FCT, Abuja – A top development journalist, John Andah, has said the commentary by former military president Ibrahim Babangida on media ‘hysteria’ in the Dele Giwa case “inadvertently confirms” that Nigerian leaders have a long-standing allergy to accountability.
In a statement on Monday, February 24, obtained by Legit.ng, Andah, the executive director of ImpactHouse Centre for Development Communication, frowned at the “frenemy” tag being ascribed to the Nigerian media by Babangida.
Babangida, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, had said in his newly-released autobiography, ‘A Journey in Service’:
“The hysteria of the media did not help the investigation of the Giwa murder. As is typical of the Nigerian media, the direction was marked by an adversarial attitude towards the government, which had remained the hallmark of the Nigerian media from its colonial heyday.
“It was an attitude of “we versus the government” that has remained today. It is a situation in which the government is adjudged guilty even before the evidence in a case is adduced’.”
Reacting, Andah argued that the allegation against the Nigerian media being “adversarial” was “born out of necessity”.
The expert said:
“Ironically, the media, which should be the government’s trusted compass for truth and transparency, is instead labelled a hostile force or frenemy.
“History has shown that the Nigerian media’s so-called ‘adversarial attitude’ did not emerge from a vacuum. It was born out of necessity, sharpened by colonial resistance, and refined through years of military rule, censorship, and dictatorship.”
Furthermore, Andah stated that IBB, as Babangida is commonly called, seemingly overlooked that this ‘adversarial’ press “was the very force that helped Nigeria gain independence in 1960.”
He said:
“Recall that the West African Pilot, founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe, was at the forefront of the nationalist movement, using ink and paper to fight the British colonialists in ways that rifles and bayonets could not. The Nigerian Tribune, established by Obafemi Awolowo, also served as a loudspeaker for self-governance, amplifying the call for an end to foreign rule.
“Journalists were imprisoned, harassed, and intimidated for speaking truth to power. And this happened long before the name of the fearless Dele Giwa was ever whispered in Nigerian history. The dailies at the time did not just report news; they shaped Nigeria’s destiny. But, of course, history rarely remembers its true heroes.”
“One thing is clear: the former military president’s criticism of the media echoes a long-standing pattern – Nigerian governments repeatedly mistaking calls for accountability as a personal attack.”
Falana hits Babangida
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), recounted his ordeal under former military president, General Babangida’s regime.
Falana said Babangida detained him and other young Nigerians for speaking up against his government, adding that Babangida deliberately killed his best man, Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa—contrary to the claim that the slain soldier was involved in a coup.
