Nigeria indeed presents an interesting case study on the deepening dilemma of the public communicator and the crisis of waning credibility in the face of an active interplay of an ever profuse, effervescent and dynamic rumour mill. The public communicator is ever on his toes, operating at his wits end to see how to decipher truthful, well intended communication message intended for development from pernicious propaganda, drawing the tenuous line between “false, baseless, malicious and misleading rumours and professional revelation of unfolding events of national significance such as an attempt to further scuttle and completely derail our efforts at stabilizing the nation’s democracy.
It has equally demonstrated, in a clearer dimension, how information of public interest easily dismissed as baseless and misleading rumours can eventually begin to be invested with the terms and tissues of truthful reportage of intense social political narrative. Trust and credibility are expected to be critical elements in public communication especially as it has to do with citizens’ engagement in a democracy.
The people have the right to know. When there is an official effort at censorship and suppression of the truth, falsehood can develop wings, fly into the public arena and begin to masquerade as truth. Individual rights can also be trampled on when truth is not laid bare. The result is a miasma of confusion where people can hardly separate truth from propaganda, news from rumours, fake news and media portrayal of hate speech and genuine sensitization. In the words of Blaise Pascal, a French Mathematician, physicist, inventor and philosopher, truth exists, while falsehood has to be invented. Falsehood has an infinity of combinations, but truth has only one mode of being and unless we love the truth, we cannot know it. It all began with a publication from an online news outlet to the effect that a planned coup to topple the current democratic dispensation was uncovered.
The execution date, according to the report was supposed to be October 1, 2025. The report was however, dismissed as false, baseless and misleading rumour, product of mischief makers. Today however, that report is steadily being confirmed by unfolding events, including interrogation of military officers and raiding of homes of suspected civilian collaborators. Nigerians had been warned to desist from the spread of the ‘baseless and unfounded rumour’ especially as it has the capacity to weaken the nation’s already fragile unity and discourage investors.
Political instability has the tendency to weaken economic institutions and whittle down the targeted impacts of developmental policies. The international community cannot seriously engage with any country still battling with instability, opaque and unpredictable patterns of regime changes.
The baseless political rumour of the year is steadily unfolding along the scenario of a tenuous power play in a nascent democracy made even the more so by the tardy way the news has been managed. Sahara Reporters deserves some professional commendation for daring to go public with that scoop. It is better that the truth is reported bare from the outset and the aftermath is managed than to go public with puerile and infantile denials that end up painting the country as fertile ground for lies, half-truths and flagrant culture of deliberate misinformation.
The story no doubt was a product of investigation as to what could have led to the abrupt decision to cancel the Independence Day, October 1 Anniversary parade. That it was cancelled in the first place was newsworthy on its own but weightier or more significant news became the series of events that led to that uncommon decision. As at late last week, the profiles of the 16 officers, including a brigadier-general that were allegedly involved in the plot have found their way into the public information space .
From Lagos to London, the internet has erupted. The average man on the streets with a romanticized idea of the claimed correctional agenda of military regimes murmured about how a historic opportunity has been lost to save the nation from the persisting pains of ongoing economic reforms. However, those fully abreast with the historic antecedents of the military in Nigeria’s political space have remained very conscious of the fact that the country has just been saved from a major monumental setback, a social political tragic trajectory. Let nobody be deceived, the worst variant of democracy is still by far better than the most benevolent military dictatorship. We have gone through that storyline before and can attest to the fact that what we currently need is a people’s resolve to make our democracy work for the interest of the people.
The more denials that came from the Defence Headquarters, the deeper the public perception of a poorly rehearsed damage control information delivery mechanism rather than truthful communication process. Unfolding facts later revealed that interrogations had indeed begun in late September after whispers of secret meetings and encrypted chats within the barracks were uncovered. This further tightened that uneasy space between rumours and public revelations in a nation’s history where desperate quest for power and polity paranoia meet once again.
Part of the anxiety lies in political memory. Nigerians have seen this movie before.
Investigation into the alleged coup plot has reportedly uncovered a trail of N45 billion disbursed from the bank accounts of a Development Commission to some politically exposed persons and the soldiers currently being detained in connection with the rumoured conspiracy to topple a democratic administration.
It remains a test case in public communication that the military has kept denying the report linking the detention of the 16 officers to a failed coup plot.
Multiple reports have gone ahead to state how some military personnel raided the Abuja residence of ex-governor Timipre Sylva, who was also a former Minister of State for Petroleum. Nigeria is building up towards a major election in 2027.
How come then that there are sections of the population that appear to have lost confidence in the process and democratic institutions to the extent of resorting to a coup. This indeed should be a serious cause for concern. This therefore calls for urgent system and institutional reappraisal. Nigeria needs to do more to restore public confidence in our democratic system and structures.
It has become truly expedient for us as a nation to appreciate that democracy is beyond a tag or label. The dividends should be self- evident for all to see. Principal actors in our democracy must also not give room for people to celebrate arbitrariness and impunity of military intervention in national politics because they think that is the preferred option on how hope can be restored and economy rebuilt.
We all owe it a duty to save this democracy from being scuttled, derailed or aborted. May we no longer compromise the time tested benchmarks for good and impactful governance. The warning of John Adams one of the architects of American democracy becomes apt at this point to the effect that Liberty, once lost, could be lost forever.
