₦airaland Forum

The assertions made by CNN's Anderson Cooper on the 16th of Junethat HIV/AIDS and some other diseases started in African jungles where human beings (Africans) share diseases with apes (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) have drawn lots of criticisms and uproar among his viewers.At the same time, the article, Anderson Cooper's CNN Negative Journalism about Africa (published by World News on 23rd June), which questioned his professionalism, the scientific processes he carried out before making such conclusions, and his true intentions, has also attracted some reactions from readers.
Many viewers of Cooper's AC 360 who know very well that what he presented about the origin of HIV/AIDS was based on mere speculations,instead of proven scientific facts, felt deceived and misinformed. Some saw it as an insult on Africa or Africans and remembered some other wrong information which CNN had aired about Africa in the past. For example last year, Jeff Koinage, CNN's former correspondent in Africa presented a report about the militia group MEND (Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta), struggling to have a better share of the oil revenue for the Niger Delta people. In trying to present the truth that there were problems in the Niger delta, Koinage went to the extent of giving some inducements to hoodlums to put up a show in order to give the impression that the Niger Delta was "hellish and that Nigeria was in a state of civil war." It was found out that MEND, which Koinage claimed to report on, denied any involvement in the whole show.

When the Nigerian government protested, CNN stood strong and held onto their story as a complete truth. When Koinage was later implicated as having influenced and stage managed the show, the Nigerian government punished CNN by removing the advert contract it had with CNN; Koinage was made by CNN to pay the price. Whether Koinage lost his job because CNN lost the advertisement contract with the Nigerian government or because CNN felt that Koinage did what was ethically wrong is yet to be made clear. Some of the viewers questioned if CNN is going to give Mr.Cooper awards for similar unethical actions in Congo and Cameroon.

Some viewers also recalled how CNN aired "How to Rob a Bank,"which seemed to have given viewers the impression that there are more criminals in Nigeria than in other countries. Though there are some Nigerians who have gotten involved in some bank fraud, some viewers felt that CNN as a reputable communication company should have trained its reporters not to make some sweeping statements that could put both the innocent and the guilty in the same camp. There are thousands of Nigerians living in the United States who are very law abiding and doing their businesses in clean ways and without making troubles. These words, "some Nigerians," and "Nigerians," speak differently to viewers and readers. The use of the word "Some Nigerians," gives the viewer the impression that there are some Nigerians who are not involved in Bank robbery, while the use of the word "Nigerians," amounts to a fallacy of over generalization,which makes the viewer think that all Nigerians are bad. It is not the true picture of all Nigerians living in the US.

Interestingly, many viewers who are more politically conscious saw deeper meanings in Mr. Cooper's broadcast about the origin of HIV/AID in Africa. Such politically conscious viewers did not see Cooper as simply insulting Africans but as politicizing the origin of HIV/AIDS possibly for political gains. They asked questions, "Is it only in Africa that we have monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees?" Do we not have such apes in the Amazons of South America and in Asian jungles? What is Anderson Cooper's true intension for connecting human beings in Africa with apes at a period when Americans are about going to the polls? Are there some political implications of his actions?

To answer the above questions, some viewers who know American political and racial history recalled the crude political strategies of the 1700s and 1800s, when politicians and business men, for political and economic reasons, made people see blacks as unable or incapable of achieving what other Americans, especially Americans of European ancestry can achieve. To subjugate blacks as those who can only serve, instead of lead, politicians and business men used social scientists, biologists and theologians to propound false theories and ideologies that dehumanized blacks and presented the black person as sub human or closer to apes. They used "biblical, classical, and scientific arguments to stereotype blacks as limited in mental capacity, as ugly, lazy, promiscuous, odiferous, and dangerous, "(1) A concrete example was Carolus Linnaeus who in 1758 published his widely read Systema Naturae, in which he presented and described various species of the human person with some of these qualities:

Europaenus: white, sanguine, muscular, gentle, acute, and inventive, governed by laws.

Asiaticus: sallow, melancholy, stiff, severe, haughty, avaricious, ruled by opinions.

Americanus Indian: reddish, choleric, erect, obstinate, merry, and free, regulated by custom.

Afer: black, phlegmatic, relaxed, without sexual shame, crafty, indolent, negligent, governed by caprice.(2)

Linnaeus rated Afers last, and immediately after them, he put the orangutang, meaning ape or man of the woods, (3) This was the starting of thedeception of Americans about how they looked at themselves and how they looked at others. This wrong imagery of the black person as closer to apes of the jungles formed the minds of Euro Americans as early as the 1700s. To keep this imagery alive and to form the minds of the black person to believe that he or she is at the lowest racial formation of humanity, and so is incapable of achieving what other Americans can achieve, equal education, economic, and political freedoms were denied the black person for centuries.

However, blacks or Americans of African ancestry have never in history accepted that they are at the lowest level of humanity. They have always resisted this imagery of being incapable of leading or achieving what others have achieved or can achieve. This struggle to show that the black person is capable, gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and1960s. Though the Civil Rights Movement brought a dramatic change in making many Americans more tolerant of the blacks in politics and in other aspects of the American life, the mind set of not imagining the black person assuming some political and economic posts or heights in America is still very hard for some conservative Americans to accept, even if it means applying the crude political strategies of the past.

So when Anderson Cooper went to the jungles of Congo and Cameroon, and without scientific evidence declared in his AC 360 that HIV/AIDS started in African jungles where human beings share diseases with apes, many viewers recalled history and suspected or even concluded that Mr. Cooper must have been paid by some powerful conservative political folks to do what one viewer called a "political kill-job." A political kill job involves using his show AC 360 to start "a fire on racist straws in the minds of Americans voters" whose attention could easily be drawn to the origin of this deadly and mysterious disease HIV/AIDS in connection with Africa.

Cooper's arrow according to one viewer could be directed at Presidential candidate Barrack Obama who is of African ancestry. One of the most effective ways of dehumanizing Obama and to create bias in the minds of American voters is to take him back to his "unromanticised roots in Africa. Kenya's wild life tourism is not famous with HIV/AIDS infested lions and giraffes. So call in the jungles of the Congos and Cameroon for help." Not many Americans know the difference between Kenya, the Congos and Cameroon. By using the word "Africa," Mr. Cooper demonstrated ignorance of differentiation of African country and African continent hence deceived a lot of Americans to think that Africa is the size of a village or the size of a state in America.

So by presenting a theory similar to the old theories of the 1700s and 1800s that dehumanized the blacks and deprived them of equal political roles, the American voters may think twice preferring a black person for the highest political post in America. Anderson Cooper's AC 360 program is presently seen by many viewers as full of criticisms against Obama and full of comments connecting politics with race. Is Mr. Cooper really working for some conservative politicians? How do we keep him honest? Many viewers feel that this political strategy is not going to work because it is old fashioned strategy, based on deception. Americans can no longer be deceived either with the origin of HIV/AIDS or with the old image of the black person. Americans also know that the world is watching them to see if they can truly overcome the ugly politics of the past decades.

Apart from the political implications of Mr. Cooper's mission in Africa, some viewers also felt uncomfortable with his mission and wished that there be no repeat of what happened in 1932 when "400 poor black sharecroppers with late stage syphilis were part of a government-sponsored medical experiment to see how long it would take them to die if the disease was left untreated."(4) The Tuskegee experiment was discovered to have been based on a "dubious science,"(5) as the victims who taught that they were getting a true treatment were not really given a treatment for cure, even when the treatment for the disease had been found. The black men were used as specimen for experiments. Remembering such historical fact (Tuskegee scandal), many viewers prayed that there be no new mysterious diseases springing up from those jungles, among those apes, only to be tested in future and claimed to have originated from Africa. The credibility of CNN as a media institution is being questioned by many viewers, who also accuse it of putting profit before facts. Some see it as a media institution that is unable to enforce a code of truth and high standard of evidence on its producers, presenters and writers. Some CNN presenters are also being accused of feeling that their viewers are ignorant and unable to carry out a critical analysis of their media reports. Mr. Cooper presenting the origin of HIV/AIDS while still inside the jungle and before their cameras, without presenting to his viewers any scientific processes he carried out before reaching a conclusion is an example of playing with the intelligence of his viewers. CNN seems to be losing the confidence of many of its viewers.

While we acknowledge the efforts CNN is making to keep the public informed of current happenings all over the world, it really needs to keep its journalists honest and transcend acting as a propaganda machine. It can still regain the confidence of many of its viewers as THE MOST TRUSTE DNAME IN NEWS it claims.

Instead of slaughtering cow, cooking and all of that; isn’t there another avenue the man called Adedibu can channel, to affect the life of his people positively. The man is gone, and the people are still hungry as ever. People always say “the man who showed us out to fish is better than the man that gave us fish” I believe basic foundation is a necessecity in every human endeavor; people need basic foundation in order to survive. Instead of cooking, pounding and feeding the neighborhood…why not embark on series of project that will create employment for these masses of people rather than making them your prey. Embark on specific program that will improve on the status of your people one way or the other, infrastructure is there. Giving them food day and night is not going to solve their problem, because they will always come back. I understand the man is not educated, but he has intellectual people on his payroll that should know better. I commend the man Adedibu for taking the initiative to provide food and other financial help to his people. I know Nigeria is bequeathed with wealthy (regardless of how they got their wealth) people like Adedibu that don’t even care about the welfare of their people. Kudos to the man for setting high standard for others to emulate. I just wish whoever is going to fill that role; need to rethink about the needs of his/her people. These people don’t need immediate food; they don’t need certain amount of money here and there. They need Jobs, infrastructure to sustain them for a long time. These wealthy people can build factories where they will employ their people, the factory make money and indigenes also benefit as well. The person, as a high ranking officer of the society (because of his/her wealth and influence) can influence government policy for the betterment of his/her people.

I believe Nigeria needs other source of power generation rather than relying on Hydrocarbon alone. I commend government's initiative for pushing towards nuclear energy and some other form of energy policy. This idea will afford us the opportunity to divest our source of power generation, capitalize on the strategy and improve total power generated within the country to 50,000 mw or more. Also, G8 critiquing our preparedness should be a welcome idea. I know we can do this; we have the human and capital resources to handle this type of technology. This will definitely strengthens what ever preparation they have in place. It is from strong criticism you get the best out of people. I just hope my people are not fronting this idea just to siphon money into their own pocket.

In the midst of all wrong doing, evil doers, tyrants… we still have this great country of ours called Nigeria desperately seeking new direction. Everybody screaming for the messiah; the mosses to lead us into the promise land. Yaradua has being fingered for being too sick and slow to deliver the goods we seek. If you are to choose one person who fit this description (a leader) to lead Nigerians perfectly, who will it be and why?

EFCC Chair Confirmation: How the Senate Sealed the Deal with Farida Waziri's sponsors
http://www.saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=626

AFC Scandal: CBN Governor Charles Soludo Prepares to Buy Powerful Allies, as Probe Panel Unearths New Shady Details
http://www.saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=629

An early sign of Farida Waziri's EFCC: Ibori’s Runaway Front man, Henry Imasekha, Returns to Nigeria
http://www.saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=627

Could all these information and allegations be accurate and true? Let’s say these allegations are 50% true that means Nigeria still has a long way to go. I think its about time we call for a new independence. We’re taking one foot in the right direction, and later back it up with 200 foot in the wrong direction. Appointing Ribadu to fight corruption, and when the man is too good at his job, we castrate him and call for his removal. Imagine our leaders advocating for millennium goal; canvassing and pushing Nigeria to be one of the best nations in the world by 2020. How is this going to be possible if we can not fight corruption properly? When our government cannot even probe specific sector properly… they publish facades of lies, deceptive image of the economy. I wouldn’t be surprise if nothing comes out of the ongoing power probe. I guess it is expected that their decision will be compromised; anyway, I guess it is up to our senator’s to prove otherwise.

Our government can’t make strict rules and enforce them. We passed a law forcing most of these oil coys to hire certain percentage of Nigerians rather than bringing in expatriates from their countries, we passed laws to bar or reduce gas flaring. These companies don’t comply with our laws because they know our governments are too scared of loosing those royalties they derived from them. If we keep juggling between bad policies, lacking transparency in everything we do couple with integrity and some other issues. We will never be in the top economy by 2020.

When are we ever going to get it right? When are our leaders going to stand up and fight for the future of this country; invest in the future our youths by capitalizing on their mind… accelerate the growth of the economy by improving our educational systems. I guess most of these leaders believe that by setting up or push for good educational system within the country…, their kids that was sent oversees for better education will find it difficult to compete for the position they didn’t have to work for (or they didn’t qualify for but got easily). I guess the time when everything we do, we do for the glory of the country passed a long time ago. Now, it’s all about me and my family, steal so that my family don’t have to suffer after I’m gone. Can we ever revive those moments, those days when the Patriotic African leaders (Nigerians leaders in particular) care about the welfare of the people who vote them into power. Major infrastructures are in shambles; no pipe borne water, no stable electricity, health care system is a disgrace to the economy (imagine a whole president of Nigeria being flown out of the country for medical care, while this could have been done here at home) all our roads are in total chaos. In every annual budget; we hear about provision for all these sectors. Where are all the money allocated for these sectors? I echoed every citizen need for change in Nigeria. The question is how can we drive and effect change with all these corrupt officials left and right? How can we make sure our elected officials are held accountable for their actions? How can we make sure our elected officials deliver all those frivolous political promise that they made during their campaign? How can we make sure our leading senators and congressmen and women ratify certain laws for the benefit of all mankind and oppose those laws that will put us in trouble later on?

I understand that we cannot live everything unto the governments hand; we as citizen have specific roles that we need to play in order to alleviate poverty, create awareness on how to stem illiteracy, improve on security within our area, encourage private corporations within our area to modify our surroundings.
Ask yourself a question, as a citizen, what can you do to contribute your own quota to the economy? What are the factors plaguing your community and what needs to be done to effect changes? I believe if we can come up with a problem and a solution… extend this to some of our community leaders for review. This will go a long way. From there, that person might know somebody who know somebody. Together, we can make this country great again.

St Anthony's Grammar School, Esure, Ogun State
Class of 1997 please stand up

Happy Democracy Day all NN

storm0210:
i think the noble laureate should shut his trap, if he was made president i don't think he would be able to do any better than yar'adua. truthfully the critics should allow d man do his job, he didnt create the non-sense in nigeria so he wont end it in a year. we thank God that we are not like Zimbambwe who has had a president for donkey years and he still wants to remain in power.

men, mess soyinka, Happy Democracy Day Nigeria

“Why settle for less if you can get more…or when you know you worth more” Compare Nigeria with country with better prospects / good future ambition rather than comparing it with country like Zimbabwe with no sense of direction. From strong criticism, you get more out of people, more out of our leaders to change their ways. While I understand that Wole Soyinka probably might not have improve the economy positively within the past year if he was made the president, but he’s in a position to push for change by speaking his mind. I think his idea should be commended rather than pouring cold water on it. I think people should critique more so that our leaders can change for the better.