Former presidential spokesman and seasoned journalist Reuben Abati has stated that the media has a responsibility to hold the government responsible, stressing that this is “a duty which is guided by law and every attempt to gag journalists will not succeed.”
Speaking in the most recent episode of the television series Interviewing The Interviewer, which is anchored by his wife, Kikelomo Atanda-Owo, a top broadcaster, Abati observed that “the Nigerian media has been a crusading media, defending the rights of the people, fighting for the people.”
He claimed that the deregulation of the broadcast medium by the Babangida administration in 1992 marked a turning point, as evidenced by the tremendous growth in radio and television stations across the nation. He also claimed that the media has always been incredibly reliable, as demonstrated by the June 12 uprising.
“Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution guarantees the duty of the journalist to call the people in power to order. Our job is to hold them accountable, as further enshrined under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution. We are also guided by ethics, which is defined by the Nigerian Press Organization and says we have to be objective, fair, accurate, and act in the public interest,” stated Abati.
He stated that “journalists must be courageous and I encourage them to try to be knowledgeable because history has shown that everyone who has tried to gag or kill journalists has invariably failed.”
