By Muheeb Mashood
It was a faithful Thursday, on 19th October 2023. A four-day journalism training organised for the students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) was about to come to an end.
The students have enjoyed their time throughout the session like a Hollywood movie after they received a wealth of knowledge and experiences about journalism from different professionals, and having breakfast and lunch along the line.
The venue was Economic the Boardroom in the Faculty of Social Sciences, and it was depicted as a river bank; calm and conducive, singing songs of enchantment as students fully drive their attention to touching stories narrated by the trainers in relation to their experiences in the field.
At the end of the various tales, the students were compelled to reach a conclusion that “journalism is not for coward but the courageous ones, fighting corruption is dangerous while holding people accountable is risky.” Every participants choose his stance, whether to give in or give up.
Tragic Experiences of the Facilitators
The Publisher of WikkiTimes, Haruna Mohammed Salisu, one of the experts who trained the participants shared his story about how he was arrested and detained by the Governor of Bauchi state while covering an election in the state.
Mr Haruna left Bauchi state due to threats and pressure he faced as a result of his journalism work, after many political office holders in the state were exposed in his stories. However, he came back to his hometown in February 2023 to cover the gubernatorial elections.
After training journalists in his newsroom and some civil society organization about election coverage, some days before the election, the veteran decided to cover Bauchi South, including Alkaleri local government, which is the hometown of the incumbent Governor Bala Mohammed.
During the course of his duty, he jumped to a group of women, lamenting unsatisfactorily. As a journalist and election observer, he decided to attend to the crowd without ease of movement. Upon approaching the mob, the women saw his badge and shouted “Muna da korafi” which roughly translates to “We have a complaint to make.” The women massly circled the journalist as they spilled out their grievances.
As soon as he ended an interview session with the women, some supporters of the governor, Mr. Haruna said,attacked him while trying to collect the phone he used for a video recording. The group accused him of cooking malice against the governor by gathering and filming protesters in his hometown. However, he was able to convince them of his actual intent.
Unfortunately and unknown to him, the governor’s security personnel have been informed about the matter. Within a blink of eyes, the governor and his convoy banged to his location where he was roughly assaulted without justification.
“I was detained in Bauchi Police Command for three days before I later spent another two days in Bauchi Prison. The trauma of the incident resonates in my memory,”he narrated.
“It’s an unforgettable experience that aims to jeopardise journalism in Nigeria.”
Nigeria’s awful relationship with journalists is unsurprising. Reports by Space for Change showed that most press problems in West Africa happen in Nigeria. There have been 122 cases of press and media attacks there.
The relationship is even deteriorating with the recent attack on Mustapha Usman, a journalist with ICIR, by officers of the FRSC and the move by Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to ban 25 journalists from covering Presidential Villa activities in Abuja.
Nigeria is no longer an alien to stamping of journalists, with twenty-four journalists reportedly killed there between 1992 and 2022.
Just like Mr. Haruna,Iretomiwa Dele-Yusuff, the Project Facilitator of the CJID also narrated her ordeal in journalism.
During the training, she recounted the awful experiences she encountered in the journalism field. From abduction by a group of giant-bold unknown armed men to being tailed by a rifle, her experiences are akin to a reservoir of conflicts.
Miss Iretomiwa said she escaped a brush with death while covering the 2019 gubernatorial elections in Kogi state.
It was an election day, Kogi state was expected to be tough as usual, but her anticipation to cover the election concealed the fact in her mind.
She began her job, surfing from one polling unit to another on a ride. But little did she know that her synergy will end with solitary.
She witnessed a common-strange event in Ward 5, PU 4 in Ugwolawo. In the polling unit, there was only one Civil Defence officer, an INEC official, and men dressed in Ankara. The men were seen directing people, perhaps voters, off the location while one of them was immediately spotted with a rifle. Other men were busy thumb printing on the ballot papers.
Upon approaching them, the man with a rifle threatened her bike man with anger while communicating in Igala. With frustration, the motorcyclist turned back to her, grabbed her arm and dragged her to the bike, where they immediately left the location in a quest for safety. That was the beginning of her reshape experience, unknown to her that a big blast awaits ahead.
The young lady had earlier searched for a hotel or a guesthouse to keep her head during her stay in the town but she got none. Consequently, she managed a couch with one generous woman in the neighbourhood, near to an INEC office.
She learnt that a clash between political thugs had claimed the life of a man before she came back from duty. Some hours later, INEC motors carrying broken and smashed ballot boxes arrived. The atmosphere was calm and quiet until the late hour of the night when another tragic-drama erupted.
The sound of gunshots was enough to wake everyone in the area from sleep, her instincts suggested to her that the fight was between policemen and thugs while she laid flat on her belly, praying for grace of deliverance from God. The whole night is like a mirage to her as she sacrificed her sleep for the nigh
Immediately the day broke out, MissIretomiwa fled out of the town as she couldn’t wait to experience the next drama of the show.
Students React
Kpede Daniel is a 200-level student of Mass Communication, he is among the participants of the CJID training. The stories motivated him to deliver his best as a potential journalist before he was left to challenge himself whether he is competent for the profession.
He noted that the stories shared by the facilitators was a valuable resource that will help him prepare himself as a journalist. The challenges and obstacles they faced will help him develop strategies to overcome similar difficulties if he encounter same during his career. Additionally, their stories serves as source of inspirations and motivations to him while striving for success in the field of journalism.
“I truly believe that their experiences will help me become a better journalist and achieve great things in my career. I was intrigued by the experiences they shared, and I felt like if they can do it, then I won’t be an exception.”
Also, Meikudi Ashiat, a 300-Level student from the department of English and Literary Studies revealed how the stories motivated her.
Considering the stories as educational and informative was not enough but rather a motivating experience. The training revealed the hidden part of journalism to her, the ethics and the dos and don’t of a journalist. It also reshaped her perception about journalism in a positive manner.
She claimed that the program aims awaken the participants’ knowledge about the field. Thus, the tales shared by the trainers triggered her motivation to prepare for the worst in the journalism field.
To Wonderful Adegoke, another participant of the training, the experiences of the professional trainers convinced him to increase his dedication towards the career, and equally committed to making waves in the right direction.
While the stories sparked his curiosity, empathy and desire to learn more about what journalism generally entails, his sympathy to the victims increased. But, his instincts tell him that he can do better.
“As custodians of the truth, the stories provided a sense of purpose and connection to me.”