Ifeanyi Okereke Elechi woke up in the early hours of Wednesday, November 19, 2020 and headed to Area 1 newspapers distribution centre. After collection of all newspapers from his agents, he thereafter went straight to his newsstand around Sheu Shagari Way, Three Arms Zone. He continued to ply his trade until disaster struck; he became a victim few hours later and was pronounced dead at the Abuja General Hospital.
Circumstances that surrounded his death were still sketchy but he got killed by an overzealous security aide attached to Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was shot at by Abdullahi Hassan, a DSS agent. However, the family claimed that he was shot at thrice fuelling speculation that it was not a case of a stray bullet but a predetermined one.
The Speaker admitted this in a statement that was personally signed by him. Also, in a tweet, the speaker posted: “Unfortunately, after the convoy set out in continuation of movement, unidentified men obstructed the convoy which got the attention of security men in the convoy who shot into the air to disperse them. He continued: “Some hours later, after getting to our destination, it was brought to my attention that someone was hit by a stray bullet, contrary to an earlier report by men in the convoy that they applied their security discretion to shoot in the air”.
Although, the officer has been handed to the Department of State Security (DSS) for investigations, appropriate administrative and judicial action but the death was an avoidable one.
Mr. Etim Eteng, the Chairman of Newspapers Distributors Association of Nigeria (NDAN), Abuja branch issued a statement to condemn the dastardly act. He and his members thereafter staged a peaceful protest. On Thursday, November 20, 2020, the agents and vendors refused to sell different publications already supplied as a form of solidarity. Regrettably, the victim died seven days after the arrival of his new baby.
Hon Gbajabiamila has met with the leadership of the vendors union. He claimed to have visited the family at Kwatta village in Madalla/Suleja area of Niger state where he promised to take “ownership” of the two children until they reach adulthood. According to him, Lawyers have been mandated to prepare necessary documents so that the children will be on scholarship till age 21. The Speaker assured that the vendor will be honoured in plenary this week.
This situation would have been avoided had it been the security aide acted professionally. Concerns of all and sundries should be how to avoid a repeat of this ugly occurrence. Politicians who are been guarded by security personnel should make themselves less visible on the roads. The full wrath of law should come upon the culprit and the victim should be adequately compensated.
In a related development, a newspaper vendor in Calabar, Cross River State, Mr. Innocent Monday-Francis, was murdered after an argument that followed his refusal to allow one of his neighbours, identified as Eno, to read the papers.
Monday-Francis (22), who sold newspapers around the popular Flour Mill junction, on the Murtala Mohammed Highway in Calabar, had retired to a neighbourhood bar at Ikot-Effanga area of Calabar to take a bottle of drink when the incident occurred.
The deceaseds younger brother, Gabriel Monday-Francis, said his brother went to work as usual on Thursday morning and on his way back home in the evening, he stopped at a nearby drinking spot for a bottle of drink. He said those at the drinking spot had alleged that the assailant, on the run, had picked one of the deceased’s newspapers to read but the vendor told him not to read any of the papers.
He (Monday-Francis) accused the assailant of not only reading the papers for free on all occasions, but that on one or two instances, he had taken copies away without his knowledge. The deceased’s brother said after that disagreement, Eno got angry and slapped his brother and in retaliation he (Monday-Francis) emptied the content of his glass on the assailant but after peoples intervention, the vendor immediately went home. He said his late brother, who was already relaxed at home and eating outside, met his death when the assailant came from behind to hit him on his neck twice with shovel and he immediately slumped and died.
It must be noted that A agents/vendors are the links between the media houses and the reading public. Newspapers publishers need to be concerned about their welfare. Selling on the streets is very risky. There was a time the chairman of Abuja municipal council stopped street trading; agents/vendors were asked to operate from kiosks in designated areas. Publishers made initial efforts to get kiosks but jettisoned the idea mid-way and pleaded with the council for the newspapers carriers to be exempted from streets trading.
It is a statement of fact that vendors endanger their lives in the course of selling newspapers to the reading public. There have also been reported cases of vendors being involved in accidents when selling newspapers on traffic; they are always hit by “hit and run” drivers. Some had either died or suffered permanent disabilities. In most instances, many of these cases were not reported in the media.
The media industry is not finding it easy at all. The company is the first victim. Virtually, most of those that are involved in the newspaper production processes are endangered but the most mentioned ones are the journalists. This is expected because they remain the faces of media firms in that they provide contents for public consumption. Other supportive staff in production, marketing, administration, directorate, newspapers carriers (agents & vendors), etc face challenges in the course of discharging their duties.
In respect of the media firms: The Punch took delivery of imported newsprints many years ago only to be submerged by flood. It was a huge loss and Mr Bola Tinubu, the then Lagos state governor had to personally visit the corporate office of the company which was at Mangoro, Ikeja as at the time.
Furthermore, whether it is proscription, closure, detention or harassment, the media have walked the path several times. For instance, in 1977, the government of General Olusegun Obasanjo banned Newbreed magazine for two years. In 1987, it was the turn of Newswatch magazine which was pardoned forty days ahead of the expiration of six-month ban. In 1993, The News magazine had to suspend publication for some months following the promulgation of the offensive publication (proscription) Decree 35 which outlawed the magazine. Shortly after this, The Punch and defunct Concord newspapers were closed for six months. In April 1990, shortly after the crushing of the Gideon Orkar coup, The Punch was sealed up for publishing stories endangering national security.
Also affected in that season of fury were Newbreed magazine and Lagos News newspaper. The following year (1991) it was the turn of The Guardian, The Republic and Champion newspapers.
Between 1990 and 1994, The Punch and defunct Concord newspapers were off the streets three times, the most protracted being the closure of five media houses including the troublesome- Punch & Concord in July 1994 as a fall-out of the political crisis that the annulment of the June 12 election generated. It would be recalled that the regime of the self acclaimed evil genius and dictator- General Ibrahim B. Babangida (Rtd) annulled the widely believed freest and fairest election so far in Nigeria. At the expiration of the initial six months, the proscription period was extended indefinitely until when it was finally lifted.
The industry has recorded what could be termed as a politically motivated assassination. The major incident happened on October 19, 1986 when the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Dele Giwa, was killed through a letter bomb. This happened during the military era headed by Babangida. The annulment of June 12, 1993 elections led to the killings of some journalists, some were hauled into detention without trial while others were forced to go on self exile. Baguada Kalto of The News magazine disappeared in 1996 in suspicious circumstances and has not been seen since then. This fuels speculation that he might have been killed.
Since the coming of civilian government in 1999, danger for journalists has heightened. The profession has recorded more killings of its members in the last few years than the past thirty years put together.
Abayomi Oyedeji Paul, a member of the editorial board of This Day newspapers was killed in August 2008. In September 2009, Bayo Ohu, Assistant Editor with Guardian newspapers was shot dead while at home with his family. On December 22, 2006, Godwin Agbroko, head of the editorial board of This Day newspapers was shot dead in his car in Lagos State. Tunde Olawepo, a senior correspondent with The Guardian newspapers was killed in his home in Ogun State one early morning by five masked men in the presence of his wife and children. On Saturday, April 24, 2010, Edo Ugbagwu, a reporter with The Nation newspapers was murdered by assassins in his sitting room in Lagos State.
Another dimension was added when some journalists were kidnapped at Umuafouka junction in Abia State on Sunday, July 11, 2010. The affected journalists were the then Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos council Chairman, Wahab Oba; NUJ Zone D Secretary, Adolphus Okonkwo; Lagos Secretary, Sylvester Okere; and Sola Oyeyipo, a journalist based in Lagos. Also kidnapped was the driver (Azees Abdul-rauf) of the bus conveying the team from the NUJ National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. They were released after spending eight days in captive.
On Saturday, October 22, 2011, Alhaji Zakariya Isa, a journalist working for the government-owned Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), was killed by gun men who attacked him at his home in Maiduguri.
Zakariya was shot dead at his house in Bulunkutu Gomari by suspected Boko Haram members. His death was the first assassination of a journalist by the sect, which threatened to launch attack on journalists for alleged misrepresentation.
Nansok Silas, a staff of High Land FM, Jos was murdered on January 18, 2012 while returning from work. He was killed by unknown persons and his body dumped in a shallow swamp. The incident happened along the road linking Ray Field and Zaramaganda area of Jos.
It was within the same vicinity that one of the staff of Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Jos Network Centre, Attah Reshante was murdered in December 2011 without any trace of his assailants.
Enenche Akogwu, a reporter with Ogun based private television- Channels TV, was shot dead by the suspected Boko Haram militants on Friday, January 20, 2012. The reporter was recording the location of the multiple bomb attacks in Kano after arriving at the scene of the Farm Centre Police Station, Kano, Kano state. He was aged 31. Some journalists had died in road accidents while travelling to cover assignments. The list seems endless.
Newspaper firms frequently experience death of drivers while on a newspaper delivery exercise. Most of the accidents are being caused by bad roads and activities of armed robbers on the highways.
Furthermore, some production staff had lost their hands during production especially due to the malfunctioning of rollers and reels’ stands.
Most of the newspapers agents are now bedridden as a result of high blood pressure brought about when some unscrupulous vendors eloped with the newspapers sales proceeds. Agents or newspapers distributors suffer financial depression and this has forced many of them quit the business because of their level of indebtedness to media houses.
One thing that is glaring is that the media firms have not exercised appreciable steps in reducing loss of lives and permanent disabilities of those involved in newspaper business. For example, no insurance policy, hazard allowance, etc. Once the victims are buried and mouth watering pronouncements made during the burial ceremonies, the concerned family members are left unattended to thereby subjecting to them to live in perpetual sorrow and abject poverty without commensurate compensation from the company.
Conclusively, apart from the near insolvent of most media firms, most of those who are involved in the business of newspapering are daily exposed to danger that has led to loss of lives or permanent disabilities.
Finally, not all the problems within the media industry can be solved by the in-house personnel because they may be too close to identify them. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss with an external agent to discover the gap that needs to be filled. Experts say a consultant get things done without considering who the decisions will be affecting or the corporate culture as long as results are obtained. A fresh viewpoint from the wealth of experience of a consultant may be all that is needed to pull out the media business from the sinking hole.
Abiola Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy
08023051315
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
