Shettima harps on Nigerians speaking truth to power

VICE President Kashim Shettima, at the weekend, in Abuja, underscored the need for practising and aspiring journalists, as well as other professionals to always strive at finding a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth.

He gave the advice in a speech he delivered at the public presentation in Abuja, of the book, titled; Persona non Grata, written by a deputy Editor, with The Sun newspaper, Ismail Omipidan.

In the speech titled: Daring courage, facing compromise, Shettima also underlined that there is a distinction between antagonising a government and speaking truth to power.

The latter, according to the vice president, is driven by a noble principle to serve a greater good and a deserving humanity, while the former is usually a self-serving exercise that fades into futility.

He cautioned that this should “not be the end we should aspire to achieve with the information and ideas we labour to acquire and process in our line of work.”

He lauded the author for being “an essential pillar of our interactions as a nation, and has helped determine the direction our society is headed.

Accordingly, he said Nigerians must not fail in the “performance of our duty to fill this moral vacuum, stating that he was delighted to identify with the author to “celebrate his recollections of events that shape and shake his convictions.”

The vice president noted that Nigerians cannot build an ideal state if the intellectual class, especially the journalists, are not allowed to be the nation’s conscience, drawing inspiration from the timeless book, The Republic, the Greek philosopher, written by Plato, which refers to the ideal state as one where the philosopher governs.

“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.”

“What must be spelled 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.

“The real courage 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 said.

“Each of us must aspire to learn where and when to draw the line between courage and cowardice. Mr. Omipidan 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,” Shettima stated. .

He said the book was not a record of the journey to being cancelled for telling uncomfortable truths;  but a declaration of the price of adhering to noble principles even in the face of corrupting temptation.

He remarked: “This book is a cautionary tale for both practising and aspiring journalists, and for any professional who seeks to find a balance between their allegiance to self and to truth. I have no doubt that it will inspire sobering reflections even within Nigeria’s media ecosystem.

“The most difficult task to accomplish as humans is probably being fair in telling the narratives of the characters we encounter in the course of an eventful life. However much we aspire to be impartial, we must come to terms with the fact that we are also the antagonists in other people’s stories. So, no matter how each of us feels about Mr Omipidan’s book, we must acknowledge that this is his truth, his side of the story, and his stimulating recollection of events as a professional journalist is material for our history—and our role in it.”

“The past is a rear-view mirror for a smoother journey into the future, and books provide us with the guarantee we need. The most difficult books to write are those in which we are the heroes, which explains why those of us in the business of building alliances are often reluctant to write about our encounters or our interpretations of events that test the limits of our patience and stretch the boundaries of our imaginations. Therefore, we must commend Mr. Omipidan for attempting what many lack the courage to dare.

“I believe that Persona Non-Grata will serve as more than just an insider’s account of newsroom politics across various newspaper houses in Nigeria and the challenges of maintaining one’s integrity in a palace of compromises. It is a guidebook for managing the two extremes in a career that relies on trust, and I hope it will serve as a valuable resource for those who come after the author.”

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