HEADING TO 2019: PROPAGANDA WILL SUCCUMB TO REALITY

A few days to the inauguration of the present democratic era, a popular Pro-APC online medium operating from Abuja delivered a verdict on the Rivers State Governorship Election.  This medium premised its position on the so-called data on Card Reader machines that it received from an unnamed INEC digital source.

This falsehood by the Pro-APC online medium was amplified by the APC axis of propaganda in the mainstream media.  The card reader propaganda was the agenda for a few weeks.

About four months into this era,  the theory of card reader and her proponents have fizzled out. However,  the Pro-APC media and their sponsors will never rest in their quest to manipulate information for the purpose of misleading the public and intimidating relevant state institution.

The new trend amongst the sponsored partisan Pro-APC media has been the crude one sided reportage of events at the Rivers State Governorship Election Tribunal Sitting in Abuja.  Basically,  the Pro-APC media have used falsehood to suffocate the information space,  feeding Nigerians with half truths and in most cases outright falsehood. Of course,  this method has been adopted against other PDP controlled states.

These reporters at the Tribunal basically report from the APC lenses.

The appearance before the tribunal of  some soldiers on the orders of the Chief of Army Staff to promote the APC agenda is a case in point. Since this ill-advised actions by the soldiers, the Pro-APC media have chosen as always to report only an aspect of what transpired in court, choosing to disregard the process of cross examination.

What you read are remarks by the soldiers when led by the counsel to the petitioners.  To hoodwink the public, these Pro-APC media in unison add the following sentence: “upon cross examination the soldiers insisted that no election took place”.

While they are ready to file reports on the rehearsed testimonies of the soldiers, they shun the length of highly educative cross examination that exposed the soldiers for who they are, dramatists.

These Pro-APC media have denied their reading public of the fact that the soldiers contradicted the Rivers State APC petition in that they said that they were never part of any rigging activities neither did they witness anybody rigging.  They refused to bring to the attention of their readers the fact that the soldiers stated that they did not see any policeman aiding PDP to rig and were never at any location where illegal thumb printing of ballot papers took place. The APC had claimed that soldiers and other security agencies aided PDP to rig the election.

None of them informed the public that under cross examination the soldiers said they did not write down the names of alleged political thugs they claimed they arrested. They will not also let you know that in Tai LGA for example , the Chief of Army Staff representative could not explain how 38 soldiers rode in two Hiliux Vans.  Most importantly,  you will never read that the soldiers refused to come to court with the election report they wrote in April before they were denied access to it by higher authorities.

The APC media axis of propaganda has been the tragedy of the current political dispensation.  They are more partisan that the field politicians themselves.  They are always in the arena, cooking up falsehood and creating tension to subvert justice and fair play.

Whenever you read a tribunal report be mindful of the fact that there were several aspects and facts. In most instances, it depends on the medium you get your information from.

When PDP, Wike and INEC start their defence at the Rivers State Election Tribunal,  you can be sure that these guys will start reporting the process of cross examination for their party, the APC.

Then you will read headlines like: ” Wike's witnesses contradict themselves”, “INEC disgraced at Rivers Governorship Tribunal” and others promoting the APC.

They have already adopted this technique at the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Tribunal.

Despite the plot and conspiracy between the APC and their media associates,  they will kiss the dust once again.  Propaganda could not save them during the elections,  it will not save them now. Nigerians will recall how APC media agents churned out all manners of opinion polls before the election. When reality came forth, propaganda succumbed.

The APC must realise that their theft of Rivers State resources turned the people against them. A party peopled by  thieves, liars and hypocrites can never rise above native propaganda. And propaganda can never stand reality. Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike is that reality and he is older than propaganda.

***Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant (Media) to the Rivers State Governor.