find in Nigeria any body that is ready to report any news on the government officials and any news of that sort and the present lack of in formation on the president’s whereabouts and health condition is an example of the unfair flow of information in Nigeria. Take for example, the close down of channels, AIT. Yes, the media sometimes throw things over board with exaggeration and non factual reports and should be punished accordingly but they should at least be given the freedom they deserve. The Nigerian media level of freedom is nearly extinct, and they would continue to live under the fear of their government. If this persists then I am afraid there is no future for us in the modern global world.
UMOLU KOSISOCHUKWU, 07BE05547
The removal of the impedimets of freedom of information or press freedom in Nigeria or any country for that matter would be detrimental to its populance. Freedom of the press is a controversial issue and should be considered as such.However,it must be noted that even the rights that the press in Nigeria have are not recognised and give due attention.Everything must have boundaries to ensure law and order. A totally free press void of restrictions would exxpose the citenzenry to uneccesary harm. The cconsequences of some of the so called factual government classified information are actually negative and not positive.The government owe people protection whereas the press owe them information, this protection should not restrict vital information and the informattion should not be subjective.I would give an example of the Rwanda genocide of 1994- the liberty the press had gave way for people to use the media to send information that caused the death of over 800,000 people.Even the US that has the freest press that we know is trying to set restrictions on their press and trying to protect their citezens from terrorist channels like al-Aqsa TV,al-Manar TV and the likes of them.Why then would I solicit for Nigeria to thread such a path.It should be also noted that some information that were restricted from the press initially during the 'Watergate Scandal" were termed "Government classified Information".Therefore, these classified information must first be assessed and their importance to the society weighed. Absolute freedom of the press or a total removal of the restrictions of the press by the government of Nigeria would be absurd.Let us not forget that even if perchance the liberty is given to the press by the constitution even the jurnalists would still liive endangered live considering the present state of the country.Nigeria is not ready econmically,culturally and even politically for such a great leap.Imagine a scenario whereby there is acctuall press freedom in Nigeria and a journalist reports in totality the present state of President Yar'adua, it would take only a ffew minutes before the reporter mysteriously dissappears.
In a way of conclusion I would say that the impediments should be relaxed but not removed to ensure that classified Government information and information of negative consequence to the Nigeria citezenry remain restricted from the press and people.Omu Ibada 07BE05537
well, the idea of press freedom in Nigeria can be viewed as a function of government policy...it's more or less a tale, than fact or reality because The Federal Republic of Nigeria is beginning to take the activities and operations of the media as a personal issue..
Therfore, Removing impediments will be like turning against themselves or better still, using their hands to bring their own downfall..Another issue is that we should think and ask ourselves if we are anything near U.S.A yet, before the idea of true 'press freedom comes in place. questions like, 'are we there yet?, Has our politial, socio-economic system changed for good?how well can we as a people manage and utilize information at our disposal?...these and many more will then justify if really there should or not be impediments.
also, we should consider the 'consequence the information has be it positive or neagtive because it will what will make or mar us as a nation.
' Take for example, the unforunate in cident of the ill-fated Bellview flight 109 tha crashed on Octobr 21, 2005,in Lissa Ogun state, in which 117 lives were lost.some media stations, precisely AIT and Channels Tv aired the horrific sights of mangled and squashed bodies in the aircraft.Of course we all know this didn't go down well with the government and other well meaning Nigerians, even when they justified their actions that they were just doin their jobs an offering first class innformation, ignoring the neative impact it will have on the families, friends,and relatives of the victims.In the end, the stations were closed down...whatshould have been done was to delicately and prfessionally viewed the crash scene, having in mind that it was a nationwide broadcast.
Another case is the current situation that has to do wtih our own president Umaru Yar'adua where ther is a gag
seal on the Nigerian press on his condition and state of health..it iis really a shame as even the outside world;i.e the President of the United staes of America, Barack Obama is also asking 'where is Mr. President of Nigeria? what image are we trying to portray to others, ye we want good social and economic relations with them...
Thus,the idea of The Federal Republic of Nigeria removing impediments to the freedom of media organizations, should to an extent cover certain areas,where brutality is concerned and other grave incidences.coupled with due process.This is because, no matter how free the press is, there is truely no total press freedom,even in Ameri ca that we are trying to emulate,the liberty of the press is subject to a laid down constitution,'congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press', yet they still remain some information that are restricted and cannot be aired.
OGUNKO TOLULOPE 06BE03925.
I will like to define the key terms here impediments in this context means an obstacle and classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular classes of persons. By consequence in this context we mean of importance to a majority of citizens.
Yes, if an information is objective factual and is of information to a majority of people I believe should be reported. Why should information that will affect many people be classified for the interest of the minority? I feel that this is abridging of human right to know.
In Nigeria today the FOI bill happens to be the longest bill in the Nigerian political issue, for ten years this bill has been on the floor of the house.
It is my candid opinion that the people deserve to know what the government is doing because they are serving the people. I am of the opinion that for our country to move forward we must have a transparent government and this can only be achieved by freedom of information.
I agree that there are some classified information of government but in Nigeria every thing is classified it is so ridiculous even the information about our presidents health is classified. There are laws that prevent civil servants from divulging official facts and figures, notably the Official Secrets Act which makes it an offence not only for civil servants to give out government information - but also for anyone to receive or reproduce such information.
If this operates in Nigeria, for Christ sake! Why would there not be corruption? Although every country has classified information but when it gets to the extreme it makes journalist handicap to perform their duties has the fourth estate of the realm.
Aina oluwadamilola E. 07be05491
I would like to focus on the term "GOVERNMENT CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. In my own opinion, the government should give proper defintions of what that phrase means and submit to the public for the public's scrutiny and approval. It is necessary to do this, so that our government, as their manner is, will not hide corruption under such terms, Governments like the US may use the term "classified information" because they have a certain level of integrity. But the Nigerian government? No way. If those citizen approved defintions of classified information are not made availiable, they should let us have the information and we will classify it ourselves.
Also as concerns facts and objectivity, these cannot be over emphasized. Anything that has these ingredients an dis consequential to the public can be defined as news. if the government doesn't let us publish such information, then we lose the very essence of the mass media. Tv houses might as well just show cartoons 247 and the front page of news papers can just be filled with sudoku and word puzzles. Could somebody please explain to our government that hiding the stateof President Yar'adua fromt he masses does not fall under government classified informatiion under any constitution? If it does, it should say something like, people that hide such information should be jailed.
Finally, when did term "Freedom of access to information" or what ever it is they call the new name become a synonym for freedom of information. How can people access information they are not privy to? How can they be privy to information that we are not free to source for and publish?
ARENYEKA, LAJU 07BE05498
Removal of impediments to the freedom of the media wouldn't be so good for Nigerians. The basic thing is that the word freedom doesn't really exsist as we will agree that where someone's freedom ends is where another person's freedom starts so removing the impediments to press freedom will be detrimental to the citizens as the information that is meant for the public will not be given due to these so called obstructions and when their are obstructions to a vital information and it is not given when needed then that particular information is useless to the public. One of the elements of news is timeliness, so if an information is not released due to impediments then the information becomes stale and is no longer worthy of been called News.I also think that these impediments are not neccessary because if we are looking at the western world as our role model then we should liftt impediments and get every single detail out and keep the people informed as it is their right to get first hand news on the situations around their environment and nation whether or not the news is classified. Why must we even have clssified news we have the right things done at the right time in the right way. As long as these informations that are being communicated are factual and stand for the truth, i don't think there should impediments cos impediment abridges press freedom and that is not what we want. Impediments is the reverse of total freedom.Lets take a look at the Clinton-Monica sex scandal,if they had impediments on their press freedom then the real gist or story wouldn't have been published and the public ignorant of the happenings in their country. Without impediments we would have true and better stories and informations disseminated that will keeep us on the enlighten part. TOMBIA ONYEKA 07BE05545.
wheather government classified information or not, we all own this country nigeria, and what goes on in it should be our business. for the sake of organisation, that is why we have leaders.it is the peoples right to know, thus governemnt should remove any obstacle hindering this. but on the other hand this cannot happen because the government are trying to protect their interest and that of their party.for example, abike dabiri as a journalist, who simply asked former president obasanjo a question on the right of the people to know, got her into a lot of trouble. on the other hand, too much freedom can be abused. take gbenga daniels case for example, the press published a picture of him naked in the shrine, that is libel and slander for a public figure.some things are meant to be kept private for the good of the nation, but still not all things should be hidden from the people, thus the need for press freedom.to add to this press freedom is relative, and depends on what the society considers free this is so because the media cannot live in isolation of the society that formed it.
Oyegbade olufunmilola 07BE05541
well i think that the government should remove the impediments to the presss fredom because the press in its true nature is meant to be free. if there is no free press then i feel press in its actual nature is not present in Nigeria. The main function of the press in any country is to source for, process, and make the information available to the mass public. Now if the press is not able to perform this function then what is its purpose??? the masses have a rightto know what is going on in their country and beyond because there are things happening around us in our country that we are ignorant about and this is not because we choose to be but because our different media organizations do not have the power to search it out talk less of releasing it to us.
America is the greatest country on earth and they have a free press and this has not affected the success of their country. The George Bush drunken driving case was before the American presidential election, the press reported it and everyone had the opportunity to see the nature of who they were voting for even though he still won but at least the was released to the voting public. Now my point is people have the right to have such information but the catch is that you have the freddom to decide what you want to do with it and that what the press is involved with- provision of information, not 'some' information but jus information.
what the government should do if they want to still manage it is to make rules that will guide the press to avoid misuse or misintepretation of this freedom.
In conclusion the government should remove this impediment so the press in its true nature can exist if not what are we all studying mass communication for I ask?? 07BE05499 Atuluku Ajifa.
The public does not have a right to every piece of information. An issue of national security cannot be revealed to the public who do not even have any use for it. Information that is of importance to the public is that which affects them economically, socially, politically and culturally. An example of an issue which affects the public politically is the president’s illness. The refusal of his wife and other persons who have knowledge of what is happening to him is creating discordance in the society. If Nigerians could just know his state of health this whole quarrel about whether he should resign from office or not will not be on.
Some other countries like the United States have found a way to determine some situations in which classified information could be declassified
On march 2003 in the united states of America, president bush signed an executive order on classification of information into the constitution (Executive Order 12958) --"In some exceptional cases, however, the need to protect such information may be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure of the information ... When such questions arise, they shall be referred to the agency head or the senior agency official. That official will determine, as an exercise of discretion, whether the public interest in disclosure outweighs the damage to the national security that might reasonably be expected from disclosure." (F.A.S.) United States Constitution: Executive Order 12958. Some persons would even say our economy is not as developed as their own and that we should not try to copy their system. In my own opinion I think if we are trying to introduce a free press system we should take a cue for the United States. A country can only be developed and a press be free if the country is doing well, protecting their citizens and themselves from others. If every information in a country is made public the where is the sovereignty of the country?.
After some research I have gathered information and come up with some situations in which in information should be classified and they are if it concerns:
(a) Military plans, weapons systems, or operations. (b) Foreign government information;
(c) Intelligence activities (including special activities), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology. (d) Scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism; (e) programs for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities. (f) Vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, infrastructures, projects, plans, or protection services relating to the national security, which includes defense against transnational terrorism; or (g) weapons of mass destruction. I believe that the general public do not have any business with the above levels of information as they have to do with national safety and security which is the only exception to declassification and revelation of information to the general public.
The press and the public in Nigeria should try and understand that every thing does not have to be made known to them as they cannot handle it all. misinterpretation and misuse of information to the detriment of a country is an example of what happens when every information is given out.
ONU-OKPARA CHIAMAKA 07BE05539
Press freedom in the world is a very controversial issue. It is quite true America is a model country on the issue of press freedom, but even the American press is not totally free. Total press freedom is utopia. For a country’s media to be truly free, there must be the right mix of the social, political, economic and legal environments. A deficiency of any of these settings will compromise the total and true freedom of the media in the country.
The Nigerian society is still a growing society and a totally different society from those of the Western world. The press is only a reflection of our society and whether or not impediments are removed, we may not still be operating a free press. This is because the vital ingredients needed to operate such are not available. For example the economic emancipation (the economy of the country is not stable and unemployment rates are getting higher, poverty levels are becoming higher), cultural and religious emancipation (the different cultural and religious groups do not see eye to eye. The recent Jos crisis is an example, in other past crisis many people were killed and many media houses were shut down. Politically, the country is not stable, recently politician Dipo Dina was killed and politicians are still fighting themselves on who the next ruler would be in the next elections –not considering what the people want but what they want.
These days, it is the politicians that even own or sponsors the media, it is therefore difficult to hold such politicians accountable because they are now employers of journalists. Going by the axiom that: “He who pays the piper calls the tune,” analysts said politicians, who could afford to float media organizations, will continue to dictate the pace with little or no respect for press freedom, that why a story like that of lawmaker Wale Alausa and his nude photo published in The Compass during the G15 and G11 crisis could be published.
The point is impediment or no impediments, the Nigerian society has to attain a level of development before it would be able to practice the form of free press we are all advocating for, but the press is only a reflection of the society and every society get the kind of press it deserves. We should concentrate more on developing and building our nation, maybe first by electing good leader that are not greedy or selfish and physically fit and able, and we should not forget prayers. Akinyemi Funmilola 07BE05493.
For as long as I can remember, the battle has never ceased between Media organizations and the government on the subject matter of press freedom. It is no longer news that the freedom of information bill has proven to be the longest Bill in Nigerian political history yet to be attended to, having been at the National Assembly for more than ten years. The bill whose Planning and conceptualization started in 1994 by MRA has generated so much controversy among government officials and even among the senate. One then is forced to wonder why a bill whose objective is to check the state of corruption in the Nigerian system, make public information and records available, and to protect the right of public servants from adverse consequence for disclosing certain official information has taken so much time in the National Assembly before it can be deemed fit as a law. As if all of these advantages aren’t to our benefit.
What else can we then say but that the Freedom of Information bill is as good as dead. However, Last year the speaker of the House of Representatives Dimeji Bankole in his words said, "What is going on really is a process of democracy. The Freedom of Information Bill is not dead yet, and it would not die. It is important to note that this House went to the United States to seek capacity on what we call accountability in office. So we are not against ensuring transparency and accountability through access to information." It then came as a shocker when majority of the house rejected the bill, the instant it was raised by Ita Enang Chairman of Committee on Rules and Business of the House on the 21st of January 2010. What a disunity even in the house where all and sundry is supposed to be concerned about the right of its people.
Even though it has been said, that the reason why the bill has not been passed into law is because members of the house believe it is a Media Bill with an ulterior motive to override public officers and the government. The question then is who is the government? Isn’t Government supposed to protect and serve the interest of its people? This leads me to wonder what kind of Government we have that will deem it fit to hide information from the people who have all right to this same information. I am however of the opinion the Government has something and in fact a lot to hide from its people, there is a skeleton in their cupboard that is why they have fought with so much venom to prevent passing of the FOI bill into law. Right from the time of the former President who for reasons unknown to innocent citizens held the passing of the bill until his tenure was over. Now in this present dispensation the process has to start over again. We definitely don’t need a soothsayer to tell us that all of this is a ploy to prevent the passing of the FOI bill for reasons best known to the government.
This is a call for freedom. That all impediments to freedom of media be removed so that the people of Nigeria can access any information they need any time, so that we are not ignorant of issues of importance happening in our nation. If the government truly is a government for us and there is no skeleton to hide, then it shouldn’t be a problem to pass the bill into law since it for everybody’s benefit. After all, it was George Mason who said “The freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by a despotic government.” The turnout of this event will therefore tell us if Nigeria is a democratic state or if we are under a despotic government. ADEBAYO BUKOLA MARGARET—07BE05484
BECKY SAID......
To start with,The Bill was initially presented to the House of Representatives in June 1999. The inability of the first lower chamber to pass the bill led to its re-presentation in 2003 following the dissolution of the first National Assembly and the inauguration of the second.the freedom of Information (FOI) Bill therefore is a Bill that, if passed into law, will give every Nigerian a legal right of access to information, records, and documents held by government bodies and private bodies carrying out public functions and this applies to all arms of government: the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary as well as to all tiers of government: Federal, State, and Local governments.but on the contrary, this principle is only written, it is not in practice because Nigeria has no law which guarantees citizens access to public records and information. On the contrary, many Nigerian laws have secrecy clauses prohibiting the disclosure of information for example, the Official Secret Act, the Criminal Code, the Penal Code and so on.from the above information, it is crystal clear that the freedom of information bill has not been successful in that those journalist in nigeria that have made effort to do this had this calamities for example Imprisoned publisher and editor-in-chief of The Sunday Magazine (TSM),
Christine Anyanwu,In 1992 things came to a head as the press took on Gen. Ibrahim Babangida,
then Nigeria's military ruler, and exposed his secret plan to hang on to
power by every conceivable means. Proscriptions, arrests, death threats,
burning of newspaper offices and seizures of magazines became norm.looking at these examples, we realise that over time, it's been very difficult for the press to access and even publish information about the government of the day. this is very evident in the present situation of our president i think journalist of now are not willing to risk their lives for any information that will be at their own detriment and even if the impediment is removed by the federal government, they are still the one that will deal with any media house that carries information about them so what is the point? i personally see no reason because our leaders are so corrupt that corruption is no longer a crime, it is a culture so i feel the media should not bother fighting for freedom because it might never come until there is a total change in the leadership of this country which means new people have to come on board not the people that rule as military men trying to act under the guise of democracy.AFOLAYAN REBECCA 07BE05488.
Freedom of Information is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. Freedom is the right of individuals to act as they choose. In this sense, it is frequently called individual liberty. It is the absence of interference from an overreaching state its preservation may be sought through constitutional or legal protections.
The issue of Press Freedom around the world is of great concern to several academics, non-governmental organization, professionals and media practitioners. Reporters Without Boundaries has recorded that in most African nations, there are little to no traces of democracy, which implies that there is no Press Freedom. However, it is almost impossible for any Third World nation to attain the kind of free press that is obtainable in the West for reasons such as their poor socio-political and economic state. Rather, the features of the press in these nations include: strict control of access to information; state-run news organizations; restriction of the journalistic practice through threats to their professional careers, death threats, kidnapping, torture and assassination.
Nigeria, Ghana and a few other African nations have made attempts towards press emancipation. This task has not been made easy by the government in any way due to unwarranted secrecy of the government which makes it difficult to get information from any state agency. These information are usually labelled ‘classified’ and are mostly kept secret in order to cover up the dirty deals of corrupt politicians. The result of this is that journalists are denied access to information that is critical for accurate reporting, and unravelling the web of corruption in Nigeria.
The first bill that attempted to resolve this issue was passed to the National Assembly in 1999 and it was not touched 4 years later. The bill was re-submitted after the current National Assembly was inaugurated a year ago, but the body has yet to push the law through - this despite vigorous lobbying by the Freedom of Information Coalition- a network of over 150 civil society organizations in Nigeria comprising of civil rights, grassroots, and community-based Non-Governmental Organizations campaigning for the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill and eventual implementation when it becomes law in Nigeria.
I believe it is time for the Freedom of Information to be vetoed by the government- and it should be devoid of all form unnecessary clauses that will continue to impair the freedom of the press. MOJEED RUTH, 07BE05519.
The government of Nigeria could remove impediments to the freedom of the media organizations to publish news and information even when it is government classified information as long as these information are factual, objective and of consequence to a majority of the citizens of the nation but how much access to this so called government classified information do these media have access to.
The press is a sub set of the government. It is important to note that any government can decide whatever information are public but in doing so they should not term all information as public. Knowing the kind of nation Nigeria is, once information is being hoarded, the public tend to see it as a corrupt deed and since the government never tries to remove itself from that light, the people themselves confirm it as a corrupt deed.
According to Mr. Longe Ayode of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), a Lagos based NGO, “if you want useful information from a government department, they will not give it to you. They will tell you it is classified information.” Tunji Adeleke, a legal practitioner claims that "the idea behind these laws is to protect vital government information, but the level of secrecy is so ridiculous that some classified government files contain ordinary information like newspaper cuttings which are already in the public domain." Ayode even claims that n advanced countries, some of this classified information would ordinarily be found on the internet.
We can see that the basic problem is not only that media organizations are not allowed to publish certain things but that the government does not grant them access to such things. the freedom of information bill should actually begin with access before it goes on to dissemination because in this country where it seems like the journalism profession is filled with unethical and unprofessional journalists, we still have the highly professional ones who are dare devils. Ngwodo MaryJane 07BE05520
The issue of press freedom has been on for a very long while now owing to the fact that this “freedom” is in itself limited by the govt. This in my opinion should not be accepted. The media system in Nigeria operates a Social Responsibility and Development Media system and as such the press should be free but subject to certain social standards that would enhance the development of the state. The adherence to these social standards, however, is the responsibility of the press and not the government. Some persons might say that the government is only trying to monitor the activities of the press to avoid chaos but the media system we operate in its real sense opposes media regulation. It believes that the press is automatically controlled by community opinion, consumer protest and professional ethics; thus avoiding chaos.
I think the public will do well to check the activities of the press by themselves. Nigerians are not quiet people, we do know how to protest when something is going wrong even without the law. The government has done more harm than good already even without the freedom of information bill becoming a law not to talk of when there becomes clauses that serve as legal backing to their harassment, intimidation and killing of journalists. Rather those involved in this process should ensure that the govt doesn’t have any right to harass any journalist who discloses information that should be heard, classified or not. In countries that practice authoritarian system, this might not be an issue but Nigeria has since drifted from that path and now democracy is in place. So why deny such democracy in the media?
I think the nine member joint committee made up of three representatives each, drawn from the Committees of Information, Justice and Human Rights which was set up to further review the Freedom of Information Bill is quite confused because according to them the aim of the bill is the “promotion of an enabling environment for unfettered access to information as it concerns the conduct of public affairs, records and documents, considering that one of the major setbacks to the growth of Nigeria's fledgling democracy is the fact that most official transactions, both in the public and private sectors, are shrouded in secrecy”(Update on FOI bill by FOI Coalition,2003). If this is the case then why do they want to put clauses or regard some information as classified, this would indefinitely alter the whole essence of ‘unfettered access’ they claim to achieve. Let’s realize that these clauses would obviously be to the advantage of the govt and not the people. It’s what they deem fit to be published that would be and this is not freedom at all.
The government should be denied of every impediment they have placed on the freedom of media organizations. Nonetheless, those we even seek help from to help correct the situation are a part of the govt so I don’t think anything can be done; because in as much as they know what should be, they have their own selfish interests to protect not caring if it hinders the freedom of these media organizations. Just thinking allowed: I wonder if this bill is really ever going to be accepted without clauses that protect the rights of the govt, remember it’s been on for about 8 years now. I just wonder! 07BE05534
considering the word "freedom", it is important to note that there are no limitations when it comes to freedom. Personally, I believe the FOI bill should not be brought up, reason being that it could lead to information overload- too many sources. Furthermore,the definition of press freedom says in summary that the information must not endanger, and of course the government determines what endangers. in this case, what may be endangering to the government is likely not to be endangering to the public- the government and the public have different ideologies. if it must be passed, there will definitely be limitations, and something with limitations cannot be considered free.
warri judith .e. 08be07357
well,according to oyinkonsola, the government determines the definition of freedom so it is not free.
what i will like us to know is that, everybody has a right to freedom of speech and if as a nation we must achieve anything, there must someone to give the rules, as far as the rules and regulation are for the betterment of the unit, country, or state i dont see anything wrong in that, the government are saying this for the good of the people as far as we know, for now we might never tell what the future is.
i think we should consider this offer, its worth it, the but i have for this FOIbill is that the only verified and well checked people should have access to this information, i also love the ultimatum that has been given, it will really help.
i would say that if thi sbill is passed, then there will onfromation overload. there are some things that is not meant for everybody. there are some information that should be left as the nations secret and if the information is released to everybody then the country would be open to all forms of threat. iw ould strongly advise that the bill should not be passed. there is actually nothing like frredom anyway because one person's freedom could lead to another person's bondage.
(08BE07353)Off course freedom of information exists, and Nigeria is definitely not an exception. There should be freedom of information in Nigeria because the denial of access to the information and the attendant widespread ignorance in the society does more harm to the society than any harm that could possibly arise from granting access to members of the public. That access to information would enhance the development of any nation and stressed that there was therefore a pressing need for a Freedom of Information Act in Nigeria and that the law would be of great benefit to all sectors of the society. The freedom of Information law will enhance the speedy release of justice, it would strengthen the democratic process as it will make it possible for citizens to hold the government accountable and be involved in all facets of policy formulation and implementation.I therefore recommend that the National Assembly should pass the Bill as quickly as possible, while the President should also assent to it, when it is passed by the National Assembly. In anticipation of the passage of the Bill and the need to ensure its effective implementation, efforts should be made to engage the planning, research and statistics department of virtually all ministries, parastatals and commissions to make them aware of what is expected of them when the Bill becomes law and how to respond to request for public information that are in their custody. And as the definition of freedom of information says, “it must not endanger the nation”. In order to ensure effective implementation of a Freedom of Information law, there is a need for an administrative body to be charged with overseeing the implementation of the proposed law.
There is actually nothing free in life but to an extent I will say this is actually one freedom for all Nigerians. Nigerians and all human race that believe in accountability and collective governance responsibility deserve this bill. This is not the end and should not be seen as the end as all Nigerian can now effectively monitor all public officials. I also want to advice the government to immediately commence enlightening the country of this landmark right so it is not abused. The biggest task ahead is how to weed out quacks operating within the system and get to credible sources so that Nigerians can have honest debates on issues concerning the public good. I hope to see the day when investigative journalism will use this Right to expose corrupt crooks and allies who have held Nigeria back for so long. In summary I will say this will help give journalism a new face lift and also the rebranding of investigative journalism in our country today.
(08BE07319)Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at a minimal cost. This is to say that there is no total freedom if we still have to pay to get this information. I suggest that National Assembly should look at other countries that have adopted FOI and see how far they have gone, because there are over 86 countries that have adopted this, yet nothing has been heard of them, therefore National Assembly should engage in thorough research before engaging in the freedom of information system.
'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely'I see Karl Marx to be no fool, I am also confident that we all know that being the corrupt and extreme nature of not only Nigerians this time but mankind, this information will turn into something with which people will wield power. To what is good it then? even if this bill is passed into lawe, this will not be the first law that will be exploited into a money-making venture. Take for example the issue of the bank records of politicians which will then have to be made public. What bank manager would not accept 1o million to keep quiet about 100 million? the passing of this bill into law isn't really going to be the rapturous breakthrough we think it will be.Dont the public have a right to good and cheap treatment at public hospitals? Do they get it? Seeing this bill as an end to corruption really is looking at things upside down.Beside nI still stand with the official secrets act, stating before anyone gives me any explanation about not giving out harmful information that what is harmful to the govtment could just be a gist to the public. Also let us look at the risk of this on Nigeria's image. We are to them already lower than the ground they walk on, do we really want to convince them withut doubt that that is who we really are, chasing even more potential investors. Also there really casnnot be absolute freedom, and if there was,absolute freedom dpoes not mean absolute honesty,THESE FACTS CAN ALWAYS BE FALSIFIED!!Thus I would rather this bill is more specific than this chaotic freedom being proposed.An objection raised in class was that to avoid misuse there would be a three month period in which the person wwould be cross-checked.Need I poinbt out the flaw in that? maybe I do, first of all even the person can be falsifiued, i.e someone who has no need for the oinformation being used as a front for someone who does.Secondly, as miss ada sonia said in class tht it would be useful top us who are doing our final year project,which supoervisor will allow me three whole months of being in limbo and doing nothing else on my project because my request for information is being processed?Point duly made I believe.08BE07346,IRETI OLUWAGBEMI
08BE07354... Freedom of Information is really necessary if Nigeria wants to practice true democracy. I don't think there should be unlimited freedom because information is power and absolute power corrupts. if a journalist is completely free to publish anything she wants, and she publishes classified information which can be harmful to the nation, the truth remains that even if she is arrested, the information would have gone out already. And I believe we all know that news spreads faster than fire. However, if the bill is passed, corruption and misuse of public funds will really reduce because nobody wants public embarrassment. The press will be able to perform its checks and balances function for the government, and even on private individuals, while protecting public interest. Democracy is built on press freedom.The FOI bill has its advantages and disadvantages, but i believe the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and it is a very good idea.
08BE07342
i think freedom of information should not and i repeat should not be allowed. i say this because in life there are just some things that are better off not being known, freedom of information would just give the press the freedom to be too nosy.
just like Sarah said it has its advantages and disadvantages, i feel if we are going to allow the bill, we should be prepared to control the level of freedom that the press will have, because once the journalist realizes that he has the power to publish almost whatever he sees fit, personal feelings and bias will affect his thinking.
although the bill will help reveal the bad eggs in the country it will also turn these journalists into bad eggs.
all i can say for now is that if we are going to pass the bill, we should first consider the pros and cons, if not we will just be creating another disaster that would kill information flow in Nigeria
08BE07342 (OKEOWO NIYI)
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