Critical minds for critical times: Role of media in building peaceful, just and inclusive society (1)

Paper delivered by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Eric Osagie, at a media summit/lecture in commemoration of 2017 United Nations World Press Freedom Day organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, in Ibadan on May 26, 2017.

I am always highly elated each time I have to stand and speak before journalists. This is because, I have learnt more from my colleagues than any other source. As a media manager, I have interacted with an array of top journalists, some of whom are clearly among the best on our continent and globally. Each time I interact with them, I learn something about how to use the mind.
The mind is a very complex tool created by nature for human application. In today’s IT world, we would say the mind is the best app developed by IT buffs, which many would pay heavily to acquire. But here we are, wholly imbued with an application/tool, free, by nature, which has the capacity to turn things around, whether for good or bad, depending on how we apply them.
As an Editor-in Chief, I have had to apply my mind towards finding solutions to problems. But as we advance as a nation, one is tempted to ask if, indeed, we apply our minds towards asking critical questions for our own development.
In understanding what we are here for, we need first to understand what exactly we mean when we talk of critical mind. When we talk of critical minds, what comes to focus is critical thinking. Masters of knowledge tell us that with critical thinking, we refer to “the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.”
Simply put, it means that if we have to form judgment, which would be considered to be objective; we must put our minds to use in a more rational manner. As humans, we belong to the category of being called animal. The other is plant. As animals, we are different from the other species, which are considered to be lower. In the hierarchy of animal being, therefore, humans rank top and different from wild animal simply for one reason – the mind. Humans are rational beings and that is why they ask questions; better put, look before they leap.
The differentiation between man and animal was not created by you and me. What we have done, however, is to expand the frontiers of the difference by engaging our minds towards solving problems that confront us. In Catholic theology, man is co-creator with God. The question is why would it be man and not hyena, for instance? Man was specially created by God with a mind that enables him seek answers for his well-being.
In the story of creation, we are told that God created everything in six days and rested on the 7th day. Although we agree that God’s work of creation is never ending, we also believe that as humans, we have a role in creation. That role, which man has very well played, has helped pull man and society out of what Thomas Hobbes describes as ‘state of nature,’ where life is ‘brutish, nasty and short.’ Can we, therefore, for a moment, think of what society would have been if our forebears had not applied their minds towards inventive works?
Alexander Flemings applied his mind critically and that was how he invented penicillin, which helped solve problems of bacterial infections. Thomas Edison filed over 1, 000 patents. He developed and innovated a wide range of products from the electric light bulb to the phonograph and motion picture camera. The Wright Brothers designed, built and flew the first aircraft, which has today flourished in booming aviation industry. Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity and invented the Franklin stove. James Watt invented the steam engine, which was critical in the industrial revolution. Alexander Bell came in with the telephone and also had a hand in optical telecommunications, aeronautics and hydrofoils. Galileo was recorded by history as inventor of the telescope, which he also used to prove wrong, existing theory that the earth was flat. I know you still remember that he was brought before the inquisition and burnt at the stakes for what was then termed heresy. He was forgiven more than 500 years after.
I won’t forget to mention Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-born scientist, who moved over to the United States as an immigrant and applied his mind towards developing new electricity model, which are now very useful in the development of non-fossil fuel cars. According to activistpost.com, Tesla’s mind was pivotal in the invention of several other life-changing innovations. I know that most of you know that today, Mercedes Benz, used to be seen as the actual ‘end of discussion’ in automobile, has stopped chasing Toyota in trying to develop more fuel efficient cars, but are not growing grey hairs and looking at a bleak market with Telsa cars.
We are all happier with our computers and the Internet. But we don’t seem to remember that it was Tim Berners Lee, who developed the http://protocol for the Internet, making the World Wide Web freely available. Before him, our own Philip Emeagwali had been credited with inventing a mathematical code that made computers work faster. Indeed, Barack Obama called him ‘father of the Internet.’
Back home, we have had the likes of Oviemo Ovadje, an Army General, who invented the EAT-SET (Emergency Auto Transfusion-SET), which had won WHO acclaim and awards. How about the likes of Ndubisi Ekekwe, credited with developing microchips used in minimally invasive surgical robots; or Jelani Aliyu, who designed Chevrolet Volt for General Motors; or Seyi Oyesola, who is credited with co-inventing of compact or a solar-powered life-saving operating room, which can be transported to remote areas within minutes; or Saheed Adepoju, who invented the INYE-1 and 2 Tablets computers made specifically for Africa; or Cyprian Emeka Uzor, who holds more than 126 United States of America patents and over 160 patents worldwide in semiconductor technology.
There are so many Nigerians, at home and in the Diaspora, who have also critically applied their minds and made innovations that are changing lives in the fields of medicine, automobile, agriculture, etc. One, Dr. Benneth Omalu, had even had a movie done in celebration of the work he had done in fighting head injuries from American Football, by Will Smith.
Generally, there are many Nigerians, who are working tirelessly and applying their minds in both the right and wrong way. In the study of ethics, it is said that man has equal capacity for right and wrong actions. It is, however, a matter of where the pull is strongest. Beyond what we have established as the critical role the mind plays in transforming society, we have to begin to find out how we as journalists, reporters and investigators, would also apply our own minds towards changing our society.
Let me say this. No mind is idle. What you may call an idle mind is probably a mind that is not as critical and also not working towards same direction as you. Like I said earlier, I have had reason to interact with a lot of journalists and I find them very interesting professionals to mingle with. One thing I find most distinguishing about the Nigerian journalist, a member of the Fourth Estate of the Realm, is that despite the vagaries of his profession, he still has a very fertile mind, one, which is very inquisitive, and deeply probing. Yes, he is owed salaries and has very poor environment for work. He lacks insurance despite the risks associated with his job. He lacks incentives to do his work, yet he wakes the next day pushes through to get the best exclusive. However, the story is different at The Sun,  and Sporting Sun. We are doing our best to ensure that staff do not only work in best environment but also get their emoluments as at when due.
Nonetheless, what that means is that our journalists live in same society like the rich. They buy from the same market, like the rich, yet they are the Fourth Estate. While the first, second and third estate of the realm is fine and well taken care of, the Fourth Estate is not. However, the fourth estate, despite being inquisitive and probing, seems to be surrendering its role to other forces.
If you take a look at our newspapers every day, the preponderance of reports suggests an abdication of critical thinking in critical times. Today, our country is going through a recession. Some foreign publication had alerted that Nigeria has exited recession. I am yet to see critical questioning of that hypothesis. Many people, who read that story, also read stories credited to the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and some top Federal Government officials that, indeed, Nigeria will exit recession sooner than expected. Has the media critically examined that?
Also, at the outset of this administration in 2015, we were all glued to one argument – diversification. All everyone who spoke of national issues ever said was that our economy was failing because we depended on one income source – oil. Almost everyone was out there shouting diversification. In fact, it became a song. But how many of us, as journalists and investigators, had asked critical questions about diversification and when that word hit our political lexicon? If you ask the right questions, you may get the right answers and that may lead you towards knowing that diversification has been on the table for as long as politicians walked this road called Nigeria. The question we need to ask is: What happened to previous efforts to diversify? What happened to funds allocated by previous administrations in Nigeria to diversify from a mono-economy?
Let us move a bit further back. If you critically engage your minds, you would find that thousands of licences have been awarded by Nigeria’s governments in diverse fields. From oil and gas to aviation to manufacturing, solid mineral development, transportation, universities, media, shipping, housing development, etc. I am sure that some of us here had covered events where Memoranda of Understanding were signed between Federal or state government and private sector. The question is: How often do we follow up on such reports to find out if the MoUs are being implemented or if life is given to the licence issued?
Our country is yawning for development, no doubt. But how would such developments come if licences for the development of critical sectors are issued to businessmen, who use them for purposes other than what they were issued for? How often does the Fourth Estate ask critical questions, as follow-ups, after an MoU had been signed? Have we exercised our minds, as journalists, to ask questions and know why those who got licences to build refineries are not building them?

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