Opinion

Media Freedom: How Ganduje’s Govt, Where Garba Was the Image Maker, Gagged the Media

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<p><&excl;-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"Wzu1r7oC" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>By Danlami Ibrahim<&sol;p><div class&equals;"xEfybJtm" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- TV --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"4399361195" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>It&&num;8217&semi;s laughable enough to read a statement issued by former NUJ President&comma; Malam Comrade Muhammad Garba&comma; in which he accused the present Kano State Government of press intimidation by validating the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism&&num;8217&semi;s report on media intimidation in Kano&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Maybe Muhammad Garba&comma; who was the image maker and chief information officer of the Kano Government&comma; where he served as the state commissioner for information&comma; easily forgets how the former Ganduje Government gagged the media through intimidation and threats&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Maybe Muhammad Garba was intoxicated by power then&comma; as the state commissioner for information&comma; which is why he is now slamming the present Government of Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf for gagging the press&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"eYDTuA20" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"6550225277"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;<p>There were many atrocities committed under the government in which he served as information commissioner not only intimidating the press&comma; but to borrow a word from an article once written by one of Nigeria’s veteran journalists&comma; Bala Ibrahim&comma; titled &&num;8220&semi;Governor Ganduje Going Gaga&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad1" id&equals;"quads-ad1" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad5" id&equals;"quads-ad5" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Not only &&num;8220&semi;going Gaga&&num;8221&semi; in 2018&comma; the publisher of Daily Nigerian was asked to come to Kano and testify before the state assembly on the Dollar video&period; From the Kano airport to the state assembly&comma; the Daily Nigerian publisher was accompanied by heavy security due to fear of the unknown if he were allowed to come alone&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>By 2021&comma; Jaafar Jaafar had to flee Nigeria due to fear for his life and that of his family&period; As such&comma; former Governor Ganduje was accused of &&num;8220&semi;going Gaga&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>During the March 9 inconclusive election that returned Governor Ganduje for a second term&comma; in Gama ward where the inconclusive election and other wards took place many journalists&comma; including those who came from Lagos and some members of the Correspondents’ Chapel&comma; had to flee for fear of their lives as thugs were recruited to attack them&period; Some were even attacked&comma; but for one reason or another&comma; the journalists themselves kept mute&period; Some said they were persuaded by Garba to keep quiet&period; Only Freedom Radio aired the story&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For the record of students of media history&comma; let me also remind Comrade Garba&comma; who was a two-term president of the NUJ&comma; how government media reporters at the Emir’s Palace were withdrawn when the Government of Ganduje drew a battle line with Emir Muhammad Sanusi II&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Another scenario was the expulsion of a Freedom Radio reporter attached to Kano Government House during Governor Ganduje’s tenure Abbas Yushau Yusuf—over a robbery incident he reported&comma; which affected Governor Ganduje&&num;8217&semi;s convoy on their way to Jos&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It was under Comrade Muhammad Garba&&num;8217&semi;s watch that journalists in Kano were divided&comma; as his ministry excluded some from its activities&period; Instead of carrying all journalists along&comma; the then government had a selective approach&comma; which brought serious division&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Another incident was when former Governor Ganduje&&num;8217&semi;s convoy was again attacked on its way from Zamfara to Kano&period; Many journalists in the crew developed a sense of fear and chose not to report the incident&period; Reports say they were even warned not to report it&comma; which is a clear breach of their constitutional mandate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The government in which Comrade Garba served as commissioner for information had&comma; on several occasions&comma; come out to falsify reports by the media that the state government perceived as negative&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It&&num;8217&semi;s good to always reflect on records and history&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Danlami Ibrahim writes from Kano&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><&excl;-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad3" id&equals;"quads-ad3" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"autorelaxed" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-4403533287178375" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1004305389"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;95 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad4" id&equals;"quads-ad4" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

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