VP Shettima charges journalists on courage to serve as conscience of the nation

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has implored media professionals in Nigeria to be more focused on objectively speaking truth to power rather than antagonising the government.

Drawing the distinction between antagonism and speaking truth to power, he also urged members of the fourth estate of the realm to, as a matter of necessity, always strive to strike a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth.

Senator Shettima who gave the charge on Saturday during the Public Presentation of the Book, “Persona Non Grata,” authored by a seasoned journalist, Mr. Ismail Omipidan, at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel, said the goal must hinge on serving a greater good and a deserving humanity.

“What must be spelt out is that there is a distinction between antagonising a government and speaking truth to power. The latter is driven by a noble principle to serve a greater good and a deserving humanity.

“The former, on the other hand, is usually a self-serving exercise that fades into futility, and that is not the end we should aspire to achieve with the information and ideas we labour to acquire and process in our line of work,” he stated.

Taking a leaf from “The Republic,” a Socratic dialogue, written by the Greek Philosopher, Plato, the Vice President pointed out that to really build a nation that can best be described as an ideal state, the intellectual class, especially the journalists, must be allowed to be the nation’s conscience.

Categorically, the VP told the journalists that apart from speaking truth to power, the nation also needs them, as media professionals, to serve as the country’s conscience.

He continued: “No political leader, however sincere their intentions, can excel beyond the scale of the knowledge at their disposal, and this is particularly telling in our political space.

“While we need an army of courageous media professionals to speak the truth to power, we also need them to serve as the conscience of the political institutions and individuals who influence the evolution of society, including the questions of our collective survival.”

VP Shettima however observed that the real courage required to serve as the conscience of the nation “lies in resisting compromise in one’s pursuit of truth.

“True courage is being able to tell the truth even in a congress of critics and bullies. The rush to partake in a smear campaign, even in the face of superior facts, is, of course, not an act of courage. This distinction sets courage apart from cowardice. It takes rare integrity to recognise the difference between the two “Cs”, he added.

Urging both leaders and media practitioners, as well as other well-meaning citizens to “aspire to learn where and when to draw the line between courage and cowardice,” the Vice President described the author of the book, Mr. Omipidan, as a journalist who “has shown that, in reporting the ups and downs of his nation, true allegiance isn’t to oneself, but to one’s society.

“This awakening has defined his kind—the realisation of what one truly aspires to accomplish in advocating for a nation that functions, a nation that cares, and a nation that’s accountable. You cannot solve a crime objectively by investigating the cause away from the crime scene,” he said.

Describing the book, “Persona Non Grata”, as “a declaration of the price of adhering to noble principles even in the face of corrupting temptation,” VP Shettima pointed out that the book is not “a record of the journey to being cancelled for telling uncomfortable truths.”

He recommended Omipidan’s book to both practising and aspiring journalists, as well as any professional seeking “to find a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth” as a cautionary tale that “will inspire sobering reflections even within Nigeria’s media ecosystem.

“The man on whose invitation we gather here today must not go down in our history as either a persona non grata or a provocateur. He has been an essential pillar of our interactions as a nation and has helped determine the direction our society is headed. Each of us, therefore, must not fail in the performance of our duty to fill this moral vacuum,” he further stated.

In his welcome remarks, the Chief Host of the book launch, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, thanked Vice President Shettima “for taking time out of his demanding schedule to attend the book launch.

He said the book is a compilation of the vast experiences of the author, his work in the private and public sectors.

According to him, the book speaks volumes about the author’s strength of character, resilience and commitment that defines his personal and professional judgement, as well as integrity in journalism.

“The title of the book, “Persona Non Grata,” states his curiosity and rightly so. As I delve into the pages it became apparently clear that he put his mind and soul into his work. It is not just a professional memoir, it is a profound commentary of the complexities of power and unforeseen forces that shape public perception,” Oyetola stated.

On his part, the book reviewer, and the Editor of Saturday Tribune, Mr. Lasisi Olagunju, said Omipidan’s book has 31 short chapters with the foreword written by Farouk Gberugi.

He said that he has taken time to read the book from the title page to all the pages that chronicle the author’s early life, and his many experiences.

In his vote of thanks, the author of the book, Ismail Omipidan, thanked the Vice President for honouring his invitation.

He recalled the first time he discussed with him ten years ago about writing a book, and the VP told him: “You have not seen anything yet; what are you writing about?”

Omipidan said he accepted to work with Oyetola when he was the Governor of Osun State because he is a man of honesty and integrity.

Among others who made brief remarks about the author were the Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama, who recalled Omipidan’s days as a journalist in Borno State where he enjoyed the protection of the Vice President, and former President of the Guild of Editors, Funke Egbemode, who recounted her experience with him as a colleague in the newsroom at the Sun newspaper.

VP Shettima charges journalists on courage to serve as conscience of the nation