A former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba A former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has said the democracy and press freedom we enjoy today was fought for and won by some journalists who dedicated their lives and professional skills.
Osoba, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former managing director of the Daily Times of Nigeria, said this at the media screening of a documentary titled, “Paying the Price” (Press Freedom in Nigeria), hosted by The Avalon Daily at the Freedom Park in Lagos.
The documentary tells the story of six journalists – Dapo Olorunyomi, Babafemi Ojudu, George Mba, Nosa Igiebor, Soji Omotunde, and Kunle Ajibade – who were tortured and jailed by the Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha-led military governments for publishing stories that were in the interest of the society.
It would be recalled that Kunle Ajibade and George Mbah were both jailed for life during the period.
The former governor said the role of journalists in a democracy is “of great significance” to the overall wellbeing of any country. “The democracy and press freedom we enjoy in Nigeria today was fought for by the media. I have urged my colleagues at the TELL magazine, The News, The Guardian and others to write their story so people can know what the media passed through during the military regime.
“Some of you might have heard of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), but that was just a wing or an arm in the fight for democracy. What you have just watched now (the documentary) is the price the media had to pay to usher in democracy in our country,”
Chief Osoba said. Also speaking, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwolu, represented by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso, lauded all journalists who paid the ultimate price for defending their ideals and the ethics of their profession during the era. While commending The Avalon Daily for “preserving an important historic event in our country,”
Omotosho recalled the ordeals of some of his colleagues, like Senator Femi Ojudu, who was at one point held in a cemetery by the military junta for days over a news publication. In his remark, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, a former senator representing Lagos-East constituency said, “The Avalon Daily has dug into the history of journalism and media in Nigeria to produce a documentary about the huge price paid by veteran journalists during the military era. Similarly, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by Hakeem Bello, his media aide, said, “As you know, Babatubde Fashola is a stickler for documentation. He takes the documentation of important historical events like this very seriously.”
Speaking at the event, a foremost journalist and one of the victims of the military junta, George Mbah, who was jailed for life by the Abacha-led military government, also said, “Journalists should continue to do their work in the interest of the society and damn the consequences.”