Fani-Kayode assaults Daily Trust journalist for questioning tour in Calabar. Photo credit: Negroid Haven
The Nigerian situation is often a rather pathetic one. The situation is such that teachers and journalists end up being treated as whipping boys of a society that has failed to get its values right.
No matter how educated they are, once they choose to be teachers or journalists they’re treated like dregs in our polluted society.
But then, the blame starts from within. In most cases, they resign themselves to their fates and they lose all self-worth. If one doesn’t have self esteem, they can’t be respected by others.
What is the value of the teacher or journalist in Nigeria?
In the UK, 42 BBC journalists earn more than the prime minister. It was in the same UK that a man chose to remain a reporter for years and he became so experienced that he was earning more than the average editor.
But in the case of Nigeria, journalists hardly get paid. They therefore resort to the infamous ‘brown envelopes’ a.k.a. ‘kwa’ to survive. Meanwhile, their publishers are smiling to the banks.
The case of the teacher is even worse. Many a time, parents would come to a school and beat up a teacher who has disciplined their ward. This is often done in the child’s presence.
The case of those who work in private schools is even sadder. Their appointments are at the mercy of their various proprietors. When they are on holidays, some proprietors refuse to pay the wages of their teachers.
The case of a former minister of aviation was therefore not surprising as he treated a journalist like a ‘boy boy’. The saddest thing was that rather than walking out of the press conference in protest against the assault of one of their own, other journalists could be heard blaming Eyo Charles!
082620
