Feature/OPED
Ethical Dilemma, Journalism Practice and Remedies
By Taiwo Hassan
The ethical dilemma comes in different shades. It ranges from editors and journalists slanting a story to cover real issues by giving prominence to a good side of a story without balance, helping the government and other officials in disinformation propaganda to launder the image of the government, and receiving gratification to downplay news stories. The list is endless.
Ethics is primarily being bound by a moral principle. The journalism profession has come a long way with its embedded moral codes. Many Journalists have lost their lives and other things they hold dear, trying to uphold the ethics of the profession.
Journalists, as a social-actor in society interacting with other actors, must face conflict within these social relations.
An ethical dilemma is a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an immoral act, either as a survival strategy or pressure to perform in order to achieve organisational objectives. Hence, there must be a clash between professional loyalties and certain interests that may undermine the credibility of journalists. It is a delicate balance that can seriously question objectivity.
As the issue of ethics is very important in the journalism profession in Nigeria, it is also relevant globally. Ethical dilemmas faced by journalists in different parts of the world are increasing and not abating, accentuated by online and citizen journalism that leverage internet-influenced-ICT.
The character of media organisations and journalists is defined clearly during a crisis that pits one nation against another or one section of society against the other.
When media take sides in whatever way, either in war or crisis situation, knowing full well that every word written or spoken by them is a freely-given machete, bullet, bomb and ready-made tool in the hands of war actors to perpetrate further atrocities, the ethical and professional obligation of the media is to provide objective, accurate and balanced reporting during war, conflict or peace-time for people to make informed analysis, influence debate and volunteer their opinion and not for journalists and editors to distort or suppress information for certain motives.
Just like what happened in 2nd World War, where journalists and editors in Germany, Czech and Poland as well as the United States, United Kingdom and France during the 1930s and 1940s not only used the situation to feather their nest but also broke morals codes governing journalism profession to serve as propaganda tools that distorted facts to fan the ember of the war with devastating consequences.
Media taking sides in the reportage of Yemen, Syrian and Russian-Ukrainian conflict abound. Online journalists are also not left out of this charade. Media houses and their journalists from the US, Europe, Africa and Asia demonstrate this.
Using Europe and the US as a typical example, the news angle about the war on VOA, CBS, BBC, DW, and France 24 toe the line of the government. FOX and SKY New in the UK and SKY News-Australia toe another line by apportioning blames, politicizing and criticism of President Vladimir Zelensky for profiting from the war instead of offering solution journalism, giving audience balanced, human-angle and result-oriented reporting that will facilitate relief for children, women and families facing hunger and humanitarian crisis and not reportage skewed to the owner’s interest and political leaning.
Contemporary ethical issues facing reporters and editors today are more complex, profound and devastating due to the power of the internet, smartphones and other digital platforms, which have placed journalism in the hands of ordinary citizens to provide “exclusive news”, “exclusive footage”, or “breaking news” that is not easily confirmed or fact-checked.
Ethical issues facing reporters and editors today globally are aggravated in the developing world, especially Nigeria, where the ethical dilemma facing journalism professionals is so damning.
When journalists are owed salary for months without knowing when it is going to be paid or how they are going to settle their bills, families need to be fed, rent to be paid, and other needs to be taken care of, ethical discipline will definitely take a back-sit. In fact, Nigerian journalists are poorly paid in terms of their total welfare package. Some earn as little as less than $150 a month.
Journalists have found themselves in a difficult situation of balancing the demands of their survival and that of protecting the interest of the society in which they live vis-a-vis adhering to professional ethics.
The question is: how does one expect journalists in this situation not to compromise, not to have a conflict of interests, not to behave unethically or expect him to remember any journalistic ethics or codes, for that matter?
Media houses that cannot pay salary resorts to arm-twisting their staff to look for a sponsor, either individual or organization, who can bankroll a programme in order to get paid from the sponsor’s fees they attract to the station.
It is a shame to see the wide income gap between reporters and their editorial bosses. Some reporters earn as little as N50,000 ($112) a month, and many of them are Master’s degree holders. Apart from getting money from politicians who want favourable reports, the editors have perks they enjoyed.
The killing of late veteran journalist, Dele Giwa, publisher of Tell Magazine, through a letter bomb for upholding journalism ethics by refusing to compromise on what he uncovered through his investigation on the Military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida reportedly caused his assassination.
The journalism profession is guided by truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability, objectivity, credibility and facts. But, who wants to die upholding any journalism ethics when his life, economic survival and that of his family is at stake, considering the fact that no welfare package is on the ground to take care of one loved-ones when a Journalist passes away, particularly in a country like Nigeria. As it is better imagined than experienced, families left behind by dead or slain journalists are in the best position to tell of the abject poverty they found themselves in following the passing of their breadwinners.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) can hardly do much to help. Many of them have vowed not to ever allow their children to go into the journalism profession again.
Not toeing the line of reticence, I believe ethical dilemmas in journalism can be remedied. Though as I said earlier, an ethical dilemma can be a survival strategy or pressure to perform in order to achieve organisational objectives.
Ethical issues persist globally, just like in Nigeria, as a result of individual, organizational, environmental and societal challenges. It is imperative to empower and equip journalists to prepare for contemporary challenges and ethical dilemmas in the profession in terms of side vocation to break dependency syndrome for bribes to make them less amenable to unethical socio-economic inducements.
Journalists must be adequately remunerated. For Journalists to perform their “constitutional roles and obligations,” journalists must ‘appear-well’ and ‘feed-well’ to ‘work-well’. Wages commensurate with other professions must be paid to journalists to boost their egos as professionals. Opportunities for career advancement and satisfaction should be created for average Journalists and not for editors alone.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Code of Journalism Practice needs to be reviewed to recognise socio-economic circumstances journalists find themselves in the line of duty so as to have a living code that is able to take cognizance of journalists’ survival strategy or work performance pressures as well as serves as checks on the excesses of journalists.
The remedy is also to have NUJ, which presently doubles as a trade union and professional body, be solely professional body while a new body under NUJ would be a trade union arm fighting for the rights of journalists as regards the condition of service, salary payment etc. to take care of socio-economic induced-ethical dilemma faced by journalists in tandem with “International Federation of Journalists” (IFJ) collective actions to support journalists to fight for fair pay, decent working conditions and in defence of their labour rights and also, in alignment with what the “Committee to Protect Journalists” does. (an independent, non-profit organization that promotes press freedom and defends journalists’ rights to report news safely without fear of reprisal.
In order not to call the objectivity of journalists to question, media men must stay within the professional ethics of the profession and also know how conflict and crisis stories should be written for online, print and electronic media without running into ethical potholes.
Recognizing national security interest in the prohibition of information regarded as sensitive, offensive or subjudice and not personal interests, Journalists can balance their reportage independently, not relying on press releases, press statements and other information issued by the government but by being professional in their journalistic endeavours.
Taiwo Hassan is from the Federal Ministry of Information, Radio House, Abuja and can be reached via [email protected].
By Luke Kyohere
The global payments landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation. New technologies coupled with the rising demand for seamless, secure, and efficient transactions has spurred on an exciting new era of innovation and growth. With 2025 fast approaching, here are important trends that will shape the future of payments:
1. The rise of real-time payments
Until recently, real-time payments have been used in Africa for cross-border mobile money payments, but less so for traditional payments. We are seeing companies like Mastercard investing in this area, as well as central banks in Africa putting focus on this.
2. Cashless payments will increase
In 2025, we will see the continued acceleration of cashless payments across Africa. B2B payments in particular will also increase. Digital payments began between individuals but are now becoming commonplace for larger corporate transactions.
3. Digital currency will hit mainstream
In the cryptocurrency space, we will see an increase in the use of stablecoins like United States Digital Currency (USDC) and Tether (USDT) which are linked to US dollars. These will come to replace traditional cryptocurrencies as their price point is more stable. This year, many countries will begin preparing for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), government-backed digital currencies which use blockchain.
The increased uptake of digital currencies reflects the maturity of distributed ledger technology and improved API availability.
4. Increased government oversight
As adoption of digital currencies will increase, governments will also put more focus into monitoring these flows. In particular, this will centre on companies and banks rather than individuals. The goal of this will be to control and occasionally curb runaway foreign exchange (FX) rates.
5. Business leaders buy into AI technology
In 2025, we will see many business leaders buying into AI through respected providers relying on well-researched platforms and huge data sets. Most companies don’t have the budget to invest in their own research and development in AI, so many are now opting to ‘buy’ into the technology rather than ‘build’ it themselves. Moreover, many businesses are concerned about the risks associated with data ownership and accuracy so buying software is another way to avoid this risk.
6. Continued AI Adoption in Payments
In payments, the proliferation of AI will continue to improve user experience and increase security. To detect fraud, AI is used to track patterns and payment flows in real-time. If unusual activity is detected, the technology can be used to flag or even block payments which may be fraudulent.
When it comes to user experience, we will also see AI being used to improve the interface design of payment platforms. The technology will also increasingly be used for translation for international payment platforms.
7. Rise of Super Apps
To get more from their platforms, mobile network operators are building comprehensive service platforms, integrating multiple payment experiences into a single app. This reflects the shift of many users moving from text-based services to mobile apps. Rather than offering a single service, super apps are packing many other services into a single app. For example, apps which may have previously been used primarily for lending, now have options for saving and paying bills.
8. Business strategy shift
Recent major technological changes will force business leaders to focus on much shorter prediction and reaction cycles. Because the rate of change has been unprecedented in the past year, this will force decision-makers to adapt quickly, be decisive and nimble.
As the payments space evolves, businesses, banks, and governments must continually embrace innovation, collaboration, and prioritise customer needs. These efforts build a more inclusive, secure, and efficient payment system that supports local to global economic growth – enabling true financial inclusion across borders.
Luke Kyohere is the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq
In a heartfelt statement released today, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has extended its warmest congratulations to Ghana’s President-Elect, emphasizing the importance of learning from Ghana’s recent electoral success as Nigeria gears up for its 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP highlighted the need for Nigeria to reclaim its status as a leader in democratic governance in Africa.
“The recent victory of Ghana’s President-Elect is a testament to the maturity and resilience of Ghana’s democracy,” the CNPP stated. “As we celebrate this achievement, we must reflect on the lessons that Nigeria can learn from our West African neighbour.”
The CNPP’s message underscored the significance of free, fair, and credible elections, a standard that Ghana has set and one that Nigeria has previously achieved under former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. “It is high time for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a beacon of democracy in Africa,” the CNPP asserted, calling for a renewed commitment to the electoral process.
Central to CNPP’s message is the insistence that “the will of the people must be supreme in Nigeria’s electoral processes.” The umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria CNPP emphasized the necessity of an electoral system that genuinely reflects the wishes of the Nigerian populace. “We must strive to create an environment where elections are free from manipulation, violence, and intimidation,” the CNPP urged, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take decisive action to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The CNPP also expressed concern over premature declarations regarding the 2027 elections, stating, “It is disheartening to note that some individuals are already announcing that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027. This kind of statement not only undermines the democratic principles that our nation holds dear but also distracts from the pressing need for the current administration to earn the trust of the electorate.”
The CNPP viewed the upcoming elections as a pivotal moment for Nigeria. “The 2027 general elections present a unique opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a leader in democratic governance in Africa,” it remarked. The body called on all stakeholders — including the executive, legislature, judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society organisations — to collaborate in ensuring that elections are transparent, credible, and reflective of the will of the Nigerian people.
As the most populous African country prepares for the 2027 elections, the CNPP urged all Nigerians to remain vigilant and committed to democratic principles. “We must work together to ensure that our elections are free from violence, intimidation, and manipulation,” the statement stated, reaffirming the CNPP’s commitment to promoting a peaceful and credible electoral process.
In conclusion, the CNPP congratulated the President-Elect of Ghana and the Ghanaian people on their remarkable achievements.
“We look forward to learning from their experience and working together to strengthen democracy in our region,” the CNPP concluded.
By Kenechukwu Aguolu
The proposed tax reform, involving four tax bills introduced by the Federal Government, has received significant criticism. Notably, it was rejected by the Governors’ Forum but was still forwarded to the National Assembly. Unlike the various bold economic decisions made by this government, concessions will likely need to be made on these tax reforms, which involve legislative amendments and therefore cannot be imposed by the executive. This article highlights the purposes of taxation, the qualities of a good tax system, and some of the implications of the proposed tax reforms.
One of the major purposes of taxation is to generate revenue for the government to finance its activities. A good tax system should raise sufficient revenue for the government to fund its operations, and support economic and infrastructural development. For any country to achieve meaningful progress, its tax-to-GDP ratio should be at least 15%. Currently, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is less than 11%. The proposed tax reforms aim to increase this ratio to 18% within the next three years.
A good tax system should also promote income redistribution and equality by implementing progressive tax policies. In line with this, the proposed tax reforms favour low-income earners. For example, individuals earning less than one million naira annually are exempted from personal income tax. Additionally, essential goods and services such as food, accommodation, and transportation, which constitute a significant portion of household consumption for low- and middle-income groups, are to be exempted from VAT.
In addition to equality, a good tax system should ensure equity and fairness, a key area of contention surrounding the proposed reforms. If implemented, the amendments to the Value Added Tax could lead to a significant reduction in the federal allocation for some states; impairing their ability to finance government operations and development projects. The VAT amendments should be holistically revisited to promote fairness and national unity.
The establishment of a single agency to collect government taxes, the Nigeria Revenue Service, could reduce loopholes that have previously resulted in revenue losses, provided proper controls are put in place. It is logically easier to monitor revenue collection by one agency than by multiple agencies. However, this is not a magical solution. With automation, revenue collection can be seamless whether it is managed by one agency or several, as long as monitoring and accountability measures are implemented effectively.
The proposed tax reforms by the Federal Government are well-intentioned. However, all concerns raised by Nigerians should be looked into, and concessions should be made where necessary. Policies are more effective when they are adapted to suit the unique characteristics of a nation, rather than adopted wholesale. A good tax system should aim to raise sufficient revenue, ensure equitable income distribution, and promote equality, equity, and fairness.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking6 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN