Over the weekend, Sahara Reporters revealed that the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff, General Tukur Buratai, along with his two wives, owned very expensive private property in Dubai. A few hours later however, the Nigerian Army spokesman came out to deny the allegations. The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, issued a statement claiming that though the revelations were true, they were bought with the General’s “savings” and not with taxpayer money. “It is a fact that the Buratai family has two properties in Dubai that were paid for on an instalment basis, through personal savings three years ago,” he said. That seems like a logical reply to the rumour-mongering going on in the media. Except the only problem is, how could he save up to $1.5 million as a member of the Nigerian Army as this is allegedly the worth of his holdings in Dubai? This is the type of question we expect to be asked after the army’s attempt at damage control, instead there is an eerie silence from the media on the matter.
This kind of reporting seems to emphasise the sensationalism and deceitfulness rife within the Nigerian media; major on the minor and minor on the major. With this kind of “Dora the Explorer” reporting, it is easy to see why foreign media outlets think Nigeria’s war on corruption has been entirely one sided. Last week, an American diplomat wrote a lengthy piece in the Wall Street Journal accusing President Buhari of being partial in his war against corruption. The Nigerian media seems very keen on reporting the investigation of key members of the opposition as though they have already been found guilty in court and sentenced to time in prison. Very often, these reports are blown out of proportion and sensationalised, inciting anger from the populace, while arrests of ruling party members seem to go under the radar. It is not surprising that the damage control news had more traction than the original revelation itself.
The only conviction on corruption charges, since President Buhari began his war on corruption, has been a member of the ruling party and former head of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Raymond Omatseye. This is a fact most Nigerians are unaware of. Instead, we focus on the numerous members of the Peoples Democratic Party (not that they are exactly ‘saints’) who, technically, should be innocent until proven guilty.
The media seems to be undermining Buhari’s war on corruption by choosing the stories that should get the most attention and those that should not. Perhaps, giving equal airtime to stories surrounding the investigation of corrupt people on both sides of political divide, will eventually give Buhari’s anti-corruption drive more credibility and stop the head-hunting from the foreign media.
