The Buhari/Osibajo government is going to be a benevolent and participatory democracy where individual freedom of expression and press latitude will be guaranteed.
Whoever is involved in this breach of freedom or barring of any station from coverage should be sanctioned if it is actually true. We were all involved in the emergence and enthronement of this burgeoning democratic dispensation including AIT.
Media are the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to disseminate information to the people. It should also be the watchdog of democracy where freedom of speech is sacrosanct to all divergent views and opinions.
The last general elections espoused that Nigeria is no longer Nigeria of yesterday as today is now being used to shape tomorrow. We all know AIT’s antecedents. We need the station as an opposition as it is practised in popular democracy. T
hey should be allowed and accredited to cover any government or party’s event so that the new age of information will continue to checkmate premeditated lethal lies and sensational journalism.
Yes, AIT was involved in nihilistic journalism during electioneering campaigns, they are facing the burden of history now, but that is not a licence to bar it from its constitutional rights as a corporate entity or legal person. Buhari is a President-elect of all Nigerians irrespective of any affiliated idiosyncrasies (ethnic, party or religion).
We all collectively fought for Nigerian victory; we will not hesitate to call to order whoever wants to derail our nascent journey to a better Nigeria.
We should be mindful of our divisive utterances and premeditated grapevine, and nurture this new Nigeria with care. The PDP government’s 16 years of waste should be our last collective journey to the past and we should face the future with determined optimism and possibilities.
•Yahaya Balogun, Arizona, USA.
