QUITE a whole lot has been written about the queen of England who died recently. There’s nearly nothing new to be read about Queen Elizabeth II. Her birth, life, reign, death have all been written about. Many beautiful things were written and said about the British monarch. Apart from the things said about the monarch by the still hurt and bitter Professor Uju Anya and many Irish, most of the other things said about her and the British monarchy are beautiful. Elizabeth II lived a wonderful life no doubt. Her exit has closed an era and has opened another. Just like the title of Sam Levenson’s second book, we are now “In one era and out the other.”
A BBC story about the queen gave me a face at the outset of my journalism career in early August 1999. I was green indeed and as new reporters, African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc had organised a mini workshop for us in the boardroom of the Tribune House in Ibadan. The event was for us to run through the basics of news gathering and reporting, and to also bring us up to speed with the expectations of the company from us. I was ready to ride with legendary Nigerian Tribune but “If dog bites a man, it’s not news. If man bites a dog, that’s news” with which they introduced the session didn’t sit well with me. Impulsively, I raised my hand.
My raised hand, so early in the programme, drew immediate attention of the seniors. Of course I hadn’t ever heard that eternal journalism maxim. I had also obviously taken it literally. Some sources hold that the dog bites man/man bites dog analogy was first seen in “The Stolen Story and Other Newspaper Stories”, a book Jesse Lynch Williams published in 1899. In the book, listed as part of the successes recorded by Lynch Williams which also included a Pulitzer Prize for drama, the quote was attributed to a fictional character. The fictional character is a sage named “Billy Woods” and was cited in a chapter in the book entitled: “The Old Reporter.” Other sources however link the popular analogy to various other journalism greats such as Horace Greeley, Alfred Hamsworth (who later became Lord Northcliffe); John B. Bogart, Charles A. Dana, Billy Woods, Amos Cummings, etc.
However, the issue is that the rookie in me took the quote literally and confused and disrupted the class. I was called to speak. “During the Gulf War, all that the BBC Radio was doing revolved around the war, Saddam Hussein, Kuwait etc. One morning during the period, the lead story of the BBC Radio was not the war. It was that Queen Elizabeth II was bitten by a dog. The incident involved her dogs. It was so important that it displaced the Gulf War as a lead story. So, I think the man bitten by a dog will determine if it’s a story or not.” I was applauded but this sparked a healthy debate in the room. That sums up my Queen Elizabeth II story.
If it is a lesson, it’s there for the taking. Others have their experiences of the late queen. We saw photos of some (people believed to be Nigerians) who made Aso Ebí to reflect the owanbe that we are known for, during the 10-day traditional mourning and funeral of the departed monarch.
If we are to take any lesson from the death and funeral of the British monarch, it’s from how her subjects handled everything about her death and funeral. The world acclaimed the orderliness that went into the death and burial of Elizabeth II, and the coronation of his son, Charles III. Compared to how we scramble to break such news in Nigeria, it is obvious that many Nigerians have debased our culture and traditions. In the quest to be ‘polished’ and ‘aristocratic’, Nigerians have relegated their culture and tradition. Among journalists, there is this mad rush to beat others to break news, and in doing so, we fling who we are as a people overboard and expose ourselves to the ridicule of the watching world.
In contrast, the British did everything to retain their cultural identity and ensured that traditional rites – from the announcement of the death of Elizabeth II to the interment of her body – followed their age-long tradition. This is not just about royalties, it’s the same respect and orderliness about various other dignitaries. We are not like that and I often wonder why. Could it be that we are not proud of who we are as a people? Are we not proud of our culture? If we were, we would not do things in manners that leave many observers wondering if we ever consider the sensitivity and sensibility of others.
A cursory glance back at what Nigerians did with the breaking of the news of the passing of Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II in July 2015, shows lack of respect for the culture of Ile Ife people and the respected Yoruba throne of Ooni. The news of the death of Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II was first received from quarters far from the official palace means. His transition was even first denied by the palace in a bid to rein in the raging news of the first class monarch’s passage. Also, the death of Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was not formally announced by those expected to do so. When some people tried to control the unofficial spread of the news of the Igbo leader’s death, the news medium published a photo of the hospital where he died to buttress its report. It was not the best way to treat the family of the Ikemba Nnewi.
Recently, the death of Olubadan Saliu Akanmu Adetunji Aje Oguguniso I followed the same rancorous path. Even more recent was the death and burial of Alaafin Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III. When one online news medium announced his death, the very next post to the piece of news posted to a WhatsApp platform in Oyo State was a curt “Is this true?” The query isn’t because of anything other than the fact that the death was expected to be announced by the right persons. When a statement denying the Alaafin’s death was made public and was credited to Bode Durojaiye, the late Alaafin’s media aide, he was derided for “defending the indefensible.” A respected journalist in Oyo State said in reaction to the debate on whether the news was properly broken or not chided those who chose to defend culture and tradition. “Don’t mind them jare! They are still living in the past, thinking that it wasn’t proper to announce the death of a monarch without due process or traditional rites!”
Bode Durojaiye was queried thus by one senior journalist: “What is he doing? He should have looked away rather than denying the death. In this modern world of the internet…?” Another journalist said: “They can continue the rituals without making a fool of the palace. Who waits for seven days before the announcement these days? Nobody. So far he didn’t die in his sleep on his bed but at a hospital, people will know.” We flung decorum away and despised these people’s families. The handling of the death of Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III was an embarrassment to culture ad tradition. The body of Alaafin Adeyemi III was not treated with dignity. However, the dead do not know what happens after; it is the living. So, it is the Yoruba race that was embarrassed. The Igbo say ‘ifere emegi onye orià na-eme umunna ya” (The kinsmen of the infirm are the ones that bear accompanying shame, not the man).
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