Renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Gumi, has condemned the position of the Federal Government regarding media reporting and coverage of the lingering insecurity in the country, saying the government was trying to find “a scapegoat” to justify failure to secure lives and property.
The Federal Government had, on Thursday, said it would sanction the BBC and Trust TV for airing documentaries glorifying and fueling terrorism in the country.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja said the Federal Government was aware of the unprofessional documentary by the BBC Africa Eye, where interviews were granted to bandit warlords and terror gangs, thereby promoting terrorism in the country.
He condemned BBC for not upholding the same standards and tenets as they would have done in the UK.
The minister also condemned Trust TV, owned by Media Trust Ltd., for using its platform to grant an interview to a bandit kingpin, Shehu Rekeb, thereby promoting the activities of terrorists, adding that both platforms by their actions have become accomplices to terrorists and bandits in the name of reporting.
Reacting to the development, Gumi, in his weekly lectures on Thursday, condemned the FG’s move to sanction the BBC and Daily Trust, saying: “FG’s attempt in trying to find a scapegoat to justify its glaring failure after wasting over $16 billion in the last 7 years without any commensurate result on security and efforts to blackmail certain media organisations for their patriotism in reporting the crisis is unfortunate and should be resisted by all responsible media organisations.”
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He, however, commended local and international media organisations for the confidence to report about the magnitude of the insecurity, the government’s wrong approach to tackling the crisis, and how it has become a lucrative business for the criminals and few in position of power and authority.
The Islamic scholar added that the BBC Africa Eye documentary reflects the actual happenings in Zamfara State, noting that it was done professionally with the highest ethical standards that seek solution against consistent attacks on vulnerable communities.
Gumi further wondered why the Federal Government would not use such independent discovery to squarely address the security challenges bedevilling the country.
He said the opinion of some media executives regarding the BBC report and the claim that the medium and others like Daily Trust are giving undue publicity to the bandits and their activities or promoting terrorism was “unfortunate, myopic and mischievous”.
He lamented that FG’s attempt was to blackmail media organisations so as to cover its “failure and to divert public scrutiny into high-level corruption in military spending and budgetary allocations.”
Gumi, however, urged the media not to be intimidated or to succumb to official blackmail and to always make the government accountable, especially in view of the failure to protect lives and property in the country.
He said the rising insecurity in the country, especially in the North-West as reported by the BBC was more of an ethnic war and reprisal killings and attacks due to the government’s failure to address well-documented instances of injustices that were initially done to the Fulanis.
The Islamic cleric added: “What do you expect from a society (Fulani) that were left in total ignorance and lack of education especially when their primary means of livelihood (cattles) has been completely rustled by other criminal elements within and outside our security agencies without any effort by government to address the injustice.
“As I talk to you now cattle rustling has not stopped. Many law-abiding Fulanis have fallen victims to official extortion of their cows. I have well-documented evidence involving some security agents that I personally intervened.
“How do you expect as a government to address insecurity especially related to Fulani bandits without addressing such instances of extortion and rustling?”
Gumi said the frightening development now is that the Boko Haram terrorists have infiltrated the Fulani bandits, adding that the bandits are gradually being indoctrinated to their (Boko Haram) religious belief and mission.
He, therefore, enjoined the government that instead of trying to find a scapegoat in the media or to used instruments of authority to silence or blackmail the media, “President Buhari should make his security Chiefs to be fully accountable and responsible for any failure and to account for the billions of naira at their disposal.
“When a Commander-in-Chief rewards failure with Ambassadorial appointments in a system and a society that records increased attacks, when security agencies cannot even protect Abuja and especially when the Guards Brigade cannot even protect themselves not to talk of the President then why blaming the media for such failure and ineptitude for reporting it?”, Gumi stated.
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