The management, staff and friends of National Point Newspaper recently popped the champagne, cut a giant cake and clinked glasses to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper.
It was a lively reunion for current and former staff that was held at the Legacy Hall of the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) in Port Harcourt.
The managing director of National Point and international award-winning journalist, Ibiba Don Pedro, took time to recall the story of the newspaper, which was founded after she took a step of faith and left The Guardian, the flagship of Nigerian newspapers, where she won global acclaim.
But it had not been all joy for the newspaper since it began publishing in an industry that has been on a steady decline because of challenges posed by the overwhelming influence of the Internet and online publishing, Don Pedro said.
The year 2007, when National Point was birthed is significant in many respects. It was the year the first crop of third republic elected political officers in Nigeria were completing their second terms and the feeling was that democracy had come to stay in Nigeria. It was thus not a bad time to do a reflection of democratic governance and point a way forward.
But much more than its significance with politics, 2007 fell into a critical era in the Niger Delta, where the publication which is Niger delta focused is based. Increasing youth restiveness, agitations, and the clamour of the people for the control of their natural resources had combined to turn the region into a crisis belt.
Bereft of ideas on how to respond to the situation, the Nigerian government had adopted the use of force to bring calm to the region and restore full exploitation of the oil in the region. But the reaction from the region worsened the situation and inflamed passions. Oil production activities were disrupted as youths responded by breaking pipelines and abducting oil workers.
It was indeed a beautiful time for a newspaper of the like of National Point to emerge to chronicle the events and set an agenda for development. An opportunity a team of activists including late Oronto Douglas, Patrick Nagbanton, Ibiba DonPedro, Constance Meju and Styvn Obodoekwe cashed in on to birth the newspaper.
Since then, National Point has moved from year to year overcoming obstacles and giving adequate coverage to the events and issues that define the Niger Delta through the Presidential Amnesty Programme of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to President Goodluck Jonathan days and the change that brought in President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Today, National Point has survived the vicissitudes of its earlier years and has achieved global recognition as one newspaper that has devoted time and space to cover issues of the Niger Delta, one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems.
The newspaper has looked beyond the oil in the region and the politics that goes with it to focus on the real life of the people of the region, their environment and how they are coexisting. It has also covered interventions to make life better in a polluted and underdeveloped environment, raising the voices of the community people.
National Point also intentionally highlights issues about women, the elderly, youths, minorities and how they are surviving in a society that oppresses the weak and underprivileged.
The management of National Point Newspaperas it marked its anniversary, took out time to appraise its activities as it organized a special training workshop for journalists to hone their skills in investigative journalism and to keep them in tune with new global demands of the profession.
The workshop, which held at the Centre for Environment and Human Rights Development (CERHD) in Port Harcourt, the hub of Nigeria’s oil industry, was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism under the sponsorship of MacArthur Foundation.
Investigative journalism is the way to go if journalists must create needed impact to make life better for the people and communities they serve, said Ibiba Don Pedro, the managing director of the publication.
She pointed out that while the investigative journalist is out to gather facts for his report, he must be guided by certain benchmarks, the most important of which is safety and so must ensure that he takes adequate precautions should he find himself in risky environments.
She harped on integrity because it is the credibility of journalists that gives credence to their stories and endears them to their sources and readers.
Don Pedro said journalists must show objectivity in conduct as well as in their reports; balance their stories and investigations at all times, done by reflecting all sides in their reports, while taking conscious steps to give voice to people who might not be able to have access to the media or public service because of their social, cultural, economic or physical limitations.
Such persons, she said include women, the physically challenged, the elderly, minorities and young people. The stories must emphasize their impact on these special groups in society.
The essence of any investigative story, Don Pedro added, is to bring out the humanity in every story. “The journalist must show empathy and capture their stories from the human angle,” she added.
Presenting another paper on Gender Sensitive Reporting, Constance Meju, the managing editor of National Point gave a checklist for avoiding gender insensitive reporting.
She said investigative reporters must be very objective in their reports and avoid using language that will sway public opinion against women, the physically challenged and other minorities.
She advised against use of stereotypes or maligning groups in a jaundiced manner.
She also said journalists should not promote double standards in their reports like being empathetic to men in roles where they do not display the same empathy to women.
Noting that women and girls have been underrepresented in the media, Meju pointed out that the investigative journalist must focus on reports that promote the inclusion of women in political leadership and decision-making, girl child education and positive roles that women play in society and economic activities.
She called for focus on cases of violence against women to help curbing rising cases of gender abuses in the country.
In another paper, Emmanuel Obe, National Point’s editor identified several sources through which the investigative journalist can get his stories and urged them to make optimal use of the sources.
“Those who give the journalist information trust that the journalist will use the information correctly, not for mischief or for immoral and unlawful purposes. Likewise, the journalist has to trust their source to give them the right information; not with mischief; not incomplete; not for immoral or unlawful purposes,” he noted.
He also stressed the need for journalists to protect their sources of information to avoid loss of trust.
Delivering a paper on Investigating Human Rights Issues, Styvn Obodoekwe, identified human rights as rights as freedom of movement, freedom of expression, right to private property, freedom of worship, equality before the law among other freedoms.
Such rights, he said have been globally protected following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter of 1948 and are also protected by the Nigerian Constitution.
He said investigative journalists must give human rights angles to their stories; look out for human rights violations and expose the violators both in the private sector and byagents and agencies of government.
“Stand with the oppressed masses always,” he advised.
Presenting his paper on Data Journalism, Sunny Dada, a digital media expert, said investigative journalists should deploy the use info-graphics, statistics and analytical information to make their stories easier to follow, more authoritative and foolproof.
He said the adoption of data journalism enables the investigative journalist to benefit from the expertise of statisticians, computer scientists, graphics designers and ICT professionals. He urged the investigative journalist to take advantage of the many data portals available to deepen their stories.
Delivering a paper on Promoting Accountability with the Nigerian Local Content Law, Henry Eferebo, noted that journalists have not adequately deployed their art in giving effect to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Act, which defines provisions for host communities engagement in the downstream oil and gas operations.
He said the local content law empowers the Nigerian Content and Monitoring Board to compel companies to engage local services and personnel in their operations, and the investigative journalist should make that regulation functional.
