By Prof. Chike Okoye
Book Title: Media Practice and Security Challenges in South-East Nigeria
Author: Uche Nworah, Ph.D
Pages: 114
ISBN: 978607689-2
Publisher: Ceefo Press
Uche Nworah’s outing in this topically titled book is a relatively slim volume of one hundred and fourteen pages (114). Published by Ceefo Press of Enugu, Nigeria, the book as the title says is squarely about the nature and position of media practice as it stands in the contemporaneity of the South East of Nigeria.
The text is broken down into six (6) numbered and titled chapters and another three (3) unnumbered chapters grouped under a segment titled “Bonus Chapters”.
Chapters 1, 2, 3, through 4, 5, to 6, are titled “The Media Practitioner”, “Media Practice in South-Eastern Nigeria”, “Security Challenges in South-East Nigeria”, “Impact of Insecurity in South Eastern Nigeria on Media Practice”, “The Role of the Media in Curbing Rising Insecurity in the South-East”, and “Conclusion and Suggestions’, respectively. The chapters in the ‘Bonus Chapters” part are titled in their order of appearance as “Covid-19 Educational Intervention in Nigeria: A Case Study of Anambra Teaching-On-Air Broadcast on Anambra Broadcasting Service”, “Public Broadcasting Stations and Nigeria Media Ecosystem (ABS)”, and “Issues Around Internet Broadcasting in Nigeria”.
In straightforward and unambiguous fashion maintained throughout the book, the titles of the individual chapters tackle their contents in a no-holds-barred, succinct, and business-like manner typical of the hard news stance of traditional and effective journalism; though laced appropriately where relevant analysis is needed.
The first chapter which serves as an expository introduction, explains who the media practitioner is from both the narrow and broad perspectives. It touches on citizen journalism and importantly on the need for differentiation and authentication between trained professionals and internet-enabled all-comers to the Fourth Estate of the Realm. It is worthy to note that Nworah’s signature simplicity, academic content and teacher-style which pervades the whole book is noticed first in this chapter.
Chapter 2 identifies and describes the general challenges of contemporary media practice in South East Nigeria, especially Anambra state. He mentions amidst others, recession, depreciating naira, brain drain, competition from within (that is, other media outfits) and without (this time, social media operators), rising taxes, staff welfare, the recent spate of insecurity and so on.
The third chapter takes head-on and zeroes in on the security challenges of the South-East. Armed with supportive statistics, both from pro-government and independently objective sources, he dispassionately makes a case for the troubling situation staring us in the face and pinpoints among others, these major causes of insecurity in our locale: distrust for government forces especially after the wake of the military Operation Python Dance; rising youth unemployment and attendant restiveness; herders-farmers clashes and subsequent reprisal attacks and killings; dissatisfaction and distrust for state actors; the unhealthy gubernatorial and political tussle atmosphere of 2021, and so on.
Disruptions of schedules and patterns, revenue losses, threats to life and property, operational challenges, and huge material and financial losses are just a few of the impacts of insecurity in South-Eastern Nigeria (especially on media practice) very well discussed in Chapter 4. He spices it up with the corroborative viewpoints gleaned from over ten (10) journalists and media practitioners in Anambra State whom he interviewed about insecurity and their jobs – and of course, the tales were gritty.
In Chapter 5, he takes the discourse a notch higher by showcasing the role the media is playing and has to play in curbing the rising insecurity in the South-East in spite of the daunting challenges inherent and mounting. He maintains that playing the watchdog role, maintaining positive partnership with security agencies, producing and presenting balanced stories, and the pursuance of peace journalism are germane for media practitioners in fighting insecurity. In concluding the chapter, he quotes and explains Pani et al by enumerating over ten (10) concrete ways good journalism can help foster conflict resolution.
In the conclusion, Chapter 6, he proffers among other solutions that pressing authorities for upward reviews of subventions (for state-owned media), being creative in insecurity-threatened financial problems/situations, embracing money-making ventures (citing the ABS example), engaging better operating environments and reviewing existing ones, re-educating people to their responsibilities as per the folly of destruction of public assets and properties during protests, etc., are among ways of engendering a viable society and a healthy and functioning media practice.
The “Bonus Chapters” bring to limelight once again the praiseworthy and ideally emulation-worthy synergy between the media (in this case, ABS) and the government for the populace in the successful construct of “Teaching-On-Air” – our own effort in mitigating Covid-19’s effect on our students. The other chapter sharply x-rays the traditional media’s challenges in a new world/era with better equipped, disposed, and evolved opponents and competitors e.g., cable tv’ and extends the discourse in the very last chapter by presenting the issues inherent in internet broadcasting in the country.
In spite of a few graphological and grammatical infelicities (which could be attributed to the ubiquitous printer’s devil) which appear on pages 4, 16, 22, 31, and 39, which will of course be taken care of later and prove the whole point of book editions, I make bold to say that there is eternal truism in the saying that big things come in small packs. Dr Uche Nworah’s tour de force, is a hands-on, practical, objective, reportorial, and an experienced field-man’s testimony that proven practice, experience and sound academic scaffolding will remain a formidable package. I am indeed impressed. In the true broadcast media simplicity and directness of language, this book brings to bear, experience, insight, maturity, humaneness and that special aura that only the haloed gurus in the Fourth Estate of the Realm can muster for the good of our society. Despite the stark coldness of statistics and data (which makes for quite a considerable chunk of the book’s strength), Nworah deftly adds this seamless, almost imperceptible human and humane quality to it – and I call this “Nworah’s Touch” (I pray this term becomes patented!).
In this era of the ever-blurry edges of traditional journalism and citizen journalism, we all need this book. And guess what? It is a splendid and highly informative work – an indispensable reference piece for both professional, freelancer, private individual, libraries, academic institutions, and of course the government at all levels. Do I need again to tell you to get a copy?
• Okoye is a Professor of Poetry and Postcolonial Literature, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.