The Long Walk to Press Freedom
The Press is not part of the three arms of government— the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. Being the Fourth Estate of the Realm or the government situates them as a principal entity in a government. In the running of a government, particularly one that considers itself democratic, the press holds an importance that cannot be underestimated.
The backbone of any democracy is an independent, incorruptible press with pristine ethics. In this esteemed position that the press sit, they are flanked by the government and the people. The relationship between them and the former is one guided and defined by the quest for accountability which is how they are accorded the role of a watchdog. They are responsible for holding the holders of political power accountable by questioning them on their duties, obligations, and promises, and reporting their actions. This forms the foundation of their relationship with the people who benefit from the balance of power that they seek to create. In covering the actions of the government, the people are equipped with the information, and by being aware as citizens or the governed, debates can be stimulated, transparency can be demanded, human rights can be protected, and social justice can be promoted.
Generally, the press works to provide the people with information about the actions of government or leaders and the people within their political location and also happenings and events in their environment. In doing this, they are to stick with certain standards all aimed at keeping the people informed and deviating from misinforming, disinforming, or malinforming them. These standards involve reporting events and happenings in an unbiased and neutral manner, hence, why members of the Press compulsorily have to be non-partisan, that is, be without any affiliation or support to any political office or office holder.
These values and traits are not only restricted to the mainstream Press and media. Within the University of Ibadan as an institution, although academic, with a governing body and a functioning student politics, campus journalists who belong to different local press organisations that gather under the umbrella of the Union of Campus Journalists, University of Ibadan (UCJUI), are the press that follow up on political activities among students, actions of the university management, the activities in the school community in general. They also are driven by their role to be a watchdog and demand transparency from the different levels of authorities, hold them accountable, and keep the students out of darkness when it comes to their (leaders) actions and other happenings on campus.
The goal of press organisations like AFAS Press to inform the public—which is the student, and by extension, the entire university community, in this context—according to journalism ethics and standards, comes with the task of covering and reporting an event or a happening that is relevant to the university accurately, objectively, and with the adoption of timeliness. This is where the freedom of the press comes in.
Freedom of the Press is the right to speak/express, report and publish happenings without interruptions, interferences, limitations, influence, censorship, and harassment from any entity, especially the government, on the basis that the Press only reports and publishes facts, and within the provisions of the law. The Press is supposed to be independent of any external interference and influence. Basically, Freedom of the Press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, should be a right to be exercised freely. As the eyes and ears of the public, journalists must be able to report upon matters of public interest without fear of any form of interference or control.
This freedom is essential and very paramount to the operation of the Press, because, to dutifully and properly act as watchdog to government arms and parastatals, and the country in general, they have to be free of all limitations and connections that would be a dent in their faithfulness to their duties.
Freedom of the press and the freedom of expression that every Nigerian has a right to are not mutually exclusive. This implies that in the University of Ibadan, students are within their rights to express themselves as long as they are being factual and are not perpetrating any harm to the public. As a campus journalist, they are also protected by the freedom of the press. On different occasions when these freedoms have been repressed, campus journalists have been faced with penalties from the management and even threats and harassment from student leaders. Other times, they have also earned the disapproval of the student populace.
To perform adequately, campus press organisations require full freedom from improper interference from school managements and the student politicians. When press organisations, in their departments, faculties, and at the UISU, are fully invested in covering and reporting all political processes and activities, from the pre-campaign periods to the campaigns full-on to the electoral activities; organising press nights where aspirants are questioned on their plans and manifestos, and keeping up with the scrutiny up till when these leaders are sworn in to seat, it is not to bring them down or stop them from achieving their desired positions, it is to ensure that aspirants are well-equipped for the positions they are vying for. It is why these processes are open to the public to guide them in making the right or best choices as the electorates.
For the student populace that the press seeks to serve, it is important to know that holding the management and student leaders accountable is for the benefit of all. It is highly necessary because student leaders have the responsibility to meet and protect the students’ interests and to fulfill the promises which they made, promises that endeared students to support and vote for them. However, some of these politicians attain the seat and neglect these duties and plans, or maybe they get sidetracked with unforeseen events. Whatever it is that causes them to spend all/almost all of their tenure without relevant achievements, being held accountable by the campus journalists is one way of ensuring they are on track and are being transparent. The accountability also goes beyond ensuring they serve the people adequately, but also calling out fishy practices such as mismanagement of funds, improper planning of events and activities, improper implementation of regulations, which are common occurrences among student leaders in the University of Ibadan.
In situations where the freedom of the press is threatened, and every release or publication a campus press organisation makes is met with threats, interferences; or they even face limitations before making these publications, there would be hitches in their duties. This would mean that the press is under a control which is not the students’ and so, misdoings in the school community would happen and be swept under the carpet, adequate and relevant information would not reach the student community, and student politicians would be comfortable being mediocre at best.
According to the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, “Without freedom of the press, there are no real democratic societies.” In the University of Ibadan, the students are vested with the power to vote in leaders that would head their departments, faculties, halls, and the UISU and this also applies for student legislative positions and this reflective of a democratic framework. This is reflective of a feature of democracy. Therefore, one of the ways to ground the fact that the university is indeed a democratic society especially when its students’ leadership and politics is concerned, is to recognise their limitations when it comes to the smooth, hitch-free, unbiased and fair operation of campus press organisation. It cannot be emphasised enough that student leaders overstep their authorities when they interfere in or obstruct press activities. This means that it is not within their rights to dictate, threaten or censor what should be reported and what should not. The refusal to grant interviews from the press on important issues on campus and to officially invite them to crucial meetings and gatherings also stifles the operation of the Press.
Again, the need for Press Freedom is ingrained in the right to freedom of speech and expression of every Nigerian citizen. Stepping on the freedom of the Press is stepping on their right to freedom of speech and expression. Stifling the freedom of the Press is also restricting the rights of the people to access information which they are entitled to, and be aware of happenings.
The freedom of the press is as important in any other place where a democratic political authority exists just as it is in the Association of Faculty of Arts students. It is also important that AFAS Press, as the watchdog dog of the association’s governing body, continue to strive for transparency from them, hold them accountable, ensure they do not fulfill their obligations without asking the important questions, and above all, keep AFASites informed.
