Media fear, silence over ailing president - an online outlet!

Principal officials of the presidency have taken an oath of silence. This was widely publicized in most media yesterday. What is happening? It is even stranger considering that by virtue of their positions, official silence is already presumed. What is the super-secret cult-like event happening in Nigerian presidential circles that would warrant an extra layer of secrecy oath taking.

Ok, since the government has resorted to keeping us in the dark, we are left with two options: guess-work; and seeking out alternative information sources. For the latter, I have found saharareporters.com a good outlet. Run by a ‘renegade’ Nigerian former student activist, supposedly operating from New York, his medium has become an outlet for ‘whistle-blowers’ in Nigeria. All those who have a say but no podium shout to saharareporters and they get published.

Though it’s editors may claim to investigate everything they publish, I rather think they don’t, because you often find the so-called “citizen’s” report where anybody can send any inflammatory material, and then in the name of being heard, saharareporters publish them word-for-word. To their credit though, once there is a rebuttal, they publish that as well, unedited.

All Nigerian newspapers (and now government officials) scan saharareporters every day (maybe some more often!) for breaking news. At the beginning, newspapers were cautious quoting an unverified online medium as their source, but when no other channel existed, they threw caution to the winds and began to quote saharareporters .

They have sources within the presidency no doubt. When Media get sent Press Release, saharareporters receive their share. Not bad.