The Guardian newspaper has described as misrepresentation of its intention, the Presidency’s statement accusing it of inciting military intervention with its Friday lead story.
The newspaper’s lead story on Friday is with the headlined ‘Misery, harsh policies driving Nigerians to desperate choices’.
An open letter to The Guardian by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Saturday, said the newspaper “openly incites unrest against President Bola Tinubu’s Administration and advocates regime change under the guise of journalism”.
The letter added: “The inflammatory headline and content deviate from responsible reporting.
“The Guardian’s agenda is unmistakable from the cover illustration to the article.”
However, the newspaper denied it all in its response on Sunday.
A statement by its management made available by The Guardian weekend editor Kabir Alabi Garba said: ‘’We are most surprised by this grave allegation and hereby reject the Special Adviser’s assertion which is a patent misrepresentation of the newspaper’s report. Contrary to the assertion contained in the press statement, the story is a factually balanced, dispassionate, well-researched and intensive report chronicling Nigeria’s civilian administration from inception to the current state of affairs, without any atom of hateful or inciting elements, remarks, innuendoes, and or connotations against the national and sub-national governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The publication simply aggregated the concerns of Nigerians across all classes on the troubling state of the nation with the expectation that the government will take the necessary steps to address the challenges.
“There is nothing in the report that advocates, propagates, endorses or suggests a military overthrow of the current government, as suggested by the Special Adviser.
‘’It is necessary to restate The Guardian’s philosophy as an independent newspaper that owes allegiance to no political party, ethnic community, religious or other interest group. Its primary commitment is to the integrity and sovereignty of the Federation of Nigeria. As depicted by its logo, an ancient Egyptian symbol for conscience, and motto: “Conscience Nurtured by Truth”; The Guardian, has for more than 40 (forty) years proactively demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the promotion of intellectual excellence, balanced coverage of events, consistently upholding the interests of justice, equity, fair play, the rule of law, pursuing integrity in public life, advancing the best interests of professional ethics and responsible journalism, in Nigeria, Africa and globally, anchored upon principles of Truth, Accuracy, Objectivity, and Accountability.
’The Guardian is strongly committed to the principles of federalism, democracy, rule of law; and holds the seat of government in high esteem. Conversely, it vehemently stands against all forms of coercive government such as military dictatorship, autocracy or any form of misrule. The Guardian will not do, or incite others to do, anything capable of undermining the extant hard-earned civilian dispensation that it fought vigorously for. As Mr Onanuga rightly acknowledged, The Guardian has had its fair share of adversity from oppressive and suppressive military rule; ranging from the unlawful detention and imprisonment of its journalists, arson attempt on its premises, and assassination attempt on its founding publisher; hence, it abhors any militarised system of governance.
‘’Simply put, the publication in contention is a reproduction of Nigerians’ scorecard of the nation’s democratic experiment so far with a two-pronged intent of charging the government to rise to its constitutional twin responsibility of security and welfare of the people. Besides, the contextual reporting seeks to deter Nigerians, particularly the younger generation, from seeking military or any other unconstitutional intervention.
“The Guardian, in the publication, clearly extolled civilian government and denounced the military regime as an antidote or solution to the prevailing national problems as many young Nigerians erroneously believe.
“Meanwhile, an unbiased review of the subject publication will further reveal that The Guardian acted in utmost good faith and for the common good. The Guardian’s action was purely driven by patriotic and nationalistic considerations without any ulterior or malicious intent against the Nigerian governments, whether past or present, as alleged. More important, the publication was made in fulfilment of The Guardian’s obligation (to the country) as imposed by Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) as follows: “The Press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.”
“It is worthy of emphasis that the publication in its entirety is a factual representation of the state of the nation and is completely devoid of any false, inflammatory, and or sensational materials against the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government.
‘’Recall that the President in his ‘Action Plan for a Better Nigeria’ assured Nigerians as follows: “Senator Shettima and I have traversed every part of our beloved nation, listened to the concerns of our fellow citizens, young and old, poor and rich, educated and uneducated … all have expressed their views and concerns. People do not seek superficial answers to hard questions. Nor do they want the broken unimaginative failed problems repackaged and fed to them again. They want true and innovative solutions that address the challenging realities of today.”
‘’The Guardian story is therefore inspired by this presidential declaration, among others, and, ironically, the presidency appears not to consider it in the light of prompting the government to meet the needs and aspirations of the people, as promised.
‘’Globally, the press is the watchdog of society and hence should be allowed by governments at all levels, including the current administration, to play this role of monitoring governance and holding government to account without any form of inhibition. Freedom of the press to hold opinions and disseminate information without interference is a constitutionally guaranteed right which all political officeholders, including the President, swore to uphold, protect, preserve and defend.
“The Guardian is unapologetically pro-good governance and will continue to advocate national prosperity, an efficient self-reliant economy; and welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen based on social justice and equal opportunity.
“In the main, we shall continue to carry out our constitutional duties with all sense of responsibility, fully conscious that Nigeria is all that Nigerians have; and everyone, including governments and the press, must work assiduously to make the country a better place for all,” the statement added.
