Mojeed Alabi has carved a niche for himself as a multiple awards winning Nigerian journalist. In this interview with SAKIBU OLOKOJOBI, he speaks on how he started as a green horn and was tutored on how to win awards. He also speaks on the benefits that have come with his fame and journalism in general, among other things. Excerpts:
What would you say are the gains that have come with winning awards?
Since I left National Mirror, I’m not sure I’ve written any application for a job. Because people know what you can offer, they invite you: We need you. That is the beauty of it. They say the best form of advertisement is referral. I told you about how the former Managing Director of New Telegraph, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, said he could not afford to lose me. So, it shows one is being appreciated.
Then, there is also the cash award that comes with it. The biggest of them for me is the Golden Pen Award. For two consecutive time, I won N1 million each. I won N1 million back to back – 2017 and 2018. This is the kind of money that is difficult for journalists to come by. Even when you run from pillar to post, it may be difficult for you to come by it. I have seen someone who went to the award and had only the last kobo on him for transportation. He eventually won N2 million that night. It is because of the hard work he had put in and the grace of God. When you win, there is this pride that you enjoy that “Oh, I can do it.” People who never tolerated you when you were doing the story will now encourage you. You become a mentor to so many people. You become a role model. There are still other opportunities that come your way like fellowship and others. Where I work now as Deputy Head of Investigation, I never applied. That is Premium Times. I was in New Telegraph for four years and when it was in December last year, I felt I needed to move and we had an interaction and I was offered the opportunity. They gave me their terms and I gave my terms too. As at that time, I still had two other opportunities. These are platforms that are also funding my stories. The ICIR wanted me. Some of the stories I do now are being funded by ICIR and others. There are times they invite me to do stories for them. I had done two for ICIR. I think those two won the Wole Soyinka Awards at different times. Even when I don’t knock on their doors, they call me and ask if I have a story idea that I can work on for them. It is also a thing of pride for them because their name would show them as having sponsored it. They present to their funders to say this is what we have been able to do. It is more of an honour. When I went for a Tiger High Foundation camp the other time, I wasn’t allowed to present any idea. We were so many. People were vouching for me. Out of 27 ideas only five were picked. Based on recognition, mine was picked along. There were big guys in the industry whose ideas were not considered. So, that is the kind of honour one gets.
How would you describe journalism as an industry today?
The industry is troubled. It is troubled on different phases. One is the issue of funding. It has a financial challenge; may be because of the democratisation of the profession. Nobody can claim monopoly of information any longer. There is no gate-keeping anymore and that has created a kind of saturation in the industry. We have many platforms that are doing so many things. So, to excel, you have to do extra-extra things. Secondly, there are a lot of quacks in the industry and that has created so much fake news among other problems. When you have quacks in the industry, what you have at the end of the day is hasty generalisation. People don’t respect you any longer. Once you call yourself a journalist, they dismiss you as one of those reporting fake news. You see so many blogs around; every Tom, Dick and Harry. Once you can write your name, you have become a journalist. Although there is a distinction. Some say there are those that are not professional journalists. Tell me, how you recognise a professional journalist. Is it because of the platform? Is it because of the association of journalists? Is it because of NUJ? Is NUJ living up to expectation? Is the Nigerian Guild of Editors living up to expectation? They are not doing what they should do. That is why there is need for regulation. Professionalism has declined. A lot of people are in the trade for other purposes and you can’t bar them.
Are you talking about online platforms alone?
Including the print. You see a lot of other newspapers, including community newspapers which are seriously unprofessional. It is not just about online. Everybody is a journalist today as long as he or she can print on papers. But what distinguishes a true journalist? How do you distinguish between a journalist and a quack?
How do you think the problem can be solved? How can the NUJ, NGE, other professional bodies and the government come in to put things in order?
I think the onus is on these professional bodies to see that things are done properly, the professional bodies should not be serving as appendages of state apparatuses. What you have seen is that many of them have become extension of government houses. And these are people who say, no you cannot have beat associations. What’s the difference between beat associations and these our professional bodies? What other organisations that are not unions of journalists are doing are far far better than what the unions are doing. When you see International Press Centre owned by Lanre Arogundade and others, you will agree with me that they are doing even far better than what the professional unions are doing. They are doing a lot of trainings, they are creating a lot of opportunities, but not so for the unions. Some of them don’t have libraries. How can you be a writer when you are not a reader? That is the challenge. You see media houses these days without a library. That is a problem. Everybody is interested in putting some things together and they run to politicians. When they run it for two to three years, they start an award programme. The same set of people you gave award last year, you still give them award this year. Those are some of the problems we have in the industry. We need to sit down and see how we can regulate things so that things will be done well. If it is not regulated, there will be saturation and if there is saturation, there will be quackery. You see quacks all over the place, especially at events and they embarrass you. When you look at what other organisations like Wole Soyinka Centre, which was started by the founder of Premium Times and others have achieved in terms of exposing journalists, you will realise that they are much more than what the unions have done.
The only way out is partner with the government, create a good regulatory system. I am not saying people should be registered, but there should be regulation. Teaching is being regulated now. Teachers are not being registered. TRCN is doing that because every Tom, Dick and Harry is a teacher now. The most abused profession in Nigeria is teaching. Yet, when you go to the best economies of the world, teaching is one of the most respected professions. We need to sit down and protect this profession. A single fake news can destroy the nation. If you are in the business of managing information and those into it are not competent, what do you get? It is worst than having a bad health sector. A wrong dosage can kill a patient, but a wrong dosage of news in the form of fake news can kill a nation. That is why there is need for professionalism; that is why there is need for regulation.
What is your ambition? What is your projection into the future?
Oh, I have dreams; I have dreams. I know one day I will be in politics. There is no doubt about that. That is what my father was into and it runs in the blood. At the same time, I want to be seen to be different, even in politics.
How?
Our own role in the future is to be able to show what we have learnt. As an investigator, you should know that you can also be investigated. The moment I started the work of investigation, I started checking myself. What do I do that is not correct? What do I do that can give me out? I ask myself: If eventually I find myself in politics, what are those things that I do now, that I criticise now, but that I would not be able to do? It is not that I have not been there before. At a time in history, I had co-ordinated students for gubernatorial candidates, but I saw the need to use my hand. There is a need for people to know what you are qualified in. In future, I may be in politics, but before then, I want to leave a mark on the sand of time in journalism; I want to impact on the society. What actually gives me joy in journalism is the fact that I have been able to impact on the society. There are people we had written stories about who were on the streets and they are today undergraduates in universities. I have seen candidates, whose results were withheld or cancelled either by WAEC or other bodies, and we pursued their cases through writing and achieve success. A case in point is that of Ogudu Grammar School. About 320 candidates were affected, they just withdrew their results online after it had been released; some of them were First Class candidates in higher institutions; some of them were outside the country. They came back after their graduation, they wanted to do screening or clearance, and they could not see their results any longer. They almost went mad. We had to write their reports, we went to lawyers to find out if WAEC had the power to withhold results already released without the consent of the people; we had to go to parents. When we did the story… about three series. Their results were released. Up till today, they still call me. At a stage, some of them made me WAEC results retriever. This is because those who had similar experiences from Edo and other parts of the country came to Lagos to look for me. We were able to do it for them too. At a stage, I no longer wrote WAEC. I would just call WAEC and give the necessary details and the problems would be solved. These are the kind of things that give me joy. Some workers would be deprived of their rights and you will write about it and their problems will be resolved. It is not about award alone. Award is just a part. The impact of journalism, that you can right some wrongs, without even carrying a sword gives me enough joy. Pen, like they say, is mightier than the sword.
Journalists are open to hazards, especially during investigations. I know you must have encountered such at one time or the other. How best do you think journalists can be protected?
We are usually afraid, even when we need not be afraid. It is not only when you are a journalist that you are exposed to hazards. Even those who hew the woods, like a poet would say, also have their hazards. The axe can cut their legs; even someone just going by the roadside may be hit by a vehicle. But when you are a journalist, you should also know that you are like a police officer, the only difference is that you are not armed. A police officer can protect himself (with his gun). I have been attacked once. I was stabbed in 2014.
Why and by who?
I was stabbed by somebody who felt we were reporting what we should not. That was in Osun State. Also, there was another report which I did last year (that was the report that won me Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting 2018). The report was titled: Nigeria Deputy Speaker in $1.1bn Water Contract Scam. After the report was published, it was run for two days. The Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, his younger brother went to my family house and was harassing my sister and my mum, saying that they were going to kill me as a result of the story; that they were going to kill me in their presence. It became an issue that was taken to the police. We had to write reports and statements. Throughout the period I received a lot of strange calls. Even during the investigation, I was arrested because I took the photograph of a building which he claimed to be his office but was not. The owner of the house had gone through a lot of challenges because the house was used by some people to defraud banks. I was arrested.
We pray to God for protection. Protection comes from God. But as much as you are getting protected there are places you do not go and there are times you do not go out. There are times you need to tell your confidants where you are going. If you are the type that likes social life it may be difficult for you to operate as an investigative journalist because you can be easily exposed. There are so many safety tips on IJNET. They send mails out.
What should employers do in that regard?
That is what is lacking. 98 per cent of organisations don’t have protection plans for their workers. No insurance, no security. Not even the common tools that you can use. In my place of work, there is team spirit and that works for us. Then, there is the principle of equality. You are able to relate with your people very well. I discover that what has saved me more is my personal relationship with my editors and staff generally. Whether it is the cleaner, security guard, editor and even the MD, I relate with them one on one. That gives me the opportunity that when I run into trouble, the first number I dial, the owner will take me serious, whether the person is in advert department, circulation or wherever.
In my home, I have confidants. My family is my confidant. They know everywhere I go, even before my place of work. This is because when the chips were down the other time, they rose in my support. There are people who even advise me on security: “You are known with this car, don’t go out in it, we’ll provide you another one.”
However, it is different from the security measure that needs to be put in place by the work place. Nothing stops them from having an insurance scheme for the journalists. Another one is that they should keep tab on their journalists to know what they are working on, where they are and other details. If it is a story that requires the organisation to inform the police about your presence in certain places, they should. That is what some foreign journalists do. They come and report themselves to the police authority stating their mission. So, if anything happens, they will know that you need help and the numbers to call. That is lacking in most media houses. You look for funding for your stories, you provide security and so on. Theirs is to just publish. It shouldn’t be so.
What would you say is your philosophy of life?
I am a Muslim and I believe in God. I believe that we are just here temporarily. The beauty of this world is that this is where we are going to do what will take us to heaven or to hell. I always pray that whenever I meet people, they don’t regret meeting me. Wherever I leave, I always want to go back there and be welcome. That happens a lot of time. For instance, in New Telegraph, I relate with all of them very well. That is the same thing about life. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) said when somebody dies, they ask: Is it somebody tired of this world or one the world is tired of? If you are the one that is tired of the world, you are going to relax. I congratulate you. But if you are the one that the world is tired of, I pity you. I always ask myself: What will people say about me when I leave a place? If I die today, what will they say? How many people have I impacted on positively? How much relationship have I built? You can’t satisfy everybody, but at least, you should do the little you can to warrant being missed. Not a situation where people will pray for you to go. I am not saying I am good, but the fact that I keep learning everyday, particularly on human relations. I like to say that when I leave an environment, I pray people don’t regret meeting me. Whenever I step on toes, I always pray for God to forgive me. I want people to have that mindset. With that, this world will really not mean much to you. You’re not going to gossip about anybody, you are not going to set traps for anybody; you would not want to hurt anybody. That has always worked for me, and I’ve always enjoyed God’s mercy.
*Concluded
