Gov Daniel Lied Against TheNEWS

The attention of Independent Communications Network Limited, ICNL, publishers of TheNEWS magazine has been drawn to a story published in the July 14 edition of Governor Gbenga Daniel’s newspaper, Nigerian Compass, entitled:

 

“Awujale: TheNEWS Lied On Oath Picture.”

 

The paper claims that the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, is angry with TheNEWS over the publication of a photograph in the magazine’s cover story, entitled “Daniel’s Voodoo Politics.”

 

Since the current edition of TheNEWS hit the newsstands, Governor Daniel has been sending text messages to people, including our Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.  Some of the messages have been forwarded to us. What we find quite puzzling is that the content of those text messages now constitute the official response from the Awujale’s palace to our story. It is clear, therefore, that it is Governor Daniel who is speaking through the Awujale’s palace!

 

Before we go into the specifics, we are constrained to warn Governor Daniel about his barefaced manipulation of the traditional institution in Ogun State. At the rate he is going, by the time he leaves office, Daniel would have done irreparable damage to the reputation of the traditional institution in the state and some responsible men, who still attend meetings of his Elders Forum.

 

We want to state unequivocally that contrary to the notion Daniel seeks to promote, we have tremendous respect for the Awujale and have deliberately refused to bring him into the oath saga. We have always believed that the shameful oath saga is the business of Daniel and the Ogun State House of Assembly members to sort out. Nowhere in the story did we pin the oath palaver on the Awujale.

 

Suffering from their self-inflicted burden of shadow-chasing, Daniel and his aides seek to portray us as disrespectful of the Awujale. This attempt will fail like previous attempts by the belligerent and incompetent governor to cast us in bad light.

 

Indeed, on page 24 of the edition Daniel is complaining about, we published a photograph of the Awujale with the caption: “Awujale: Denies involvement in oath saga.” Nigerians will also recall that in March last year, TheNEWS honoured the Awujale the way no Nigerian media house has ever done for his principled stance during the Abacha years and for generally carrying himself with commendable grace.

 

As for the picture the Governor accuses us of manipulating, we affirm that we reserve the right to remove the background of a photograph if we think the background is not good enough, too dark or will not add value to the picture. Daniel is not a journalist. The fact that today he is rich enough to own a newspaper does not mean that he has cured himself of journalistic ignorance. We will, therefore, like to help him out of this debilitating ignorance. In any picture, it is the subject photographed that is most important, not the things or people around it. It is globally acknowledged that a picture could be cropped, ringed or ‘bled’. We can not be accused of any wrongdoing since we did not tamper with the object photographed, but the background. Two, the caption also does not say Daniel was pictured while taking blood oath in the palace of the Awujale.  We could not be daft not to know that such a thing will not happen in the Awujale’s palace. The caption: “Daniel: goes for oath-taking to guarantee loyalty”  is only a summary of the governor’s devotion to oath taking, something he has not successfully washed himself clean of despite deploying all his propaganda machinery and resources. However, on page 21 under the photograph of Wole Alausa, the caption is very definitive: “Alausa while taking a blood oath.”

 

In the same edition, on pages 12, 16,17, and 48, we substituted the background of photographs and opted for our own better backgrounds. The people whose pictures appeared on those pages, we are sure will not complain, because they know it is not an issue.  Is it not interesting that Daniel is not complaining that we lied against him anywhere in the entire story but is talking about not allowing an unworthy background to stand? Or does he want to teach us our job the way he teaches them at Nigerian Compass? We are, however, not surprised knowing Daniel’s reputation as a man so heavy on impotent propaganda, but abysmally short on substance.

 

 It is not the first time the bungling Ogun governor, who seems to be manifesting a delusional streak, will accuse us wrongly. Early this year, he accused us, without proof, of taking money to do a cover story against him. His  reason: The story was published on glossy paper! He ignored the fact that for three weeks before that story we had been publishing on glossy paper. Amazing  pettiness from an breathtakingly idle governor.

 

The governor’s paranoia over the oath saga is clear enough for all to see. He is running scared. But he brought it on himself when he told his newspaper to publish Alausa’s nude photograph. Are we to blame now that the table is turning against him?

 

Our sincere advice to Daniel is to concentrate his energy on running Ogun State the way his counterpart in Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, is doing to national acclaim. That will certainly profit Ogun State people and not their governor’s pre-occupation with shadow-chasing.

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