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Call A Terrorist A Terrorist: A Brief Open Letter To The Nigerian Media

Dated November 6, 2024

Dear Nigerian journalists,

I have been saying this in private discussions over the years. Now, I'm forced to bring it to the public after reading a recent heart-rending report of the beheading of 10 farmers in Niger State, alongside a Chinese national. The assailants were said to have left with the 10 heads or thereabouts!

Just like similar news reports by other Nigerian media houses, the above referenced report by Sahara Reporters, uses the word 'bandit' where 'terrorist' should have been more fitting. Indeed, there should be a worse word for someone who committed such an egregiously heinous act, expressing a total absence of conscience and humanity.

For one thing, at this time of such a high level of food insecurity in the country, killing just one of our farmers could be likened to killing 1 million of us. Now, these beasts in human shape killed, not 1, not 2, 3, or 5, but as many as 10 of our farmers in one operation. And, of course, they have been killing these farmers over the years - which is one of the major factors contributing to this high level of food insecurity bedevilling us.

Again, think about how much the international image of this country gets damaged when a foreign national gets murdered in cold blood this way! It terribly damages our diplomatic connections while scaring foreign investors off the country's shores. Of course, we don't need to be told that this is a top reason behind our dismal economy.

It is on this note that I appeal with our journalists to cease from any use of language that amounts to sugar-coating the situation. Instead, our use of language shouldn't only portray the situation correctly but should also condemn these heinous crimes we are witnessing, possibly pricking the conscience of the perpetrators. So please, let's kindly call a terrorist a terrorist, and not a bandit.

Many of us may not have realized that we in the media are critical stakeholders in the economy. The way we practise our trade could make or mar our country and even the entire world. So, let's be conscious of this, especially with regard to the point I just raised: Media practice can be a force for good even in counterterrorism efforts. This can hardly happen if we make wrong choice of words in the reportage of terror incidents.

Sincerely,

Desmond Chinedu Nweke 

For the Awake Digest Magazine

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