•Late Prophet Temitope Joshua
It is a tragedy that the kind of journalism practised in this nation today is not a tool for progress but disaster. The weak and effete profession that we now call journalism is another reason why Nigeria is going down at a fast pace. It is ignorant, weak, corrupt, illiterate and home to some of the ill- trained, insecure, mediocre, compromised citizens that this nation now produces by millions.
It is a shame and a disgrace for instance that it is foreign organs like BBC, CNN etc., who usually come out with thorough unbiased and investigative materials which Nigerian journalism, for reasons best known to her, never finds time for. It is a shame that you have to go to foreign- based writers and journalists like Solana Olumhense, Farooq Kperogi and David Hundeyin to get an unbiased information and well- researched and thoroughly investigated pieces. In such cases Nigerian journalism is missing in action.
Dele Olojede, Pulitzer- winning journalist, one of the best that Nigeria has produced, said something about Nigerian journalism which is truer today than years ago when he said it. That you could plant a story in Nigerian newspapers and you could remove a story – for a fee. A whole EFCC stormed Adenuga’s residence at VI for lack of payment of tax issues and other issues. Yet not a single newspaper reported it the next day. Not a single newspaper reported the action of a whole Federal Government against one citizen. It means some people could get away with murder in this nation and no one will hear it.
Only NEXT newspaper of Olojede refused to be compromised and reported it. Therefore that newspaper was killed by the Occult Ruling Financial Elites as all the banks refused its financial facilities and deprived it of sustenance.
That is the kind of journalism that we have here, that is the kind of press that Nigeria is now cursed with. But for Social Media and the citizens doing their bit themselves Nigeria would have been buried long ago.
This is why I am worried by this story from this online paper about BBC documentary on T.B. Joshua.
If you are ignorant, then be humble to learn.
No Nigerian newspaper or magazine or even television station has a religious or theology correspondent who has a specialisation on religion or theology. Often time they use their general purpose correspondent/ reporters who know nothing about theology or religion other than pedestrian issues, peripheral subjects. Thus when they go out to cover a program or interview a pastor or bishop they don’t know the right questions to ask because they are ignorant of the subject. Nigerian Press is illiterate, I am sorry to have to admit this. What do most Nigerian journalists know about Theology, Church History, etc. That is why they don’t know what to look for or ask and what distinguish true Christianity from false. They dont know how to distinguish a goat from a sheep and thus the Press is one of the sources of spreading ignorance and illiteracy among Nigerians. They constitute a contributory factor to the lack of discernment and blindness among Nigerians and why Nigerians have become mincemeat for false pastors and false prophets that are now multiplying by thousands and thousands in Nigeria.
It is ignorance when you call an investigative work by a news organisation as “passing judgment.” This is ignorance.
People can research about you and make the outcome public once you are a public figure. It is not judgment to tell things about you once they are true.
The BBC DOCUMENTARY covers three continents, they spoke to several former disciples who volunteered information without duress both black and white. This is what Nigerian journalism should be doing if it has not lost its purpose. Instead it is condemning an investigative work as passing judgment.
It is a fact that many of our journalists were on the payroll of T.B. Joshua. It is also sad that this man did all his atrocities for 20 years and no newspaper or undercover journalist had the gut to expose him. And even till now. Until a foreign body had to do it.
Bisola Johnson was one of the anchors of Joshua who handled his TV broadcast. She left before Joshua died and exposed him in a book which you should read. Did any newspaper help her review the book or publicise it? Or even grant her interview? Even CAN did not help her. So you see why Nigeria is going to dogs. It will soon go to jackals unless you change and imbibe a culture of honour.
Is there even a through review again in Nigerian newspapers like the order of New York Times Sunday Reviews and Washington Post.
There are still some stars within Nigerian journalism, distinguished exceptions who have not bowed to Baal and for their sake I will spare the Press and not go further to say some of the things I would have said.
Please leave BBC alone to do its good work which you have failed to do. If you can question or challenge any of the facts then come out to debunk them. Or you want to say that the disciples who served Joshua for 10 – 20 years don’t know what they are saying? Or that you know him more than his own disciples who lived with him in the same den?
Their testimonies about Joshua agree and they never met to agree about what to say.
With the kind of journalism we have in Nigeria it would be easy for Antichrist to have its way. With Nigerian journalism anything can happen, truth can become lie and the Fulani bandits could become the victims while the Middle Belt natives could become the assailants.
From such a journalism may God save us.
© Moses Oludele Idowu
9/1/2024
All Rights Reserved
