Why Press Freedom Must Thrive on Nigerian Campuses, By Ifedayo Ogunyemi

NEWS DIGEST – Freedom of the press, if it means anything at all, it means freedom to criticize and oppose – George Orwell.

A score and five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day. This was done in a bid raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The 48th Vice President of the United States of America, Mike Pence in his speech to mark the Freedom Day in 2009 while serving as a House of Representative member said the World Press Freedom Day affords us the rare opportunity to celebrate the indispensable role played by journalists in exposing abuses of power.

Pence was also right when he said that there is an urgent need to raise our voices and sound the alarm about the growing number of journalists that are still being silenced by death or jailed as they attempt to report on important issues of the day and bring to light information in the public interest.

The fact however remains that the beam light has only been on professional journalists who are victims of press censorship in Nigeria. Those who performed the constitutional duty of reporting  as enshrined in the section 22 on constitution of the Federal Republic  on the campuses of our tertiary institutions are being left in the cold on a daily basis.

Eerie as it is, it also worries the mind that campus journalists in tertiary institutions are facing a lea of challenges both on and off the campus. On campus, they are subjected to different versions of censorship particularly from the management while outside, they are assaulted by aggrieved colleagues and agents of the dark sent by those aggrieved about stories they have published.

It is no longer news that campus journalists in institutions including Olabisi Onabanjo University, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, etc. are being called to appear before Students Disciplinary Committees of their respective institutions for publishing articles someone or some people in management feel are offensive. This reminds one of the Decree 4 of 1984  Public Officers Protection against False Accusations Decree  where journalists were arrested, jailed and some put to death for publishing reports the government of the day feels are offensive.

The International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) on January 28, 2017 in its expose titled, How Nigerian Universities Stifle Free Speech recounted the travails of colleagues and friends in sister institutions  including Adekunle Adebajo of UI, Sulaiman Akeukanwo of UNILORIN, Israel Fawole of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lukman Fasasi of OAU. A certain Sub-Dean, Students Affairs Office of one of the institutions was reported to have said, “there cannot be total freedom of expression on campus.

In addition, some lecturers in the Department of Mass Communication, MAPOLY and other departments have challenged covertly and openly writers on campus about certain reports written by me and in some case other campus writers and published on Press Club MAPOLY blog and other national dailies. Censorship has become a phenomenon that has eaten deep into the annals of our tertiary institutions. At the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, it appeared the management is strongly against free press, but one must doff ones hat for the young men who have summoned courage to fulfill their constitutional duties with nom de plume  pen names.

The fact remains that these managements have failed to realise that no walls of tertiary institution are going to tumble down as result of an article, editorial or cartoon, according to the words of the Deputy Editorial Director of USA Today, Paul McMasters. However, there is the possibility of many great journalists rising out of a free college press environment. This is because about 60 per cent of those who practised journalism on campus end up as professionals. The campus is not only the training ground of future journalists, but also the home.

For students considering careers in journalism, these stifling conditions can discourage them on the field. It could ultimately lead to a more docile professional journalistic work force if not curbed. There is a need for the establishment of a national institution to fight censorship of student publications and one that would offer legal representation when necessary.

Even though heavy-handed control and censorship of the campus press is rampant, it appeared that no one is bothered. Not only did journalism organizations fail to help student juournalists in the censorship battle, but professional media journalists offered little or no assistance.

These campus journalists have shown they are ready by uniting to resist the insanity this looks fashionable at the moment. It is in line of this that one must salute the efforts of a number of bright, dedicated, free-press-minded and spirited journalism students who despite the very trying circumstances  they have found themselves in  established the National Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ) and the National Association of Nigerian Campus Editors (NANCE).

At this juncture, it wont be out of place to call on the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigeria Press Council (NPC), the Nigeria Guild of Editors, International Journalists Network (IJNET) and every other concerned outfits to lead them in this resistance they are fast losing. The tenets of the profession must b upheld right from the campus where it is presently under attack. Censorship should not only be outlawed off-campus, but also be outlawed on campus because that is the rotten source of censorship to the outside world.

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka was right when he said, the greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism. Thus, the greatest measure of freedom is the presence of criticism but its presence would serve no use without sincere acceptance and implementation where necessary. This day that we celebrate World Press Freedom Day should serve as a call to the managements of our dear tertiary institutions to rethink their positions and their adjust ways.

Ifedayo Ogunyemi who is the immediate past President of Press Club MAPOLY and a former national officer of the National Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ) writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State

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