By Maiwada Dammallam
Obviously President Buhari was ill-advised to rejoice with Arise News Channel @10 as published by Thisday Newspaper, it’s sister renegade print arm. What’s President Buhari rejoicing with Arise for? The undiluted and unfiltered hatred oozing hourly out of the studios of the channel mostly aimed at him?
Arise News Channel is far from the professional and patriotic media outlet deserving a presidential commendation the presidency made it. Rejoicing with it is nothing short of an endorsement for the junk journalism being practiced in its studio. Just few months ago Arise TV was fined N2m by the NBC for fabricating and propagating lies against a leading presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed. Arise TV’s 10-year presence in Nigeria’s media space is no less unflattering and President Buhari, a default first line charge victim of Arise channel’s shenanigans know this better than any Nigerian.
Despite their seeming reliability and adherence to the rules of journalism, I’m yet to hear any American president of British PM rejoicing with either the CNN or the BBC on their anniversaries. Assuredly, Arise TV would have died a baby were it birthed to cause confusion in US/UK as Mr. President is certain it’s birthed to cause confusion in Nigeria. Mr. President would have rejoiced with Covid-19 @10 and it couldn’t be any more bizarre, misplaced or ill-advised. To be honest, what the president did is nothing short of President Zelenskyy walking the streets of Kiev wrapped in a Russian flag celebrating the birthday of President Putin.
This is one peace overture (if it’s a peace overture) President Buhari doesn’t need. He survived the almost 8-year rascality of Arise TV and could easily survive few months more of its uncultured rascality. In any case, Arise TV hates President Buhari with a passion and there’s nothing he or anybody could do to change channels’ default hatred-setting against him. Just allowing the rascal station to operate without being harassed by his administration is more than enough overture from the president. Certainly, Arise TV will not survive more than a week spraying Obasanjo with such hatred under his administration.
Funnily, Arise TV is all over the media space flashing President Buhari’s birthday card without recourse to the station’s low estimation of him. Nonsense pipu!
