In Abuja over the weekend, VICE President Kashim Shettima stressed the need for practicing and aspiring journalists, as well as other professionals, to always strive to find a balance between their loyalty to themselves and the truth.
He gave the advice in a speech he delivered at the public launch in Abuja of the book titled; Persona non Grata, written by the deputy editor of The Sun newspaper, Ismail Omipidan.
In the speech titled: Bold Courage, Versus Compromise, Shettima also stressed that there is a distinction between antagonizing a government and speaking truth to power.
The latter, according to the vice president, is driven by a noble principle of serving the greater good and a deserving humanity, while the former is often a selfish exercise that fades into futility.
He cautioned that this “should not be the end we should aim to achieve with the information and ideas we work to acquire and process in our line of work.”
He praised the author for being “an essential pillar of our interactions as a nation and has helped determine the direction in which our society is headed.
Accordingly, he said Nigerians must not fail in “our duty to fill this moral void, stating that he was delighted to identify with the author to “celebrate his memories of the events that shape and shake his convictions.”
The Vice President noted that Nigerians cannot build an ideal State if the intellectual class, especially journalists, are not allowed to be the conscience of the nation, drawing inspiration from the Greek philosopher's timeless book The Republic, written by Plato, which refers to the ideal state is that where the philosopher governs.
“No political leader, no matter how sincere his intentions, can excel beyond the scale of knowledge available to him, and this is particularly revealing in our political space.
“While we need an army of brave media professionals to speak truth to power, we also need them to serve as consciences for political institutions and individuals who influence the evolution of society, including issues of our survival collective.”
“What needs to be clarified is that there is a distinction between antagonizing a government and speaking truth to power. The latter is driven by a noble principle of serving a greater good and a deserving humanity. The former, on the other hand, is often a selfish exercise that becomes futile, and that is not the end we should aim to achieve with the information and ideas we strive to acquire and process in our line of work.
“True courage lies in resisting compromise in the pursuit of truth. True courage is being able to tell the truth even in a conference of critics and bullies. The rush to participate in a smear campaign, even in the face of superior facts, is, of course, not an act of courage. This distinction distinguishes courage from cowardice. It takes a rare integrity to recognize the difference between the two 'C's,'” he said.
“Each of us must aspire to learn where and when to draw the line between courage and cowardice. Omipidan has shown that by reporting on the ups and downs of his nation, true loyalty is not to oneself, but to society. This awakening has defined its kind: the realization of what one truly aspires to achieve by standing for a nation that works, a nation that cares, and a nation that is accountable. You cannot solve a crime objectively by investigating the cause outside the crime scene,” Shettima said. .
He said the book was not a record of the trip until it was canceled for telling uncomfortable truths; but a statement of the price of adhering to noble principles even in the face of corrupting temptation.
He commented: “This book is a warning to both practicing and aspiring journalists, and to any professional seeking to find a balance between loyalty to self and loyalty to the truth. I have no doubt that it will inspire sobering reflections even within the Nigerian media ecosystem.
“The most difficult task to accomplish as human beings is probably to be fair in telling the narratives of the characters we encounter in the course of an eventful life. As much as we aspire to be impartial, we must accept the fact that we are also antagonists in other people's stories. So no matter how each of us feels about Mr. Omipidan's book, we must recognize that this is his truth, his version of the story, and his stimulating recollection of events as a professional journalist is material for our history and our role in it. .”
“The past is the rearview mirror for a smoother journey into the future, and books provide us with the assurance we need. The most difficult books to write are those in which we are the heroes, which explains why those of us dedicated to building alliances are often reluctant to write about our encounters or our interpretations of boundary-testing events. of our patience and stretch our patience. limits of our imagination. We must therefore commend Mr. Omipidan for attempting what many do not have the courage to dare.
“I believe Persona Non-Grata will serve as more than just an inside story about the politics of the newsrooms at various Nigerian newspapers and the challenges of maintaining one's integrity in a palace of compromise. It is a guide to managing both ends of a career that is built on confidence, and I hope it serves as a valuable resource for those who come after the author.”
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