Nigeria lost one of its brightest Mass Communication scholars, Professor Lai Oso, on Saturday (June 24, 2023), as he breathed his last following an auto-crash on Ore-Sagamu Expressway.
He was returning from Delta State University, Abaraka, when the sad incident occurred. Dead though, his thoughts remain forever and speak about his person.
Some of his thoughts on different issues, particularly his person, profession and academia as sourced from different interviews are presented below:
Fatherhood
Fatherhood is basically centred on responsible parenting; the ability of a man to take care of his family and in the African context, it extends to extended family members. It’s having the responsibility to take care of one’s family.
What influenced my choice of being a professor
I was influenced by my teachers. I was very fortunate to have good teachers from primary school. They were very interested in the pupils and were role models. When I got into the university, I met excellent lecturers who provided the feeling that the academic life was good, not a flamboyant life but a good one nonetheless. We really admired them and they were good to us. That propelled me.
Development of media in Nigeria
It’s been quite challenging and also exciting. The media have contributed a lot to the country, particularly journalism. They fought for independence internationally and they have kept going. There have been lots of challenges especially recently as the economy has not been favourable to media organisations.
What to improve on in the media
In terms of journalism – which is probably the most visible to ordinary people when it comes to media and cmmunications – I would like to see more of civic information; information that will educate people about things going on within the society. I would like to see more of investigative journalism; fulfilling that role of the media as a watchdog of the society. I would also like to see less of the sensational stories. I also think the politicians are playing on that. They raise the alarm and all of a sudden, it’s on the front page of the newspapers and nobody is asking fundamental questions about the truthfulness. These are the areas that I think we need to pay attention to so that we can increase the credibility of the media.
Career and fatherhood
I would say that the important thing is the home. If one has a good home and a good wife who is supportive, a good number of one’s problems will be solved. Of course, the God factor is also very important. A lot of people say that we pray too much in this country but for me, God is important in whatever we do. It’s not that we use God to create an excuse but we need God in our lives and also a good home. When one has a peaceful home, it gives one the confidence that one is doing one’s work well. I have also had good people around me as well. That is one thing I would say that I have achieved. A good number of my colleagues have been so supportive. These three factors are very important – God, family and having the right people around one.
Virtues I imbibed from my father
The first thing is humility. One needs to be humble in life. The other thing is contentment. I remember something that happened when I was younger. My father was a Muslim and during Ramadan, one is expected to kill a ram. My father was also a farmer and there was a year that things did not go well on the farm; he didn’t make much. We were expecting that he would get a ram but he just came and told us that there would be no ram that year. That was it. He just told us that God would provide the following year. That was a lesson to me that whatever one has, one should be content with it. Tomorrow could be better.
Challenges faced moving up my career
In the academics, there is a question of ‘publish or perish’. If one doesn’t publish, one is not going anywhere and this is a society where the infrastructure is limited. One struggles a lot to get things done. It’s hard to get research funds; so, one is on one’s own. That is a major challenge for any academic in Nigeria.
Major challenge as a father
Now, that the children are older, I am always praying to God to make them successful. The challenges they are facing are much more than what we faced when we were their age. Things are a little bit more complex for them, so, one is always praying for them and hoping that they stay on the right path and do not derail.
Life with my wife
We talk and play a lot. In fact, if one should see us playing, one would think we are children. We still call each other by our first names. I also buy things for her often.
Problem with the advent of the New Media
There have been some drawbacks, particularly with the advent of the New Media. It is like anybody can say anything without any caution, without any sensitivity to the complexity of the Nigerian society. I’m a little bit careful using “hate speech.” It is a kind of nebulous concept that some people can easily appropriate to muzzle the freedom of the press or freedom of expression. But there are evidences that people are taking advantage of the existence of New Media and even some traditional media to propagate causes that can create problem.
Positive side of media development in Nigeria
On the positive side, one would see that journalism has contributed to the widening and deepening of democratic process in the country. So many people now have access to the media, whether traditional or the New Media. On that score, I think one can say that there has been a lot of positive things, especially when you look at accountability, with the media holding those in government accountable, trying to put some checks on the way those in government behave and how they run the policies. Critical voices are coming up through the media space. So, one can say that we have had some positive developments.
Journalism: Professionalism, ethics and social responsibility
Journalism is very important, but very delicate. It can be likened to dropping an egg. Once it drops, it splits and you can’t put it together. That is the danger in journalism. When you put something in the public space, it travels, it goes everywhere. Before you know it, it could ignite crisis. That is where the issue of professionalism, ethics and social responsibility come in. If you have people who don’t have any conscious professional obligation, feel nobody can hold them responsible and they feel they are not responsible to anybody, then, you have a problem. That is where the issue of training and ethical standard come into play.
Future of the conventional newspaper
There is a future. There are people who would, like I said, still want to read the news behind the news. What is the context? What does it mean? The conventional newspapers must continue to provide meanings to events – the context, the background. Online platforms cannot do such creditably except they want to wait till the next day. Immediately the news break, they report. But people would want to know what it means. That is the future of the newspapers. And of course, they must have online versions where they can also break the news and the following day, they put them in perspectives.
My fear about journalists taking award organized by government
I read a book about investigative journalism. The author said when the dog that is supposed to be watching somebody begins to eat with those that it is watching, then there is a problem; the bite is gone. That is where my fear is.
*Thoughts sourced from interviews with Professor Lai Oso as published in FrontPage and The Punch.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: This piece was first published on June 27, 2023 shortly after the demise of Professor Lai Oso. It is reproduced here to mark the one year anniversary of his departure.
