Opinion: Global Concord and the 'Akata' Journalism, By Edidiong Godwin

By Edidiong Godwin

“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” – Thomas Jefferson

First things first, let me say that the dream of someday becoming a state governor occasionally deprives me of sleep. If I eventually live that life, I expect so many Global Concords to grace the newsstands in my state. You know why? Because I have a perfect plan, which is, not to have a certain Aniekan Umanah or anyone in his mould as my commissioner for Information.

I don't intend to have a commissioner whose best day at work is when I have to splash some fat sum on a press briefing for him to debunk one story or the other. Ouch! That didn't come out well but no harm intended. I mean well for my government. Trust me, I know a thing or two about choosing a team.

So, some days ago, I stumbled on a quote allegedly made by Solomon Johnny. The quote says 'Global Concord is practicing the akata journalism'. As a joke, it was indeed, a rib cracking one. But after the laugh, I got serious and took some time to reflect on those words. What is akata? I am told akata is a unique masquerade that mostly comes out at night. Whether it's deadly, dangerous or not, I am not told. But the thing about akata is that it dares to be different from other masquerades. The primary aim of every masquerade is to promote or celebrate a certain culture. But while other masquerades serve this primary purpose with amusement, akata hardly amuses.

In addition, the press is known as the watchdog of the society. But of what use is a dog if all it does is watch while a thief steals, kills and eventually destroys? The level of thievery, impunity, assassination, rascality and all sorts of vices had reached a record high under the Akpabio-led administration. It was obvious that the task of guarding the state was bigger and tougher than the watchdog. The state was in dire need of a different kind of dog; a more aggressive kind – that could bark and bite; something like an attack dog.

Because God is personally interested in our affairs, He did what only Him can do. The mating of two, three or more watchdogs miraculously led to the birth of an attack dog.

The birth of Global Concord was the dawn of a new era in journalism practice in the state. The tabloid may not be best model in terms of ethics and professionalism, but the truth remains that it has been at the forefront of our struggle for emancipation. The newsstands are often overcrowded because everybody wants to get firsthand information from Global Concord. The tabloid is without any doubt, the most widely read.

Its aggressive form of reportage may have broken all known ethical codes of journalism, but that was long after we had a government that broke all known records in impunity.
Global Concord reminds me of the biblical four leprous men. Because of their ailment, they were stigmatized and sent out of the city. But right at the point of death, the decided to dare and through them, the Israelites were saved from the Syrians. Global Concord has an ailment which the government dreads and with the arrest of Thomas Tomas sometime ago, it was crystal clear how much the powers that be have not wanted the tabloid.

We may not know how many times their ailment has saved the state from a Syrian-like government. But we can't forget that the tabloid was at the forefront of the protest against the infamous Pension Bill for ex-governors/deputies passed into law by the 5th Assembly. Remember that evil? That was only one in a million.

Akata, to me, means daring to be different; daring to do what others have done but in a different way. I am a firm believer in the fact that a man is what he says he is and not what others say. So, between Aniekan Umanah's opinion of Global Concord as a 'tool of blackmail' and Solomon Johnny's 'akata journalism', I take the later.

Sorry if you are disappointed with my opinion. Though I am not holding brief for the tabloid, I wish we could look at the bright side of it. With all the dissent, the tabloid has been patriotic in its own way. Perhaps, while we are praying, condemning and preaching repentance to Global Concord, we should also do same to the government. After all, the Ibibio adage says 'etang eno ndukpo, etang eno nyen unen'.

Edidiong Godwin is an Uyo-based journalist.