Sycophancy and Objective Journalism

doi:10.4236/aasoci.2012.23022

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Advances in Applied Sociology

2012. Vol.2, No.3, 159-166

Published Online September 2012 in SciRes (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/aasoci) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2012.23022

Sycophancy and Objective Journalism

Bonachristus Umeo gu1, Ifeoma Ojiakor2

1Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

2Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria

Email: ojiakor99@y ahoo.com

Received April 28th, 2012; revised June 2nd, 2012; accepted June 12th, 2012

Objective journalism is the desire and aim of every society and media house. However, such noble aspira-

tion is beclouded and usurped by sycophancy and sycophantic reporting. This development denies the

public the right to true information and invariably leads to loss of reputation by the media house. This

paper looks at sycophancy in the Nigerian media by looking at the reasons for its unbridled spread, effects

on the public, media houses, individuals and the government of the day.

Keywords: Sycophancy; Ethics; Objectivity; Objective Journalism

Introduction

Despite the time and attention given to ethical issues, our so-

ciety is still riddled with different types and manner of ethical

maladies. The journalist who is a product of the society is will-

ingly or unwillingly affected by the sorry situation. One of such

problems is sycophancy which is chief among the ethical prob-

lems in Nigeria. The issue of sycophancy is important to be

addressed because it affects objective journalism as it is.

Barry white, a renowned singer has one of his lyrics as

“practice what you preach”. This goes a long way to resound

that talk is cheap. It is one thing to know the right thing and a

different ball game to do the right thing. These days, everybody

knows the slogan of a free but responsible press. Good a thing

that everyone knows that; but is it really practiced? Is objective

reporting attainable in this era besieged by sycophantic report-

ing?

Every member of a democratic society has the right to know;

since nobody wants to be fed with trash, the summum bonum

becomes objective reporting or journalism. Overtime, the press

has been riddled with all forms of ethical issues which have

invariably affected what goes down to the public as news or

information. Such issues include plagiarism, brown envelopism,

moon lighting, and of course sycophancy. One thing that is

logical is that unethical reporting results to subjective journal-

ism.

The question now is why is Nigerian journalism bedeviled

with sycophantic reporting? What are the causes and inherent

dangers of this ethical problem? Does it have any ethical im-

plication for the journalist, the government and the society at

large? What can be done to remedy the situation to avoid re-

peating the same old story?

Definition of Ethics

What is ethics? For a word that occupies such a central place

in communication, there abound definitions as there abound

communication scholars. That notwithstanding, Omole (2000)

in Okunna (2003: p. 2) defines ethics as

the shared normative values, which any society holds

dear and are used to judge the behaviour or performance

of any member of that society. It sets out the minimum of

acceptable behaviour which any member should attain to

be regarded as a good ambassador…

Ethics is a concept that borders on morality and conse-

quences of human actions. It also recognizes the fact that man

as a rational being has the ability to discern what is good or bad

and in line with the approved standard of behaviour in a given

society. Thiroux 1980 in (Okunna 2003) concurs by explaining

that:

when we speak of people as moral or ethical, we usu-

ally mean that they are good people and when we speak of

them as immoral or unethical, we mean that they are bad

people. When we re fer to certain human actions as moral,

ethical, immoral or unethical, we mean they are right or

wrong.

Another important characteristic of ethics is that it is volun-

tary in nature. That is, an individual chooses to do right or

wrong. Despite associations and bodies that regulates the ac-

tivities of its members; the decision to be ethical or not depends

solely on the individual. That is the relativity of ethical princi-

ples. According to Ozumba (2001: p. 2),

ethics as a science of good conduct can hardly on its

own make good men out of bad men. Its job is to instruct

us on how to be good men if we wish to be. This means

that the decision is all ours.

However, that decision to be or not to be might collectively

or individually be influenced by variables like sex, level of

exposure, orientation, religious background and what have you.

Contextualizing them, Okunna (2003) lists them “as cultural

socialization, personality differences and situational contingen-

cies”.

From the vast definitions of ethics, it can be summarily de-

duced that ethics is a set of moral principles or values dealing

with what is good or bad. It has also been seen as that branch of

knowledge that is concerned with the standards of good or bad

conduct in society. Journalistic ethics, according to Okunna

2003, is that branch of philosophy which aids journalists in

determining what is right to do and is ultimately concerned

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

with providing moral principles or norms for journalistic ac-

tions. Oloruntola (2007: p. 58) also shares his opinions;

Every profession of repute has for its practitioner’s

codes of ethics that guide the conduct of members in the

performance of their duties. Journalism as a profession is

not an exception as such codes of journalistic ethics have

been established all over the world both by members of

the profession and media organizations.

It holistically recognizes man as a rational being and at-

tempts to maximize the positive inner potential of man for the

greater good. Rationality has to do with the ability to make

decisions and judgments based on reason. I think that is one of

the things that make man a higher animal.

Ethics and the Journalist

The journalist just like every human being needs an ethical

guideline to gauge its activities. The journalist who is like the

information house; the eyes and ears of the whole citizenry,

particularly needs to be ethically active so as not to misinform

or disinform the public.

From time immemorial, man has been under one form of rule

or the other. However, journalistic ethics came into the scene

following the excesses of journalists during the libertarian era.

Ethics as an offshoot of social responsibility theory maintains

that in media work, certain standards of performance should not

just be stated but followed. This led to the emergence of jour-

nalistic codes of ethics for a more responsible conduct. Moe-

meka 1991 in (Okunna 2003: p. 38) captures this by writing

that “this theory places due emphasis on the moral and social

responsibilities to persons who, and institutions which operate

the mass medi a”.

In the same vein, Merril & Lowenstein (1979) in (Okunna

2003, p. 48) summarized the importance of ethics in the prac-

tice of journalism thus:

ethics—at least a concern for ethics—instills in the

journalist a continuing sensitivity to his every action, to

his every decision; It integrates or blends with his total

search for truth, and it gives him greater awareness of

himself, of others, of the consequences of interpersonal

relations. A concern with ethics is the key plank in any

journalistic platform; it is the “alpha and omega” of public

communication.

Purpose of Ethics

The aim of ethics in journalism is to maintain quality in the

media. Ethics is fundamental to journalism because mass media

practice is based on a set of essentially ethical concepts of truth,

objectivity, honesty, privacy etc. The role of journalism is to

provide information for the enlightenment, education and en-

tertainment of the people and this raises ethical question on the

quality of the intelligence disseminated, manner of its acquisi-

tion and the objective for which it is used in the socio-economic

and political processes.

According to Ebeze (2004) journalists have actually derailed

from the objective work they are meant to do hence ethnic re-

porting, wrong information, sycophantic journalism, fallacies

reporting; thus, this contributed to the invention of ethics.

In a nutshell, the purpose of ethics for the journalists is

 To protect the consumer, reader, listener or public in gen-

eral.

In fact, it also helps to protect the journalists themselves be-

fore they get drowned in the sea of societal immorality.

 Provides the journalist with standards and principles that

will guide the journalist in making moral decisions.

Depending on the different ethical theories and individual

differences, ethics will ensure uniform standards of behaviour.

This is necessary as some will believe in the rightness of their

actions despite the resulting consequence(s); while other will

believe that the consequence of the action determines its right-

ness or wrongness. That being the case, ethics spells out what is

expected in a particular situation.

 Provides a duty for yourself and others.

There are individual who play by the books as a matter of

principle; ethical provisions or codes of conduct as the case

may be helps them to play ball and effectively at that.

 Encourages responsible action in mass communication.

This is the thrust of this paper as ethics has a sole purpose; to

encourage free and responsible press so that the consumers

have a stable platform to make decisions as rational beings.

For Everybody

 It enables man to appreciate good or bad.

 Helps individual’s live a more virtuous life.

 Promotes and stabilizes social harmony.

 Enables you to look at both sides of the coin before you

judge.

Objective Journalism

What is objectivity and objective journalism? According to

Ayodele (1988)

Objectivity is the state or quality of not being influ-

enced by personal bias, prejudice, feelings and opinions.

Objective news-reporting is that which is devoid of infer-

ences, judgment and slanting.

Objectivity in journalism is all about stating the obvious de-

void of personal emotions and bias. It is more like saying or

writing it as it is and not what the journalist will like it to be. In

fact, it really takes a disciplined mind to be objective because

the temptation to embellish a story is always on the high side.

Again, objectivity comes with a great responsibility. Little

wonder why Okunna (2003) is of the view that objectivity has a

strong affinity with responsibility as far as mass communica-

tion is concerned”. Corroborating this is Edeani (1993) in

Okunna (2003: p. 76) who explain that

objectivity and responsibility are two of the most im-

portant concepts in mass communication, in view of the

central position occupied by each of them in the perform-

ance of the press. Very rarely is press ever criticizes or

congratulated on its performance without at least one of

these concepts coming into play.

This goes on to show that being objective and responsible is

the highest state any press could attain. More like the biblical

injunction of “seek to be responsible and objective and every

other thing will be added unto you”.

Despite the Importance, Gilmore & Root (1975) in Okunna

(2003) describe objectivity as the “short dead-pan news ac-

160

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

count” particularly in the reporting of complex events in which

a little interpretation and evaluation are necessary for under-

standing and assimilation by the publics. This does not deduct

from the value of objectivity because interpretative journalism

can still be done objectively. This point is buttressed by Edeani

(1993) in Okunna (2003: p. 77) when he wrote that

the analysis and interpretation do not detract from, but

rather strengthen objectivity if they are done with honesty,

fairness and impartiality.

It is agreed that there are cases and stories that requires a

kind of i nterpretati on and analysi s for better un derstandi ng by

the consumers. Yet, this does not negate the fact that objec-

tivity is a virtue that should not be compromised in any way.

One can still be objective as can be while interpreting. It all

boils do wn to how we ll you put rein on yo ur emotions. I f that

is the case, objectivity is not a myth or unattainable but rela-

tive to the journalist in question and the principles he/she

upholds as ideal.

In other words, Objective journalism acknowledges the pub-

lic as rational and capable of handling the truth despite how

much it hurts. This does not negate the fact that some situation

might call for censorship but not at the expense of objectivity.

Writing on the place of objectivity in journalism, Ayodele

(1988) opines that

Objectivity in the collating and presenting of news is

the goal of the reporter, and a major principle of Journal-

ism. In spite of the fierce competition among newspapers,

newsmagazines, radio, television, or wire services, in re-

gard to who gets a story first and is fastest in making such

news items public property, objectivity in the disseminat-

ing of news is acknowledged as a significant hallmark of

modern Journalistic practice.

In the face of intervening variables like pressure, is objectiv-

ity really attainable? An answer can be seen in the words of

Ayodele (1988) that

…that objectivity in news reporting is a definitely at-

tainable goal, but that one must strive for it even in the

face of opposing realities. Adherents of attainable objec-

tivity in the media claim that the reporter need not shy

away from his prejudices, pre-conceptions, feelings and

ambitions. He need not pretend to be an automaton—un-

thinking, unfeeling, unemotional; “saying it as it is”, with

bland facts and figures, and no analyzing nor interpreting.

Rather, the journalist is to struggle to place under leash

his biases.

It all sums up my earlier premise that objectivity is attainable

and relative to the journalist who chooses to be ethical or not in

the face of challenges. I also want to reiterate that in journalism,

there is no room for ethical flexibilities; either you are ethical

or you are not ethical.

Ethical Problems

The society directly or indirectly influences the people nega-

tively or positively. The journalist who does not exist in a vac-

uum is also a product of that society. In the course of being

professional, the journalist is confronted by demons in the form

of ethical problems and they include sycophancy (which is the

thrust of this paper), pressure, character assassination, bribery,

plagiarism, moonlighting and what have you.

Sycophancy

Sycophancy is one of the most depressing problems in mass

communication. According to Obaze & Fasahnu (2006: p. 138),

sycophancy is a situation whereby a medium continues to

praise government or individuals despite ills or incompetence in

office. Again, it has been defined by (Okunna, 2003) as false

praises of those in power. Locally and internationally, this has

been a source of concern to both practicing and budding jour-

nalists. The second principle in the international code of ethics

has it that

the foremost task of the journalist is to serve the peo-

ples’ right to true and authentic information through an

honest dedication to objective reality whereby facts are

reported conscientiously in their proper context, pointing

out their essential connection and without causing distor-

tions, with the deployment of the creative capacity of the

journalist so that the public is provided with adequate

material to facilitate formation of an accurate and com-

prehensive picture of the world in which the origin, nature

and essence of events, processes and state of affairs are

understood as objectively as possible.

Coming back to Nigeria, NUJ knowing the relevance of Ac-

curacy has it as one of its principles and it reads thus:

1) The public has the right to know. Factual, accurate, bal-

anced and fair reporting is the ultimate objective of good jour-

nalism and the basis of earning public trust and confidence.

2) A journalist should refrain from publishing inaccurate and

misleading information. When such information has been in

advertently published, promp t correction should be made.

3) In the course of his duties, a journalist should strive to

separate facts from conjecture and comments.

If the above is religiously followed, what the consumer gets

will be nothing short of objective and factual reports.

Objective reporting on the other hand is that report that is

devoid of inferences, judgments and slanting. It is the absence

of objectivity that invariably leads to sycophantic reporting.

According to Okunna (1995), “a sycophant reporter is a jour-

nalist who flatters political leaders, wealthy citizens and own-

ers of media houses who as employers have formidable power

over journalist”. For instance Jacque Chirac, a onetime presi-

dent has been found guilty of two count charges of corruption

and misappropriation of public funds. According to a media

report on Aljazeera network, he employed ghost workers at the

city hall and diverted the money for his campaign. This is the

same man who the media while in power never criticized. De-

spite the political immunity covering government officials, my

question is if the press never knew he was siphoning and di-

verting funds at the time he was in office? From previous hap-

penings, I want to believe that they were aware but choose to be

mute about. How do they live with their conscience highlight-

ing praises of someone who has committed a crime but rather

chose to sweep it under the carpet or turn a blind eye?

In Nigeria, this is more pronounced in the political sphere

where journalists use the media to confer status on their favored

politicians and also to set agenda that will also favour the fa-

vored ones, Okunna (1995).

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

Causes of Sycophancy

There are many possible causes of sycophancy but this paper

will look at the following.

Lack of Experience on the Part of the Political

Leaders

In civilized countries or the developed world, leaders are

well versed and more mature and so appreciate constructive

criticism as against their counterparts in developing countries

where criticism is a no. For instance Barak Obama of the

United States of America knows that criticism sharpens one’s

initiative while Nigerian leaders will see such writer as the

worst enemy of the State, and one would not be surprised if the

writer is silenced forever.

This being the case considering the immaturity of the leaders

and the promise of death, the journalists will praise them de-

spite their ratings so as not to be at loggerheads with them.

Look at what happened to Dele Giwa all in a bid to be true to

his profession. He was murdered through letter bombing all in a

bid to silence his honest voice. Also considering the fact that

most journalists in Nigeria and other developing countries are

uninsured, they will not like to lose their life in exchange for a

colorful and lengthy oration at the funeral ceremony. However,

in the developed countries, they will dare the odds even at the

expense of their life as their names will be written in the sand

of time but in a country like Nigeria, who really cares about the

sand of time?

Prevailing Situation or Environmental Contingencies

The journalist in Nigeria does not operate in a social vacuum.

If the society is morally deficient, how is the journalist ex-

pected to rise above the moral decay. The journalist according

to Olomuyiwa (1988) is a product of the society. According to

this writer,

the African society with its various facets-tradition, be-

liefs, images, goal, constraints etc must inevitably influ-

ence and be influenced upon by the journalist. The jour-

nalist helps to shape the size and direction of what is

communicated to the different publics of the media.

As far as information flow is concerned, they are the major

gate keepers in mass communication. They in turn, indirectly

sets his/her own agenda; what he/she finally select to commu-

nicate. You can see that both the powers of the journalist and

the public’s are interwoven to an extent.

Explaining this, Olomuyiwa writes that this dual yet interac-

tive role has its implications for the constant barrage of charges

of bias, prejudice, partisanship, untruth and especially syco-

phancy leveled against the media and its staff. That is to say

that the level of unethical practices among Nigerian journalists

is a reflection of what is happening in the larger society. Lai

Oso (2001).

In other words, journalists tend to succumb to the prevailing

situation because when the society is immoral, objectivity and

truth is thrown to the winds.

Lack of Professional Education or Training of

Journalist

The right formal education is one powerful tool for the mak-

ing of ethical profession. When you pass through the rigorous

processes of training, then you will learn to appreciate your

profession and yourself; and will guard its prestige jealously. In

fact, studies have revealed that journalists with higher educa-

tion exhibit more professional orientation in performing their

duties.

Oso (2001) observes that

a good number of those who go about these days as

journalists have either not received any education/train-

ing in journalism or are not adequately trained and

equipped for the challenges of the profession.

What this shows is that the more educated one is, the more

confident and secured the journalist will feel to take on the

challenges that are bound t o surfac e .

Poverty

This is the chief cause of ethical misconduct; the mother that

gave birth to other problems. An averaged journalist lives be-

low the poverty line; and until the issue of poverty is seriously

addressed with realizable solution, then no amount of constitu-

tions or codes of conducts will have any meaningful impact.

Nothing is perhaps more important than a good pay to keep

the reporter on the ethical path. According to Garba (1998)

“Abiola used to say that when you do not pay your journalist

well, someone else will pay them and they will work for him”.

This is dangerous because as an employer, you will be unaware

that your employee is moonlighting which poses a threat to

both employers but a bigger threat to the one that do not give

fat salary. This invariably aids moonlighting as an option to

dealing with poverty. Worthy of note is the fact that moon

lighting is also an ethical problem in Nigeria that has been gen-

erating great concern.

Nigerians are known to be survivors and the journalist must

also strive to survive even in the face of abject poverty to the

extent of cutting corners. However, this depends on individual

because the sycophantic tendencies of a journalist are to a great

extent determined by the bias, prejudice and constraints per-

sonal to him. What I am trying to say is that there are still peo-

ple who believe that “a good name is better than riches.

Influx of Government Owned Media

If the saying that “whoever pays the piper dictates the tune”

is anything to go by, then we must empathize with journalists

that work in the government owned media. They are like birds

in a cage that have their wings clipped and their legs chopped.

They can only move when their owner wants them to. In other

words, they do not have a will of their own; more like auto-

mated robots that move only when commanded to. What a life!

One can now understand why they conveniently play the role

of praise singers for the government of the day as if it is the

“natural” thing to do. In reality, journalists have a duty to be

objective at all times. The concept of duty therefore entails the

necessity of acting from respect for the law. This implies that

we have a moral obligation to do the right, remaining indiffer-

ent to the conseq uen ces.

Saying or writing things as they are might bring the reporter

and the government at loggerheads but Kantian opinions of

duty is deontological or obligatory. According to Kant in (Oji-

akor, 2004), acting from a sense of duty rather than concern and

162

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

consequences is the basis for establishing one’s moral obliga-

tion”.

Sycophantic Reporting

Each passing day brings modifications to the already power-

ful effects of the mass media. This absolute power calls for a

check to ensure that the public’s right to true information is not

compromised. In other to be fair and truthful, the watchword is

objectivity. However, is Nigerian press objective?

To attempt to answer that question, several national dailies in

Nigeria were content analyzed to pin point the instances of

sycophantic reporting. Comparatively, old and current dailies

were compared to see if the trend has remained the same or if

there has been a change in the status quo.

Again, garland for the oriental Amazon—this report high-

lighted and extolled the achievement of Dame Virgy Etiaba or

“Mama Anambra” as she was popularly known by the citizens

of Anambra State where she served as an executive governor.

They recalled that she awarded contracts for 500 kilometers of

roads, paid leave allowances of civil servants from 2003-2006,

recruited teachers and what have you. No mention was made of

the millions of naira siphoned during her short stay as the gov-

ernor. The impression was that she initiated the contracts con-

veniently neglecting the part that her predecessor called the

shots before a legal battle that saw our “mama” to the highly

coveted seat. She may have done all that and more but the story

read like a PR insert to praise her while indirectly character

assassinate her predecessor. The story would have been bal-

anced if they had brought in her weaknesses even if they down-

play them a bit (The Guardian, 2007: p. 61).

Second example was in National Mirror newspaper with the

headline as “the man the cap fits” and another story on the same

paper that ran as “Sam Egwu: the father of modern Ebonyi

State”. It went on to explain how he transformed Ebonyi State

into veritable heaven as the then governor of the State. No one

gets it all considering that the worst part of management is

human management. As a human and rational being, he must

have made bad decisions and had his own share of bad mo-

ments. I suppose that aspect is on a need to know basis. Was it

an objective report?

A look at the Guardian paper of 9th October, 2007 will see

this headline “Unizik: the making of a modern university”. To

be truly objective, effort would have been made to get the

views and opinions of the students and staff. Such revelations

no matter how bad they may seem at that time will help to

know the important areas to address. For instance, what about

the transportation problems of students, the frustration of stu-

dents by unethical lecturers, and the politics of admission proc-

ess which by the way is common among tertiary institutions? A

balanced report will have signaled more significant develop-

ment processes.

In the electronic media especially the State owned stations,

that is the order of the day. Even when a government has be-

come unpopular, their mouth piece in the name of the press still

sings their praises. One can now understand why some citizens

prefer to watch and listen to “serious” networks like Aljazeera

for objective news. Objective news according to Ayodele (1988)

is news that is undistorted by personal prejudice. It is news that

is fair, accurate, and factual. Nevertheless, it is not news that

has been gathered and presented by an unthinking, unfeeling

professional. Objective news is devoid of inference, judgment,

and Slanting”.

Comparatively, let us examine some current dailies before

arriving at a conclusion. Purposively, this researcher chose to

choose dailies from 1st November 2011 to 30th December, 2011.

This was to content analyze with a view to fishing out syco-

phantic reports. The dailies are the Guardian, This Day, The

Sun and The Vanguard Newspapers.

I want to draw your attention to Daily Sun of December 29,

2011 with the headlines as “Obi’s strides in Anambra State.

The writing was on the efforts and impacts of ANIDS on the

development of the State. I quote “it is fairly reasonable to ar-

gue that Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State is a handworker.

This fact is not constable, at least to keep observers of devel-

opment progression in the State within the last five years”.

He went on to list the remarkable improvements made in the

education, health, judiciary, transportation, environment, indus-

trialization, security, roads etc. I want to make it clear that the

researcher does not agree with the writer but to an extent, I beg

to differ. Let us look at education sector for an instance; refor-

mation in the education sector is at whose expense? How much

do State owned universities pay as tuition fees? In the secon-

dary school section, there is inadequate teachers which led to a

situation where teachers are employed by the school manage-

ment with the consent of the Parents Teachers’ Association

who pay the salaries of those teachers PTA levies, and not the

government. If the school excels in academics, the government

takes the credit. I do not want to believe that the writer did not

conduct a research before this write up, if he did, then he would

have found a way to applaud the concerned parents who are

pulling their weight to reform the education sector for the bet-

terment of their children and the society at large.

Coming to the transport sector, I want to ask; does the state

of roads affect the transportation fares? My answer is yes! Way

before the price hike as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy,

passengers have been paying more than usual owing to bad

roads especially the Onitsha-Awka expressway. No, I do not

want to go into whether it is a federal or State road because it

does not change the fact that it is a death trap. Surprisingly, this

reporter wrote in from Onitsha yet conveniently left out the

state of the roads when he was commenting on the transport

sector. If this is not a sycophantic report, then why not call the

attention of the object of your praise to what the masses are

going through as a result of the roads. Some of the aftermath of

the roads on the masses are; lateness to work since they have to

avoid the potholes and the bumps, ill health because bumpy

rides always have their toll on the body, holes in their pockets

since they spend supposed savings on transportation etc. At this

juncture, I want to refer you to a report on National mirror of

December, 12 where the State Assembly decried the deplorable

state of Nneogidi—Agulu Nise road, passing a motion on the

State governor to give out the contract for the road construction.

I can go and on to fault this report, but let us look at other dai-

lies.

There was also a report on Guardian of November 15, 2001

with the headline as “Chime reassures Enugu youths of em-

ployment opportunities. It was a report of the Governor of

Enugu State, Mr Sullivan Iheanacho Chime, reassuring the

people in Lagos that he is on the verge of creating employment

opportunities in the State. It also mentioned his efforts towards

that by registering job seekers, collaboration with National

Directorate of Employment (NDE) and what have you. I am

curious to know how he intends to achieve all this when it is

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

difficult for him to pay the minimum wage to his workers. If

you cannot pay the workers you already have, with what are

you going to pay the new recruits? Well, unless the job oppor-

tunities will be for the artisans; if that is the case, what happens

to the graduates? Are they over qualified to be meaningfully

engaged by the government at all levels?

What we were not told was if it was a press conference or a

social function because a smart journalist or a courageous

member of the audience would have asked this question. This

writer should have questioned this development.

However, it was observed that the two months selected had

something in common; they were filled with stories about and

on the death of the CEO of guardian newspaper, Alex Uruemu

Ibru and Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu; the National Awards by

the Presidency on the selected few; and the pros and cons of the

removal of fuel subsidy. Almost half of the selected newspapers

were filled with stories of the above mentioned issues and/or

congratulatory message to the award recipients and even birth-

day messages to the Nigerian president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele

Jonathan. As a result of this observation, it calls for an in-depth

content analysis of the publications prior to the November/

December issue s.

Dangers of Sycophantic Reporting

The inherent dangers of sycophancy have been outlined be-

low:

 It makes the entire profession to lose its credibility or to be

irritating to the public who often see through the masks.

This could be the reason why Aljazeera network is pre-

ferred when it comes to objective news. This shows that the

audiences are active and knows which station carries cor-

rect news and those that air doctored news. Explaining that

the publics are no fools, Ajayi-Gbadabo (2000) writes that

“protecting citizens against unfair media reports is the re-

sponsibility of the press to ensure that citizens are protected

from media excesses that can amount to assault on the sen-

sibilities of the people”.

 It is now virtually impossible for the journalist to effec-

tively discharge his duty while he is so much involved in

over-praising.

 It is difficult for those being praised to perform impres-

sively. This is because the praises will becloud their vision.

According to Okunna (2003), sycophancy leads to derelic-

tion of duty because they are not allowed to see the mis-

takes and correct them. Even when they realize that they are

not doing well, they are content to hide behind the misin-

formation by the press under the illusion that the public will

be none the wiser.

 It leads to abuse of power of the mass media. According to

(Okunna, 2003: p. 87), during elections, unethical journal-

ists use the media to confer status on their favorite politi-

cian and to set the political agenda in favour of these politi-

cians even when they lack legitimacy and do not deserve

the praise heaped upon them”. The electorate who is pow-

erless in the face of the all powerful effect of the media is

deliberately manipulated into adopting that candidate. In

Okunnas’ opinion, this manipulation is one of the negative

effects of sycophancy. On a second thought, does syco-

phancy have any positive effect?

 It denotes the public their right to true and correct informa-

tion. Using the report on Obi as an example, if I have been

none the wiser, could you imagine the noise I will making

in the course of arguing that the governor have performed

above expectations. To people that knew the true state of

things, I will sound like an empty drum. That is why the

public needs to be given true and correct information so that

they can make their judgm en ts .

 It has no redress in court. Unlike libel and slander for which

one can sue a publication, there is no constitutional provi-

sion for sycophancy. If there is, journalists would have been

careful not to be dragged into a legal battle.

 False praises bring about false behaviour.

To make it clearer, let us divide it into ethical implication for

the journalist, government and the society.

On the Journalist

The implication of sycophancy on the journalist is that it

does not allow the journalist to criticize the government. But

then, what do you expect since who pays the piper dictates the

tune and dance steps as the case may be. Furthermore, the

journalist who is no longer objective irritates the media audi-

ences who often see through the falseness of the media content

packages by the unethical praise singer, Okunna (1995). This

ultimately leads to loss of credibility and respect for the media.

The situation is clearly put in the biblical proverb that “of what

use is salt if it loses its taste except to be thrown outside and

trampled upon”.

In addition, since the journalist is so much involved in over

praising, when will he/she have the time to report other things

that are happening around him to the detriment of the public.

On listening to State owned media, the news package is always

what the State governor did or is planning to do. What about

those events that are happening in the State that the public need

to know about? When the lens of the press is one the govern-

ment officials and newsmakers, who watches the State?

On the Government

As noted earlier, false praises bring about false behaviour.

This means that if you are not doing it right and the media is

saying that you do, you will now relax and overlook your duties.

In the words of Okunna (1995), it leads to dereliction of duty

on the part of the recipient of the false praises.

This over praising acts as a curtain where they hide behind

the flattering, but thankfully, the people are no fools. Whenever

a government comes to power, there are expectations on the

part on the electorates; so when the road are in bad condition

and the press is telling them that the government is building

roads, are they trying to play on their intelligence. After all,

“you can tell a blind man that there is no oil in the soup and not

pepper”, in this case, we have eyes to know when a government

is making good of his promises.

On the Public

The public has a right to know and to true information but

sycophantic reporting denies them this right. It is a known fact

that the result of sycophancy is mis information/dis information

as facts are distorted and information is doctored to please an

egocentric sponsor. Furthermore,

as the game of praise singing goes on, the journalist

fails to do the job that needs to be done which is catering

for the diverse informational and communication needs of

the public in a conscientious and responsible manner—a

164

B. UMEOGU, I. OJIAKOR

failure which is a betrayal of the trust which the public

places on the press to champion public interest (Edeani in

Okunna 1995).

Recommendations

Decades after Nigerian renowned musician cum evangelist

Sunny Okosun asked which way Nigeria in one of his songs, no

definite answer has been given rather, our society is still head-

ing downwards socially, economically, morally etc. That not-

withstanding, all hope is not lost if only there will be reorienta-

tion in our beloved country. There are things that were a taboo

in the past that have come to be recognized as a “natural” or

“normal” thing in our society. For instance, advance free fraud

or 419 as popularly known in Nigeria have come to be seen as

the profession of smart and intelligent people. I remember

growing up that when men that made money comes back home,

people are generally reluctant to accept any form of gifts from

them. That has changed because such people are now besieged

by their community to accept titles. Yes! That is how far we

have morally derailed. If there should be a kind of mind man-

agement package to alter the current picture in our heads that

the end justifies the means, maybe, the society in general and

the journalist in particular will wake up to the clarion call of

objective journalism.

In addition, if the press should say, when a government is

still power, what they say when they have left power; we may

be nipping sycophancy in the bud. For instance, when Ngige

was in power, everyone including the State owned media knew

he has a stolen mandate but kept quiet about it. The moment he

stepped down, the media became over flogged with negative

stories about him.

Another instance is that of Jacque Chirac who has been con-

victed on two counts charges of corruption and embezzling of

public funds. The press knew this was happening and kept mute.

Had it been they subtly hinted that Chirac has been busted, the

level of the embezzlement would not have been so high as to

earn a conviction. There is a way of stating the obvious without

being hurtful. It all goes down to choice of words and presenta-

tion which the journalist is expected to be familiar with.

In addition, I also recommend that the issue of sycophancy

having no legal implication should be urgently addressed so as

to cut down its presence in Nigerian journalism. In as much as

it is fair to acknowledge when someone does a noble thing or

delivers on his manifesto; it should be a serious crime to overdo

it. Constitutionally, there should be a boundary when praising;

and when it is false praise singing, it leads to distortion of facts

with the intention to deceive and that, should be a serious crime

if the fight against corruption is expected to hold sway.

On a lighter note, this paper recommends that government

and corporate bodies should create platforms to honor the jour-

nalist who have been true to their profession. When one knows

that all actions are on the radar, they will be forced to dance in

line; with time, it will feel like the “natural” way to act and

everyone becomes a winner.

Finally, I will like to add better remuneration and condition

of service of journalists. I will like to point out that this will

work in conjunction with a reorientation. This is because ac-

cording to Ebeze (2007), how much is really enough? What this

means is that it is not about money but about re orientation.

This is because if you are paid millions of naira, that tendency

to cut corners will still be there. Furthermore, how much is

really enough considering the fact that “more money attracts