A New Helmsman For Gatekeepers

The position of the DAAR group almost led to a stalemate until the electoral committee ordered Aruleba’s counter-motion put to vote. The vote saw the DAAR group losing by a very wide margin. At that point it must have dawned on Akiotu that he had a mountain to climb to win the election. Nevertheless, a dispirited Akiotu stepped out to be presented along with other candidates for the election. He was applauded when he hugged Adefaye and many thought the election would get underway afterall, but Ladi Lawal, Managing Director, AIT/RayPower, who had shown disrespect to senior members of the guild present like Uncle Sam Amuka and Tony Momoh with his truculent disposition and noisy protests, ordered Tony Akiotu to pull out of the race. When they came back shortly afterwards, it was for Akiotu to announce his withdrawal, which he said was the most honourable option left for him. “I have come to the conclusion that the only path of honour left for me is to withdraw from the election,” Akiotu, who said the process leading to the election was fundamentally flawed, declared. The Akiotu group also threatened to form a parallel guild to be known as the Nigerian Guild of Broadcast Editors. They walked out, along with the AIT camera and crew who were on ground to monitor proceedings. For Momoh, the walk-out was nothing more than an irreverent hiccup. “Sorry for the break in transmission. The election continues,” he said to the gathering and received an applause in return. The move, which was altogether not unexpected, cleared the way for Adefaye to coast home without a scratch. Adefaye ended the day’s proceedings with 185 to Akiotu’s 10 votes.

Other winners were Tukur Abdulrahman, Deputy President; Aisha Sule, Abiodun Raufu and Ogbang Akwaji, Vice President, North, West and East respectively. John Ndukauba emerged General Secretary, Steve Ayorinde as Assistant Secretary, Abdulhamid Majia, Treasurer and Samuel Eghalo, Social/Publicity Secretary. Mike Eke, Femi Adesina, Victor Ogene, Abdulrahman Abdulrauf, Isaac Ighure, Kenny Lazarus and Isah Mustapha were elected as Standing Committee members.

Some editors who volunteered to speak with this medium expressed disappointment with Akiotu’s action. Steve Ayorinde, Editor of The Punch said that as an opinion moulder, Akiotu ought to follow laid down rules. According to him, when he expressed his objection about procedure, the house obliged him by subjecting it to a vote, which he did not object to. He wondered why he would turn around and not accept a result he was part of. “I think it is totally surprising, absolutely unnecessary. I didn’t see the point of staging a walk-out. If there were issues he disagreed with, the honourable thing to do was to raise them as he did. They were dealt with by the committee, which is standard practice. What problem does he have with that? I didn’t get it,” Ayorinde stated.

Beyond claims by the Akiotu group that the processes leading to the election were fundamentally flawed, investigations conducted by this medium revealed that his withdrawal may not be unconnected with the inability to convince the electoral committee to register 39 editors from the DAAR Communications stable for the election. Sources within the guild revealed that shortly before the election, the Akiotu group insisted that all 39 editors must be included in the voters’ register and allowed to vote. But the committee said it was impossible to take that much number from Daar Communications alone, as it would give Akiotu an unfair advantage when rival media houses had, in most cases, no more than five editors accredited for the same election. Vanguard Newspapers, for example, had only five editors accredited for the election. Like Daar Communications, TheNEWS/PMNews had some of its editors barred from the election by the screening commitee. Other media houses were similarly affected. With the move defeated, it became obvious that winning the race for Akiotu was akin to a block of ice remaining solid inside an oven.

On a day the Guild was meant to chart a new and more dynamic direction, Akiotu’s withdrawal did not alter plans, as delegates from the other broadcast outfits, including those from the North, refused to walk out with the AIT/Raypower team, meaning that the plot of Akiotu, egged on by Ladi Lawal, to break the guild, may not succeed. Barrister Martins Mieseigha later inaugurated the new executive.

In his acceptance speech, Adefaye thanked members for refusing to allow the body to be hijacked by “imported” delegates. “You voted for our team and tasked us to defend the profession. We appreciate the confidence that you have reposed in us. We are grateful indeed. We pledge to serve without blemish and run a Guild that you will be proud to associate with. We shall always count on you. Thank you indeed. God bless,’’ he declared. Members later partied into the night, as the guild honoured its inducted fellows. The night party was chaired by former president, Malam Garba Shehu. Earlier, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola condemned editors for what he termed the Nigerian media’s pull-down syndrome. For the governor, Nigerian media must put an end to the current attitude of celebrating negativity as if it is the country’s way of life. The media, he admonished, must take up the task of re-branding the country. Fashola, who tutored the editors on the art of casting headlines, cited the examples of China and South Africa where, despite the high negative incidents that threaten to subsume them, the media only highlight issues that tend to give better image to both countries. “In America and Europe, the secret behind their international image amid the routine negative trends within their borders is a function of their media. Their media do not project these occurrences as a national lifestyle. They learn to tone them down. We cannot unwittingly elevate the acts of the minority who perpetuate crime, fraud and anti-social vices to prominence as representing the way of life of our people. The media must continue hope rather than diminish it,” Fashola told the editors.