By joshua 
by Abel Ada-Musa
Being a journalist in this part of the world is not something to desire. In my close to 30 years in the profession, I discovered that those that are in it do so as a result of interest; not for material gain. If you want to be rich in life, do not take journalism as a profession.
The private media are the worse. The government media are faring better, under the present condition –at least they get their salaries at the end of every month. The dexterity, vibrancy, freedom and the allure that pushed some of us into private media then, have vamoosed. What is left now is poverty, hunger, frustration, depression and the silent urge to commit unethical practices. The private media have lost all the colours and attractions that used to endear practitioners. It was pride, then, to work for a private news medium, especially for the freedom of speech. But not again!
Private media practitioners are struggling to put food on their tables, let alone live a decent life and train their children effectively in schools. The bills pile up for the journalist, working in a private organisation. And lots more!
Practising journalism in a country like Nigeria is frustrating. Your employer does not provide equipment for you to work with. You do not receive a living salary or allowance. With the economic downturn, the practice of journalism gets dehumanizing, as you perpetually remain inadequate. Those that read mass communication or journalism are now looking for public relations jobs that are few or non-existent.
The story becomes worse, when you are retired. When you retire as a journalist working in a private media company, you have no pension. If a company that cannot pay your salary as and when due, it cannot pay your gratuity, when you eventually leave the job? Journalism is arguably the only profession that practitioners do not retire. If they do, where would they go? The faces of veteran journalists that loaf around in press centres across the country are not good testimonies of the profession.
How many journalists can set up a private media company or a PR office? You are a friend of a politician as long as you are relevant to his political ambition. How many journalists can successfully feature in politics? I don’t know.
Unknown to so many people, journalists are not particularly rich people. Many of them live from hand to mouth. Except very few that find their ways into political offices, almost all journalists, then, and today are struggling. The newspaper is probably the worst hit. How many people are still buying newspapers? How many companies or offices are placing adverts in newspapers? Newspapers are not operating in full capacity, so, they cannot pay salaries.
The damages done to journalism by media proprietors in Nigeria are incalculable. They are partly the cause of unethical behaviours of journalists. They consciously create a gang of quacks, for selfish reasons. As a journalist, if you are not paid at the end of the month, you look for alternative means of feeding your family, pay rent and train your children.
The proprietor gives you a company ID card, for you to look for what to eat. The ID becomes your meal ticket. But come to think of it, a regular journalist can stay in rented apartment all the days of his life, without a house of his own, either in his place of work or his village. It is as bad as that.
“Gentlemen of the Press” is the common phrase used for journalists. Today, how many journalists can still be proud to be associated with the characterization? The situation of their lives and the rat race to make both ends meet has turned some of the ‘gentlemen’ into blackmailer and liars – quacks!
Every profession has bad boys. Journalism is not left out. The most visible faces in journalism are the quacks, fake journalists and charlatans. They concoct lies and blackmail their innocent targets for money. Very often, quack journalists are feared and more respected than the real journalists. The real journalists are mindful of fair play and their integrity! The quacks have nothing to lose. They don’t know anything about libel or defamation. They twist the truth and overlook the facts, without compunction.
Very surprisingly, Nigerian politicians are favourably disposed to the quacks. Like most professions, the “roadside journalists” are making more money than the regular journalists. A typical Nigerian politician is not straightforward; so he looks for a journalist that is like him. Only a few decent journalists can work with a politician. Soon, you will discover that you cannot fit in. They need a journalist that can manufacture lies against an opponent on their behalf. In this country, dirty job is big money!
If a Nigerian politician wants to constitute a media committee during electioneering campaign, he looks for ‘roadside journalists’ who would have no qualms sitting in the comfort of their rooms to formulate lies and shout wolf, where there is none. It is the quacks they need! Quackery in journalism is a thriving business.
A Nigerian politician (especially in the Middle Belt) may even prefer to appoint a graduate of civil engineering, for example, to head his media and publicity team, where a graduate of mass communication is available. The reason is obvious. They CANNOT do things in the right way. They prefer an ignoramus to a decent personality.
In this era of internet, everybody is a journalist. If you have money, you can just call a web designer to construct online news medium for you. And suddenly you become a journalist. And everybody begins to call you a journalist.
Most politicians prefer liars, blackmailers and propagandists. That is why many press releases from some campaign organisations lack basic observance of English parts of speech. And when they win election, these are the people they patronize. And the mediocre circle continues.
Some time ago, I was aiming to serve on the media and publicity team of a campaign organisation, during an election. It took me a very a long time to make the first contact with my proposed principal. We were able to discuss about two times on phone, after I succeeded. But, each of the two occasions that I called him, I had to introduce myself to him all over.
In spite of the obvious negative signs, as a professional, I drew my media plan, waiting for his perusal and approval before the commencement of campaign. But, like a bolt from the blue, everything became quiet. I discovered painfully, that I was not the type of media personality he wanted. He was no longer picking my calls neither was he replying to my messages.
Soon afterwards, I started seeing his billboards in strategic places, probably mounted by “emergency publicists” and some of his quacked press releases, on the social media. He had already started spending carelessly and heavily on media campaigns. How could somebody erect billboards, when he was not yet a candidate? The rest is history!
In my brief stint with politics, I discovered that most politicians do not understand media and publicity campaign. They love to see their stories and photos on the pages of the newspaper and television. They love to hear their names in the radio, but they are unwilling to pay for it. They believe media do not have any effect on the outcome of elections in Nigeria.
On another occasion, I had an opportunity to meet another political office seeker in his hotel room. I left the comfort of my house at about 10.30pm, hoping to secure a deal with him. He wanted to enlist me as one of his media contacts. And I came to showcase myself.
At the end of our discussion, at about 1.00am, I wanted to have a brief chat with him. As a journalist, I could not have met him without a piece of news from him. He told me he could not have the interview, without the chairman of his media campaign team present. I said waooo. Do you know what? The media committee chairman was in faraway Lagos, while he was campaigning to be elected in Kogi State. Awful, isn’t it? Again, that was the end of the story.
Journalism is not an enviable profession, in Nigeria. It is a dumping ground for desperados and all those that have failed in other professions. It admits of every Dick and Harry, some of whom cannot communicate or write in English plausibly!
When I was in the college we often said that the media was the best place to learn English language. Not anymore. Our children can no longer learn good grammatical expressions or new words from media contents. The quacks have taken over. And they have come to stay. The mess is everywhere in the social media, with poorly written news and poorly edited essays.
There are also quacks among the proprietors of media organisations. I know of somebody who had never granted any press interview, as a politician. But, the last time money came into his hand, he established a radio station. He became a proprietor – quack proprietor.
Journalists are their own enemies. I had cause to visit a colleague, who was privileged to be appointed as media adviser at a very high level of governance in this country, about three years ago. I drove all the way from my state to Abuja. It was about three days to Christmas. My office had not paid me for five months. But, I left his office poorer than I came. He didn’t ask me, whether I took Okada to his office or came in my own car.
It is as bad as this.