Hajj 2023: NAHCON’s Strategic Media Engagement for Responsible Reporting, by Abdulrahman Abdulraheem
From time immemorial, the world has placed enormous responsibilities on the shoulders of the media. Aside from the traditional functions of informing, educating and entertaining the populace, the media has metamorphosed into the most credible institution of accountability – a truth-telling watchdog whose duty it is to hold the people in positions of authority accountable to the masses.
To underscore the importance and indispensability of the media, one of America’s founding fathers and its third President, Thomas Jefferson, laid the foundation for what the media would become in the future when he famously wrote that: “If I had a choice to pick between government without the press or the press without government, I would not hesitate to pick the latter.”
But as events unfold, the media got the added role of agenda setting which means to decide the most important issues to be put on the front burner at any point in time. In the discharge of these duties, journalists are also expected to be held accountable to certain ground rules that border on truthfulness, neutrality, objectivity, fairness and balance.
To be able to perform these huge tasks efficiently, journalists must also be above board like Caesar’s wife, and the media must be made up of learned and properly trained professionals who exude integrity, competence, patriotism, selflessness and huge sense of social justice. They must also possess the capacity to go beyond the surface, dig deep, carry out painstaking and thorough investigations, unearth and expose scandals, immoral or corrupt practices that threaten the public good… All these must be with a view to getting justice for the oppressed, if any.
Truth is sacred, it is unequivocal and unambiguous. In the discharge of their agenda-setting duties, media professionals must not only stick to the truth at all times, they must also be seen to be truthful and credible.
While it is true that journalists must never be afraid to dare the establishment and swim against the tide if that is what it requires to uphold truth and justice. But this does not presuppose that everything that has to do with government and governance is negative in this part of the world. Journalists must always go beyond flashy and attractive headlines. They should always dig deep, ask the right questions from the right sources and get to know the ground-breaking ideas and events that are solving problems and moving a particular sector forward, in order to be able to inform the public from a position of adequate knowledge, not that of half-knowledge, ignorance or mischief.
Organisations and their media managers must on the other hand understand the basics of media relations and the psyche of media practitioners. Journalists are professionals who offer selfless service to the public. They bridge the gap between the organisation and the public and they must be constructively and productively engaged, and carried along to be able to play that role effectively. The kind of relationship media managers must maintain with journalists must be based on mutual respect, open-door policy and accessibility.
Few organisations understand this trick as much as the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and there is no clearer evidence of this than the comprehensive coverage of the ongoing Hajj operations. There is no doubting the fact that NAHCON is putting together its best performance since its establishment in the Hajj 2023 exercise. The interesting thing is that it is not only pilgrims, airline operators and state actors like governors, ministers, lawmakers and traditional rulers that are aware of this fact, the generality of Nigerians especially the Muslim Ummah are also aware of the robust man-management skills and hands-on brilliancy the present Chairman, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, has brought on board. And this is the impact of the media which has been painstakingly carried along by the Commission.
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Organisations, both private and public, will succeed in all they do if they include media management and engagement at the very beginning or the planning stage of their major activities. As NAHCON was planning for transportation, logistics, catering etc, meeting with stakeholders and striking deals with airlines that will convey pilgrims to the Holy Land, they were also making plans to ensure journalists are well carried along to be able to report and project their activities with facts and depth.
In line with tradition, the Commission did not only set up a team of Muslim senior media practitioners from various platforms to participate in this year’s Hajj and also cover it, it also created an enabling environment for them to operate unhindered. The Commission’s boss also inaugurated the team with pomp and pageantry and in line with the background established above emphasised the importance of the media in nation building. He also reminded the members of the Fourth Estate what is expected of them in Hajj reportage.
He said journalists have the ability to make or mar, depending on what their consciences or interests guide them to do. The NAHCON boss however enjoined the Media Team members to be fair and just in their reportage through responsible information dissemination before, during and even after the Hajj exercise.
Other NAHCON officials present at the event advised members of the team to be true ambassadors of the journalism profession by being fair, objective and balanced in the herculean task of news reporting in Nigeria and in Saudi Arabia during the entire period of the Hajj exercise.
To consummate the sermon mentioned above, the Commission also gave members of the Team a handbook that contains comprehensive guidelines to guide and even ease their operations and reportage in the Holy Land.
The message in the handbook relied on Chapter Al-Hujurat 49 Verse 6 of the Holy Qur’an which says: “Oh you who believe, if a transgressor brings you news that requires you to take action, verify it carefully before you believe it and act upon it, so that you do not harm people in ignorance and become regretful for what you have done.”
The handbook also relied on another verse (17:36) in which Allah (SWT) orders: “Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge (whether it is good or bad), and refrain from groundless assertions and conjectures. Surely the hearing, the sight and the heart, each of these is subject to questioning … (you are answerable and will be called to account for each of these on the Day of Judgement).
Below are some of the ground rules established in the handbook:
“National Media Team members should adhere to Islamic tenets and not report anything that contradicts the laws of Islam, Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Members should desist from reporting the politics, policies, cultures, traditions and day-day running of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people and leadership.
“Members should depict professionalism, objectivity and avoid exaggerations of anything that may spark trouble, controversy and fake news.
“Members should desist from reporting anything that is not in the interest of the pilgrims, officials Hajj managers and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Members should desist from reporting anything that will bring instability and insecurity to Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and instead propagate love, oneness, tolerance and brotherhood among Nigerian pilgrims and avoid anything that will bring conflict.
“Members should desist from reporting any medical procedure, treatments and information without confirmation.
“The broadcasting of information about the private lives or concerns of individuals without their consent is acceptable only if a serious and legitimate interest outweighs their normal human right to privacy. For instance, a general medical statistics or an extreme political opinion.
“Examples of legitimately overriding public interest are: the detection, exposure or prevention or crime or corruption; the protection of public health and safety; or preventing the public from being misled on an important matter by the public statement or action of an individual or institution.”
There is no doubting the fact that this year’s Hajj exercise from the Nigerian end has been hugely successful so far due to the careful planning and engagement of the right stakeholders across board. Not only that, the proactive nature of the present leadership of NAHCON makes sure all potential loose ends are tied and everything is done to ensure the whole exercise goes on smoothly.
Abdulrahman Abdulraheem is the Managing Editor of PRNIGERIA and ECONOMIC CONFIDENTIAL.
