When Mehdi Raza Hasan, British-American broadcaster, took apart presidential spokesman, Daniel Bwala, some days ago, the whole of Nigeria erupted in excitement. Even, the Nigerian Press were not left behind. Some even said that they have been vindicated.
Yes, the Nigerian broadcaster who claimed he has been vindicated could not be faulted because, the same Daniel Bwala featured in his program sometimes ago and was telling him stories about when he was recruited by the Media organization.
I have been asked to comment on the performance of both Mehdi Hasan and Bwala when they encountered each other.
I was of the candid opinion that Mehdi did his job fantastically well while it was apparent that Bwala was not prepared for certain situations he came face to face with on the day.
I was of the opinion that Bwala became entrapped the moment Mehdi started taking him up on his past assessments and negative comments about the same man he is currently working for. No man in Bwala’s shoes would come out of such an encounter without being embarrassed.
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Having said that, it is important to examine why Mehdi Hasan was able to do his job fantastically well on Daniel Bwala. One, the man was well prepared. Armed with correct facts and Data.
He was fearless, obviously, not in fear of being exposed or molested by his Guest. If Mehdi Hasan have been having secret affairs with the Nigerian Government or any of its Representatives, if he had received some kind of gifts or gratifications from the Tinubu Administration or if he had taken pictures with the president and announced his endorsement of his presidential ambition, I bet, it would be him in Bwala’s shoes on that day.
It was obvious that he did his job without fear of molestation on that day. We have better Media practitioners than Mehdi Hasan in Nigeria but how many of them could speak truth to power without fear of molestations?
How many of them are above Boards? I want to limit my advocacy on this matter to Oyo state. As we gradually prepare for the 2027 general election, the Media should be in the forefront of Agenda setting.
The problem is, from our experience of the past seven years, should we trust the Media to be able to set an Agenda devoid of bias?
Sadly, the answer is a resounding no.
In Oyo state, both Governor Seyi Makinde and the Media would be on trial.
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I have to say that there are still a few of the Media practitioners in Oyo state who are doing their jobs professionally, without fear or favor but the corrupted ones are much more in numbers.
So, we will take our destinies in our hands.
We will play the game, having in mind the fact that we are playing against the eleven players of Governor Seyi Makinde and a largely compromised Media.
The Media is supposed to be an unbiased watchdog but it is what it is. We will be actively involved in setting the Agenda for 2027. You might think that I am harsh in my assessment of the Media in Oyo. I am not. My position is grounded in past experiences.
Governor Seyi Makinde is succeeding in escaping from consequences of his atrocities largely because of the Media in Oyo state.
Now, let us ask ourselves, what Agenda did the Media set for the 2023 election in Oyo state? Was the Agenda not supposed to be about the core performance and failures of the Governor between 2019 and 2023?
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Instead of that, we were treated to programs that were discussing the problems within the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Congresses and party primaries issues within the APC were dominant features of the discussions on major Radio stations.
Mehdi Hasan must have been aware of the fact that opposition political parties’ bigwigs were daily defecting to the APC in Nigeria when he interviewed Bwala.
Did he focus on that during his interview with Bwala? If he had made that issue the major topic with Bwala, I bet, it would have been his body on the pyre on the day.
Prior to the 2023 general election, we had the case of a prominent journalist who is the anchor of a political program on radio which he prides as the best in the South West.
This fellow celebrated his birthday and took his birthday cake to the Governor at the Government House!
He returned with a SUV and more than ever before, his program became a technical slaughter slab of the opposition.
There was the case of another prominent journalist who interviewed Governor Makinde on the Thursday preceding the gubernatorial election of 2023 and after the session, he took a photograph with the Governor, right inside the studio and posted online with the caption, ‘ Seyi Makinde is my man ‘.
Before the election of 2023, Governor Makinde had awarded a contract for the Light Up Oyo for an initial sum of 28 billion Naira.
The contract was later varied to over 40 billion Naira.
Less than two years after the project was delivered, Governor Makinde, through his Commissioner for Information at the time, Wasiu Olatunbosun, admitted that the contractor who handled the project failed to deliver to the specifications agreed upon.
He said he would investigate the matter but up till today nothing has come out of the promised investigation.
That was supposed to be a hot topic for the 2023 election but it was not.
Even if the opposition didn’t latch on to it, the information was generally known to the public and the Press.
The Media, that is supposed to be a watchdog on behalf of the people ought to have made it a point of discussion during the electioneering process for 2023.
Dataphyte, a Non-governmental organization also exposed Governor Seyi Makinde in the award of contracts for the supply of customized notebooks during his first term.
Dataphyte alleged that a notebook was awarded for the sum of 2,100 Naira as against 120 Naira at the market.
Governor Seyi Makinde was also alleged to have given the contract to a Broadcaster follower of his without following due process.
The fellow in question is now a gubernatorial aspirant under the Accord Party in Oyo state.
Governor Seyi Makinde promised that he was also going to investigate the matter and if he learned that a notebook was awarded for more than 300 Naira, he would resign from his position as Governor of Oyo state.
When I heard the Governor said this, I asked, you wanted to investigate the amount per notebook of a contract signed by who?
If Mehdi Hasan is a journalist in Oyo state, I am sure that Governor Seyi Makinde would have resigned from his position as Governor of Oyo state before the 2023 election but how did the Media in Oyo state treat the matter?
I was surprised that our journalist friend who posted a picture of himself and Governor Makinde on the Thursday preceding the gubernatorial election of 2023 forgot or neglected to do a Mehdi Hasan on Governor Makinde over these serious matters when he moderated the Oyo state gubernatorial debate in 2023.
The Agbowo Shopping Complex has been in issue all these while.
The Eruwa Farm Settlement which Governor Seyi Makinde said he has handed over to investors for almost one and a half years now, is there with nothing happening at the place despite the fact that local farmers have been displaced from the place.
Some of us have been shouting ourselves hoarse about the recklessness of the Seyi Makinde Administration in all the 33 Local Governments.
Until Mukaila Auxiliary became a threat to Seyi Makinde and Seye Famojuro, the ex convict was not only indulged by Governor Makinde, he was equally protected.
If not for the bravery of a particular Yoruba radio presenter who grilled Auxiliary and exerted certain truths from him, would we have known the rot between them and that is exactly why I said I still have respect for a few of the practitioners in Oyo state even though, the compromised ones are in the overwhelming majority.
The ‘ Seyi Makinde is my man ‘ journalist was the moderator of the 2023 gubernatorial debate and he was present in the Hall when Governor Makinde nearly, physically assaulted Teslim Folarin for calling Auxiliary an ex convict.
Would Mehdi Hasan have allowed Governor Makinde to escape been roasted for such reckless conduct?
I am surprised he has not taken the Governor up on why he would now turn around to arraign Mukaila Auxiliary for criminal offences, some of them bothering on alleged murder, despite his violent conduct in defense of Auxiliary during the debate of 2023.
If not for social media, so much would have been buried about the wickedness of Governor Makinde at the Circular road.
A brave young man, who should have been widely celebrated for his act of bravery had it been we are a people of good conscience, Hon. Shittu Ibrahim, representing Saki West state Constituency in the Oyo state House of Assembly blew the whistle on the atrocities going on in the House of Assembly.
The allegations he raised were so serious and monumental.
He alleged that billions of Naira and hundreds of millions in dollars are being approved for Governor Makinde as loans by a few members of the Oyo state House of Assembly.
How did the Media respond to that very serious allegations?
Would Mehdi Hasan, if he were a journalist here in Oyo state, have allowed such an allegation to be swept under the carpet?
Today, no one knows the amount Oyo state is owing in debts.
We don’t know how much the Local Governments are owing.
Governor Seyi Makinde would not tell anyone and the Media would not, like Mehdi Hasan, do due diligence and confront the Governor.
Governor Seyi Makinde have been saying, oh, we have taken so and so number of out of school children back to school.
Who is investigating the outrageous numbers being quoted by him?
Well, I am and I can say that my investigation is quite revealing and would be out shortly.
We know the issues that should constitute the Agenda for 2027 and we are prepared to take our destinies in our hands like I stated before.
We will not be manipulated into believing that some self serving Media practitioners are acting in public interest.
We know those who are genuinely determined to see that we have a better society and we know those who have been working for their bellies and we will continue to put all of the latter to task going forward.
President Tinubu kept saying, look, I have increased monthly Allocations for States and Local Governments tremendously.
In Oyo state, as monthly Allocations keep increasing, so is our debts profile.
Governor Seyi Makinde has sold off almost all state and Local Governments assets.
The Light Up Oyo has become a conduit pipe through which state and Local Government resources are being frittered away into private pockets.
Immediately Hon. Shittu blew the whistle on Governor Makinde’s reckless and illegal borrowings, his Government came out with outrageous number of approval of contracts.
I expected the media to have sensed that something was fishy.
I expected them to have developed keen interests in the documents released, the contracts purportedly awarded, the contractors engaged and the sums of money attached to the contracts.
How sensible is it that a Government that accepted that the Light Up Oyo project failed would still approve more funds for a failed project?
Infact, the funds attached to the project is multiplied compared to the initial original contract.
Funds were attached to the purchase of aircrafts and the construction of a airstrip in Oke-Ogun.
Is the media monitoring these projects?
Are they asking necessary questions?
Well, if they’re not monitoring, we are and when the time comes, we will ask questions.
It is clear that the media in Oyo state could not be left alone with the responsibilities of setting the Agenda for 2027 and we will assist them to the benefits of the citizens of Oyo state.
A kii fi ise igbonse ran Omo eni.
Sola Abegunde.
