Throwing Light Into Political Journalism And A Peep Into Dele Igbinedion’s Contributions To The Society
If there is any area in the field of journalism where not a few people daily bring their ignorance to bear, it is unarguably that of political journalism. The reason for the pervasive ignorance cannot be farfetched as in this part of the world, any journalist that writes or reports on a trending political issue or about a politician is automatically perceived to be partisan even as some see him to be either associated with the political party he writes about oraverse to the party he writes against without realizing that a Journalist is by virtue of his profession apolitical, and that he is usually inspired to write out of patriotic zeal, and by extension writing or reporting for the betterment of the country. In a similar vein, he is erroneously seen to be in partisan relationship with any politician or leader he chooses to promote ahead of any given election.
Given the foregoing, it is germane to opine that there is a common misconception or factoid that has been often accepted as true but which is actually false as writing or reporting about a political issue or a politician is far from making a Journalist an affiliate of the party he writes for orenemy of the party he writes against. Also, writing about a political personality does not make a Journalist an acolyteor an enemy of such politician. Aptly put, political reporting or writing is about the betterment of the country.
For the sake of clarity, it is expedient to say that politics is a fascinating topic that impacts everyone around the world, and given its enthrallment, it has become critical for Journalists to report or write on politics in order to inform the public about what is happening in the political realm. However, in reporting or writing about politics, journalistic integrity is vital in the course of providing citizens with accurate information. After all, it was Helen Thomas that quotably said, “We don't go into journalism to be popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it goes without saying that Politics is a constantly-evolving field, and the role of journalism in politics is constantly changing along with it, and that political journalism is the practice of gathering, assessing, and disseminating information about current events in politics. It is the act of collecting and producing news about politics which often focuses on political figures, parties, elections, and policies.
Not only that, political journalism is a field of journalism that covers political decisions, campaigns, and news. It also involves gathering information about candidates and reporting on what they have done. This is a type of journalism that focuses on politics. It’s also called “political reporting.”
At this juncture, it is not out of place for anyone to ask this writer why he is making the foregoing clarifications, and why is it compelling, and he will say that some curious readers and seeming followers of his have been inundating him with questions about his knack for writing favorably about Barrister Dele Igbinedion; a legal practitioner, an activist and a gubernatorial aspirant in Edo State that aspires to fly the Labour Party (LP) flag, come 2024. Not only that, some of them want him to tell them about the aspirant’s past achievements in politics and by extension, his contribution to the society.
Given the foregoing, it is expedient not to bore anyone with too much words in this context. Rather, it is germane to say that as a professional that has practiced law in the UK where he served as a Solicitor in a City law firm, and as a lawyer in Nigeria where he is presently running athriving law practice in Benin City in Edo State, that he has been making enormous contributions to the society. Notably as a politician and a former member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) under whose platform General Olusegun Obasanjo was elected Nigeria’ president, he was in 2000, appointed by the then State Governor, Mr. Lucky Igbinedion, as chairman of the Board of Directors of the State Government owned Radio and Television Company called the Edo Broadcasting Service(EBS) in Benin City. At this juncture, it is expedient to clarify that they are not in any way related as some readers may erroneously think by virtue of bearing the same surname.
At the time been made reference to, Igbinedion also doubled as the legal adviser and consultant of the Edo State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Law Review Committee and solicitor to many other organizations. As a hobby, he also hosted two weekly television programmes on the Independent Television Channel (ITV), and in a similar vein, the then State owned Edo Broadcasting Service (EBS).
As an activist, he has played notable roles in landmark cases, and particularly of note in this context is that of Presco and a village of peasant farmers called the Obagie-Nokenkporo Community where he held brief for the community as the company fenced-off a land in the community covering about 15,000 hectares. Igbinedion was touched by the collective plight of the people in the community when he realized the oppression and injustice being meted to them as their homes, and land, ancestral land were lost to the company, particularly as he was made to understand that no compensation was paid tothem and upon being challenged the company claimed that the government had given it a right of occupancy over the entire land.
Again, there are some people that demanded to know projects he has tangibly executed. In response to the foregoing, it is expedient to recall that as a lawmaker that he extended his philanthropic hands to those in need of scholarships, those in need of employments among other area of needs. As for physical projects or infrastructures, he tried his best given the fact that when he was a lawmaker, constituency projects fund has not being institutionalized as obtains in recent political dispensations.
To buttress the fact that constituency project was not in existence in the days when he was a lawmaker, it is expedient to make reference to an interview which former Deputy Senate President, Hon. Ike Ekweremadu granted Premium Times, and published online on February 8, 2019 with the title, “How constituency projects became institutionalized in Nigeria and how I utilize mine – Ekweremadu”.
According to Ekweremadu, “It actually started with President Olusegun Obasanjo when our colleagues came in in 1999. They came up with this idea that there is a need for them to be able to put maybe boreholes and a few things that can touch the lives of their people. So when in 2007, I came into the leadership of the National Assembly when David Mark was the Senate President, we now felt it was necessary to have a conversation with the executive to institutionalize the issue of constituency projects. After a lengthy conversation with the then president, late President YarAdua, he yielded a N100 billion being put to the National Assembly, which has continued.
“With the N100 billion, we now decided on equality, that each geopolitical zones would get N10 billion. This N10 billion would now be shared among the states in each geopolitical zone. The remaining N40 billion would be shared between the Senate and the House. With this, the Senate and the House leadership would try to input into the budget on critical areas like roads and electricity. That means the National Assembly would have a N100 billion input into the budget of any particular year”.
Having thrown light into political journalism, and having peeped into Barrister Dele Igbinedion’s contributions to the society, permit me to exercise the role bestowed on me by virtue of my profession to tell Edolites that giving him the gubernatorial ticket and voting for him at the gubernatorial polls is as good as voting for a better Edo State.