REPEATING THE SAME ACT AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULT

[nigerian_admin]

REPEATING THE SAME ACT AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULT

In every media in Nigeria, the main headline has always been about corruption, theft, and rift between politicians and between political parties. We all wonder what the objectives of the reporting are. We have been doing this type of reporting for years as if these headlines are only to sell news. It has emboldened politicians to become unapologetic to corruption, it brings them to the limelight and the bigger the amount stolen or horrible deed committed, the bigger the notoriety. They continue to do these horrible deeds because there are no consequences. No checks and balances required to stop it, no righteous judiciary, no places to report irregularities, no accountability, and no separation of power of the law enforcement agency and the executive branch.
Successful societies are measured by how individuals, communities, and institutions within it respond to challenges and overcome them with the least burden to its members. It is most concerning that we keep repeating the same act and expecting different results. This type of reporting is very poisonous, it destroys a society. You repeat the same thing over and over again and people will begin to accept it as the norm. The news media must realize the type of effect this has on the society.
(a) These type of reporting creates fear and uncertainty for the future. The populace will begin to believe the future of the country is bleak and each one will begin to look for the means to emigrate from the country.
(b) The respect for the rule of law diminishes as each member begins to accept this as the norm. Corruption, deceit, theft, and lawlessness will begin to flourish.
(c) Each member of the society will begin to distrust the government, each other, and the society a recipe for chaos.
(d) Everyone in the society will begin to believe each is on his/her own and the layers of relationships between individuals and between individuals and institutions will start to erode.
I do not suggest that the media should not report sensational news that will sell their products they are in the business to make money. What I object to is that they should perform their duty with the understanding of the impact of their product on the society. If I sell a pill that stops heart attack but gives its user head ache, my product will be pulled off the shelf and I will seek after the means to isolate the cause of the headache. The media should not only report this sensational news but must also seek after how, where, when, and why the act was committed. They should then report to the public how the acts were committed, the series of individuals that must have been involved, the loopholes in the regulatory checks and balances in place, who failed in their duties to stop the act, and what we must do going forward to ensure it never happen again.
You the media are the recorder of man’s deeds, the keeper of our conscience it is you that we look to for truth, strength, and new information you must not contribute to our stress and the disruption of our society. We ask that you always find the means to complete your report and ensure that your reports, when completed, gives us hope that goodness always triumph over evil. Never leave a story until justice is attained or the event is resolved, and that there has been checks mechanism in place to ensure it never happens again. The people are always listening, watching, and reading awaiting the finale.
Finally, give us success story, find amongst us success story that we all want to emulate, give us the platform to report irregularities anonymously without reprisal. You must always seek to provide heroes and heroin that will lift our spirit amongst all this horrible events that happen in our daily lives. Spend time on developing the means that will strengthen our regional, ethnic and religious divide.
Our country needs you more than ever. High unemployment, corruption, deceit and disorganization in the country are creating uncertainty of the future and the people are becoming violent, aggressive, and confrontational a recipe for chaos. We must spend less time reporting this irresponsible horrible people and spend time on how we could contain them. If you creatively develop a forum in your media on how to contain corruption with anonymity we will solve it after all there are involuntary participants, observers, and confidants that knows how they assess these funds……..
We are really tired of our dysfunctional society we really want our country back.