THE International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) and African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) have lauded the MacArthur Foundation’s support for investigative reporting in NIgeria.
They also criticized the Federal Government and its agencies for failing to take full advantage of investigative reports on corruption churned out by media organisations in Nigeria.
The ICIR and AFRICMIL, who identified the absence of a whistleblower law as a significant difficulty in the fight against corruption, made their positions known on Wednesday, January 25, during an episode of Public Conscience – an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG).
Speaking on the impact of MacArthur Foundation, the Executive Director of The ICIR Dayo Aiyetan said the organisation has massively impacted many journalists who are now enlightened, exposed and emboldened to report events and hold power to account, especially in rural areas.
According to him, one of the biggest problems of investigative journalism in Nigeria is the government’s lack of recognition for the constitutional role of the media which is to hold the government accountable.
According to Aiyetan, “Only about 20 to 30 per cent of investigative corruption reports get government reaction.”
Aiyetan lamented the government’s use of state security and anti-graft agents to harass and hound investigative journalists, a development that has further worsened their job and the overall fight against corruption.
“Ten or twenty per cent of our work gets the government’s attention, and that’s the tragedy of accountability reporting in Nigeria. Sincerely many of us who do investigative reporting work see our work as complementing government work, but rather than see us as partners, the government are using state institutions, that is the Department of State Security (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Attorney General’s office and all kinds of state agencies to harass us.”
He further tasked Nigerians to ensure they elect persons of integrity into offices, insisting that credible leadership is of utmost importance to the nation’s development and will influence governance.
Similarly, the Coordinator of the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) Chido Onumah commended the MacArthur Foundation for supporting investigative journalism and advocacies on strengthening the whistleblower policy in Nigeria.
Onumah disclosed that the impact of the support from the MacArthur Foundation has been significant over the years and has gone beyond the fight against corruption and investigation to the development of journalists and members of civil society groups.
He said: “MacArthur’s support is not just in investigations, even capacity building, training for journalists, many of our journalists are better today: they are better able to write, better able to report, because of the kind of support and training they get from these foundations. Many of us in civil society are better able to understand advocacy. We can be frontiers for the rule of law and ensure accountability, taking on the government, taking on the institutions; it’s all thanks to the Foundation’s support”.
Onumah noted that there has been little progress in government’s reaction to corruption investigations.
He expressed optimism that a whistleblower bill recently approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will be passed and signed into law despite the limited time left in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Onumah, Nigerians dread reporting corrupt acts because of the shortcomings of the whistleblowing policy.
“A national survey after two years of introducing whistleblower policy showed that thousands of people from all walks of life across the country dreaded risking their lives for whistleblowing.
“It’s a policy. A new government can change it any day, but if it’s a law, it can be taken to court and used as a basis for argument. So I think we can’t stop talking about the main imperatives of a law.”
Onumah emphasised on the need of whistleblowing tools in the electioneering period, stressing that it is as important as having the PVC.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M