Why won't Nigeria let foreign journalists cover its elections?

British media outlets' applications to cover the Nigeria elections languish in a pile at Nigeria's London embassy. Is the country's government keeping foreign media away?


Workers sit beside campaign posters of Nigerian President and presidential candidate Goodluck Jonathan in Lagos Photo: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP

I was looking forward to being in Nigeria this weekend, writing a preview for the presidential elections at the end of the month. Not the way every Telegraph reader might want to spend their weekend, I grant you, but by foreign correspondents' standards, it's a Premier League fixture.

The contest will decide who rules West Africa's most important country, and in the wake of last year's kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram, the wider world will be following it in a way they never used to.

Sadly, if it's on-the-ground reportage you want, don't come to me. Or The Times or Channel 4 News. Or any of the 20-odd other British media outlets that have asked for press visas to cover the elections, and whose applications still languish in a pile at the Nigerian High Commission in London. (Fee £300, non-returnable.)

Nobody has actually been refused outright. But given that the process normally takes only a week, and given that my application went in two months ago, I’m beginning to think the Nigerian government doesn't want me there. Or, indeed any of the other foreign hacks whose applications are still waiting other at Nigerian embassies around the world.

Have I written something to offend them? Much as it would be nice to think that I have upset the rich and powerful as a result of previous reporting trips to Nigeria, I don't think it's anything personal. Rather, it seems that elements in the government - either in the presidency or the security services - have decided that it would be best if the international media were kept at bay.


Goodluck Jonathan - does he not want foreign media covering his re-election bid? (EPA)

Instead, West Africa's biggest elections - in which a country three times the population of Britain will be casting its vote - will go ahead with only a limited foreign media presence, courtesy mainly of local representatives of the BBC, Reuters and Associated Press.

The Nigerian government accepted £305m of British aid this year, not to mention British help in training its military and hunting for the missing schoolgirls. But when it comes to elections, it would rather we minded our own business.

So why is this happening? Officially, it's just a matter of bureaucracy: a few have been granted, apparently, but a lot of others are still awaiting "clearance" from no fewer than three different government ministries. The problem with that excuse, though, is that the applications were originally filed in time for a previous election date, February 15. That was then postponed until March 28, to allow the government to make more efforts against Boko Haram, and ensure polling booths could open in the north.

That's an extra six weeks, during which it would surely have been possible to sift through a few hundred press visa applications. After all, Nigerian High Commissions around the world process thousands of routine business visas every day.

The kidnapped schoolgirls have put Nigeria's elections in the spotlight - but who will be there to cover them? (AFP)

True, journalists' applications aren't as straightforward. We have to undergo "security checks" apparently. Although if anyone is useless as a terrorist, it's a Western hack. Something to do with our habit of wandering around with notebooks and cameramen in tow, announcing our presence to all and sundry.

So what's the real reason then? Nobody can say for certain, but most journalists, and a number of foreign diplomats, guess it is because of the deluge of bad press that President Goodluck Jonathan's government got when the schoolgirl kidnapping story became big in May.

Not only was it harsh, it was probably the first time the world's press had decamped to Nigeria since the Biafran War. Most Westerners, until recently, would barely have known who Mr Jonathan was. Now, thanks to the BringBackOurGirls campaign on Twitter, there are teenage girls from Peckham to Pakistan who have been told he's useless.

Fair enough, much of the criticism was unjustified. The government's initial response to the kidnapping was tardy, yes, but also reflected the fact that in north-east Nigeria, where communications are always patchy, it was far from clear at first what had happened.


Goodluck Jonathan's government has been criticised - sometimes unfairly - over its response to Boko Haram

But brushing off unfair criticism is part of what makes democratic governments what they are, and besides, Nigeria's own lively domestic media were every bit as critical. Who, it should be noted, have probably far more influence than foreign media when it comes to Nigerians making up their minds who to vote for.

But having foreign press there is still part of the "free, fair and transparent" criteria to make sure an election result is recognised by both sides. This is especially true when the vote is close. Remember what happened, after all, in Kenya in 2008, where a dispute over who had won led to the deaths of more than 800 people in violence after the elections.


Women wait to collect their Permanent Voter Cards at Shimaw, southwestern Nigeria (AFP)

Nigeria is facing a similarly neck-and-neck race this time around, with Mr Jonathan equal in the polls with his rival for power, the ex-general Mohamadu Buhari. If he does retain power, he will already have handed Mr Buhari's supporters plenty of ammunition to support their case that the contest wasn't a transparent one. And given that violence almost always takes place after Nigerian elections anyway - 500 died in 2011 alone - the consequences could be very nasty.

True, the election isn’t until the Saturday after next, and perhaps my visa will arrive at the last minute next week. But that's not great in terms of giving the elections proper coverage. The idea is to go out at least a week in advance to give the issues a decent airing ahead of the polls, not just turn up to record the vote.

Countries that only let foreign press in for a few days around election times are observing the rules of the game but not the spirit. Which is why it’s a tactic favoured in less-than-democratic places like Iran and Belarus. A category to which I will now be adding Nigeria, unless it proves me wrong by granting those backlogged press visas pronto. I'll be happy to stand corrected.

peleson:
[s]What r u saying? Over 600 foreign journalist already approved by government!how many Nigerian journalist covers US elections? Lubbish[/s]

Nigeria should allow international journalists entry to cover elections



Abuja, Nigeria, February 3, 2015

The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Nigerian authorities to ensure that international journalists are allowed access to cover the country's elections this month.

Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for February 14, while state elections are set for February 28. President Goodluck Jonathan is seeking re-election amid an insurgency by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram, which has taken over territory in the country's northeast. International observers have called on Nigeria to ensure a free and fair election, while some analysts have warned of low turnout amid fears of violence, according to news reports.

"The legitimacy of Nigeria's election depends in no small part on whether the international press is allowed to cover it," said Peter Nkanga, CPJ's West Africa representative. "We call on authorities to quickly cut through the red tape and approve visas and accreditation for foreign journalists."

Kayode Idowu, a spokesman with the Independent National Electoral Commission, told CPJ that for foreign journalists to be allowed to cover the elections they are expected to have arrived in Nigeria, applied to be accredited, and obtained their Elections Press Pass from INEC by February 11.

Geoffrey York, Johannesburg-based correspondent for the Canadian daily newspaper Globe and Mail, wrote on Twitter last week that Nigeria had blocked at least 40 journalists from entering the country to cover the elections. The Foreign Correspondents Association of Southern Africa issued a statement on Friday saying many of its members had been denied visas or accreditation.

Journalists at one international news outlet--who asked that the outlet not be named as it continues to seek access to cover the elections--told CPJ that it had made eight different visa requests from locations including Paris, London, Nairobi, Dakar, and Johannesburg. All of the applications, submitted between December 2014 and January 2015, had been delayed by embassy officials requesting additional paperwork, the outlet said.

However, some international journalists have been granted access. Journalists from The New York Times, BBC, and the Netherlands-based television channel RTL Nieuws told CPJ they had visas approved.

Difficulty in getting visas may be compounded by discrepancies in the application process from embassy to embassy and between embassies and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

According to the guidelines on the Nigeria Immigration Service website, journalists can apply for visas by completing an application form, paying fees, and submitting payment receipts, passport, and other documents to the Nigerian embassy in their country of residence. Chukwuemeka Obua, a spokesman of the Immigration service, told CPJ that there is no special application for journalists.

However, seven other journalists, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CPJ that Nigerian embassy officials were asking international journalists to get approval letters from Nigeria's Information Ministry in Abuja. The websites of some Nigerian embassies and consulates, including in Paris and in Ottawa, Canada, also state that journalists' entry requires approval from the Ministry of Information.

Joseph Mutah, a spokesman for the Information Ministry, told CPJ that all visa requests had been sent to the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for security clearance and approval.

The NIA is under the Office of the President. Presidential spokesmen Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe did not respond to CPJ's calls and text messages requesting comment.

Separately, thugs attacked at least five local journalists on Monday following a bomb blast in Gombe State, northeastern Nigeria, according to news reports. The blast occurred minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan's convoy left after an election campaign. The journalists' bus was also damaged.

TheOtherview:
Earlier take on the same subject.



Source: https://cpj.org/2015/02/nigeria-should-allow-international-journalists-ent.php

viczing:
[/s]

[s]
Punk ass read this

http://www.aitonline.tv/post-300_foreign_journalists_accredited_for_february_election_polls

TheOtherview:


The problem with unexposed and uncultured kids is that they often think they are making sense when they are not.
That your sense of patriotism - which is probably nothing more than 'tyranny of the tribe' - might have blinded you to what is obvious, does not mean the rest of us are similarly shackled.

Get this into your thicck head - the undated article which you referenced was written on the 5th of February while the two that I provided are more recent. Now just who is the deluded, single-cell TANoid now?

viczing:


The both are old news before election was postponed... they shd apply again this time

scribble:
[s]Keep the apc collaborators out

Tinubu has them in his pocket

Even Amanpour. That's why he hired Axelrod[/s].

TheOtherview:


Ask your government to do this right thing in the interest of posterity, simple!

viczing:


[s]U bring up old news to spew trash, have they applied again? All this janjanweeds contradict tinx always[/s]

So why is this happening? Officially, it's just a matter of bureaucracy: a few have been granted, apparently, but a lot of others are still awaiting "clearance" from no fewer than three different government ministries. The problem with that excuse, though, is that the applications were originally filed in time for a previous election date, February 15. That was then postponed until March 28, to allow the government to make more efforts against Boko Haram, and ensure polling booths could open in the north.

That's an extra six weeks, during which it would surely have been possible to sift through a few hundred press visa applications. After all, Nigerian High Commissions around the world process thousands of routine business visas every day.