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<p>By Bala Ibrahim.</p>
<p>The caption above is not mine, it&#8217;s borrowed from an ancient Latin proverb that says, &#8220;De mortuis nil nisi bonum.&#8221; The literal meaning of the proverb is that-it&#8217;s inappropriate, disrespectful or even rude, to speak ill of the dead because, they can&#8217;t defend themselves. In Islam, there is a hadith that goes thus: &#8220;Do not curse the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have done. There is also a Christian principle with similar ambition, like Proverbs 24:17-18 (don&#8217;t rejoice in enemy&#8217;s fall) and Ephesians 4:32 (be kind, forgiving). All of them are reflecting on the importance of saying nothing but good about the dead. The two religions are encouraging us to focus on God&#8217;s grace and the good qualities of the dead, by letting go of bitterness and leaving judgment to God, because, it&#8217;s unfair to speak ill of those who can&#8217;t defend themselves.</p>
<p>Yesterday, Monday, a book was unveiled at the Presidential Villa Abuja, titled “From Soldier to Statesman&#8221;. It is a biography of the late former president, Muhammadu Buhari, authored by Charles Omole. Reacting to the book, President Tinubu said late President Muhammadu Buhari was a leader defined by integrity, discipline and a lifelong commitment to public service, whose legacy should guide future leaders rather than be reduced to slogans. He said the book offers Nigerians the opportunity to learn from Mr Buhari and affirmed that the greatest honour to be bestowed on the late President is to sustain his legacy, to which his administration would do. These are comments that come in tandem with the ambition of saying nothing but good about the dead.</p><div class="MqC8NdbE" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

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<p>On his side also, Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the former Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS, who served under Buhari as well as briefly under President Tinubu, he eulogized Buhari very well, describing those accusing him of rigging elections as ignorants. He stated that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari lacked any tendency to rig elections. He was too correct to engage in such wrong doings. Those are comments that came in tandem with the ambition of saying nothing but good about the dead.</p>
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<p>Even in the journalism profession, we are tutored to distant ourselves from doing stories that carry the badge of bias. The imperative of balancing stories in journalism is the cornerstone of ethical practice. The aim is for journalists to be seen as fair, impartial, and accurate in the presentation of events. That way, an informed public debate would be fostered always. Without hearing the other side, if published, the story is classified, or even crucified, as unbalanced and unfair. That is the imperative of balancing in order to champion the truth and accuracy. If you submit a story that carries one side only, without the other side, you have failed in upholding the truth and accuracy, thereby denting the cradle of credibility and public trust. The credibility of the story becomes more questioned, when the other side belongs to the dead. That is a professional position in tandem with the ambition of saying nothing bad about the living, talk less of the dead.</p>
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<p>But, in something &#8220;surprising&#8221; (and I put the word surprising in inverted comma because, it hits me as an unethical act), the widow of late President Muhammadu Buhari, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, commented in contrast to the missions of both Islam and Christianity, as well as the positions of many professions and ethical values. In her comments about the dead, on whom the book was written, Aisha is quoted all over the media, as saying somewhere in the book, that her late husband, former President Muhammadu Buhari, became distrustful of her at the tail end of their stay in the villa. According to her, Buhari bought into gossips and fearmongering, to the extent that he began locking up his room when going out, because he was told she was planning to kill him. “My husband believed them for a week or so. Buhari began locking his room, altered his daily habits, and most critically, meals were delayed or missed, the supplements were stopped. For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals.”</p>
<p>Whoever the “they” may be, these are not the kind of comments to expect from a widow, whose late husband is in the grave. They are comments that run contrary to the ambition of saying nothing but good about the dead, and in conflict with the principle of balancing, in the narration of a story. She gave her own side, which she wants the world to believe, knowing fully that we can not get the other side. That&#8217;s unethical. Everyone said something good about late Buhari, which requires no balancing. But the submission of Aisha is a balderdash, that is not balanced.</p>
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