TUNDE BUSARI, an Ibadan-based publisher of The Tabloid.Net spoke with GBENRO ADESINA about his entrance into journalism and his regrets about the current sad state of the profession.
Q: What drew you into journalism?
A: Without sounding immodest, I was born to be a journalist. Going by the panegyrics of my roots and family, I realised that anybody coming from my family has reporters’ traits. Our panegyrics says, “Omo enu ti enu o gbodo pa.” Growing up as a pupil in a Catholic school, John Mackay Primary School, Oke Ayepe, Osogbo, I was always attracted to things happening around me. Those things were of no interest to my mates. For instance, in 1976, I was in primary three when the head of state, late General Muritala Muhammed was killed. Suddenly, we saw parents rushing into the school, I knew my parents would be coming too. I had to dodge somewhere because I didn’t want to follow them home without know what has happened. I wanted to know why parents were coming to take their children. I hid somewhere, watching parents chasing their wards. Our teachers also were running out of the school except the headmaster, Mr Abokede, who stood in front of his office. After finding out what really happened, I went home. My parents beat the hell out of me when I got home. That experience thought me that maybe in the nearest future, I would become a journalist; I would become a person who would like to find out things instead of relying on what people tell you. This mindset followed me through my formative years in Osogbo. Whenever important person visits the palace, I’ll be there and would take a vantage position to see the person. That is why if you ask me about landmark events, I will tell you the date, time, the personality involved. So, you can see that my being in the media is natural. By the time I got to secondary school, Muslim Grammar School, Osogbo located in Oke Osun, I had been exposed to reading newspapers. The school is now occupied by Fountain University. Our school has been relocated downward, about 200 kilometres from the Fountain University. I am the current national president of the old students’ association. Then I would read newspapers and take notes. There was a time, I wrote something on Facebook and one of my younger brothers reminded me about something. The guy reminded me that when we were younger, I used to read newspapers and take notes as if I wanted to write exam. Then, I was familiar with the big names in journalism and their articles. That was around 1980, the time National Concord was set up by late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola. The editors MKO recruited then were from different established newspapers. For example, Dele Giwa came from Daily Times, Yakubu Muhammed came from New Nigeria, and Ray Ekpo came from The Chronicles. These people assisted me to build my career.
Q: What are the other names that influenced you in the profession?
A: I have names like Baba Maye Olubadan, Oloye Lekan Alabi. Oloye Alabi was in the Sketch Newspaper covering entertainment. Others are Chief Segun Osoba, Baba Felix Adenaike, Baba Peter Ajayi, late Chief Bisi Onabanjo with his article, Ayekooto, Tai Solarin’s article on state of the nation in Sunday Tribune. So, I was just reading everything to improve my understanding of English language to the extent that I lost interest in Mathematics completely.
Q: Did you read English in the university?
A: No. I read History and International Relations at Obafemi Awolowo University, which modeled me to be Aluta.
Q: Are you saying you do not regret being a journalist?
A: Not at all. Journalism is about service to humanity. One can’t be in journalism to make money but to serve the people.
Q: What can you say about the journalism of then and now?
A: There are lots of remarkable differences. In fact, if I’ve seen the journalism of now then perhaps, I might have changed my decision of becoming a journalist. I might have opted for law.
Q: Why?
A: The journalism we had then was laid on ethics, sacrifice, devotion, commitment and suffering. Many journalists were thrown into prisons not because they committed any crime but because they did the job the right way it should be done. Sacrifice in the sense that at times, you have to sleep over in the office, and go through pains to bring out a story. Yesterday, I needed to interview a lady who works in a media organisation. I had to persuade her to grant the interview. After the interview, she refused her picture to be taken and I have to persuade her again. I told her I couldn’t go without taken her photograph so as to avoid readers perceiving my story as a fiction. Readers must see the person I interviewed. This is part of the challenges we face in sourcing stories. People will read the story and enjoy it without known what journalists go through to get stories. So, journalism back then was based on seriousness and genuineness to serve the nation. The journalism we have today is sad. Journalism has become a black market. People are just coming in to do what they like. One doesn’t even need to complete secondary school before you start practicing the profession today. What you need is just an android phone to send anything out. Surprisingly, the mainstream media depends on these untrained people. For instance, if any incident is happening, these people will just bring out their phones, record and upload it on social media. They tag it breaking news. Truly, it is a breaking news. It is this news that major news media will publish without investigating it. They also want to break the news. It is that bad. What we are facing now is a serious crisis. That is why I usually say that media is endangered. It is only God that can restore it.
Q: Are you saying that most of the news we read on the mainstream platforms are fake?
A: No, not all of them. When a media organisation is relying on what unskilled reporters upload on the social media without verifying it and publish it, it is horrible. This is why mainstream media keep retracting stories published and tendering apologies. This is not good for the image and integrity of the media houses.
Q: Can you elaborate on the challenges the media is facing today?
A: Economy is another challenge. Finance is the soul of any organisation. If you don’t have enough funds to power your organisation, there will be problem. Exchange rate between Naira and Dollar shows the nation passing through hell. We can’t publish without newsprint, ink and other materials – they are all imported. Apart from the content, media depends on foreign items. To make the matter worse, media houses go through middle men to get these materials. The middlemen manipulate the prices of publishing materials resulting in getting them at ridiculous higher prices. Again, the security operatives in Nigeria usually pose challenges to the journalists and media houses. The police is trying to cooperate with media. When I was a crime reporter, we had the cooperation of the senior police officers and CPs. There are some who do not. Thy will refuse to cooperate in getting facts of the crime stories one is working on because of their personal interest. I want to encourage the police authorities in Abuja to continue to sensitise their rank and files on the need to work collaboratively with the media.
Q: How do you see PROs of the Nigeria Police today?
A: Unfortunately, that is the area I don’t want to go into. There are some PPRO, who will not even attend to you. They won’t even pick your call. When they pick your call, you will see reluctance and arrogance in their voice. One will now be wondering which kind of training these people pass through. The PPROs are doing a lot of damage to the Force they claim they are representing. I want the higher authority to do something about this. It also bothers on sensitizing and educating them about their roles.
Q: You just talked about the economy affecting the publishers, what about the journalists?
A: Imagine a news organisation struggled to publish and the newspaper is not sold. The rate of the copies of newspapers published these days have dropped. There are always huge unsold copies being returned and the unsold copies will go to ‘akara seller’ and petty traders. How do you expect the media organisation to meet their financial obligation to their workforce? That is why you see media organisation owing backlog of salary arrears. The advertisers don’t pay as at when due. The purchasing power in the country is weak. Everybody is struggling to afford daily meals. So, newspapers are no longer in the priority. Even, to read newspapers online, one needs data.
Q: Have you ever been threatened or pressured about any particular story you wrote?
A: Yes. There was a particular one with a traditional ruler. It is about land matter. I did a fairly balanced story by speaking with the traditional ruler and the other side. I published it in 2009. After the publishing of the story, the traditional ruler started looking for me. He went to the correspondents’ chapel asking about me. My colleagues did very well. They sat Kabiyesi down and educated him about the story. They told Kabiyesi that if you are looking for this person because of this story, Kabiyesi, forget it. This is a balanced story. They asked him if the reporter came to him; if he spoke with the reporter and the reporter reported what he told him. He said yes to all the questions. The Kabiyesi now added that he didn’t know that the reporter would speak with the other side.
Q: What story did you author that you are proud of?
A: There are many. The one I want to talk about is the one with Alaafin, late Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi and Oba Sikiru Adetona, Awujale of Ijebu Ode. Baba Alaafin used to tell me many things during our private conversations on national issues including his relationship with other traditional rulers. He told me that Baba Awujale would celebrate his birthday and he would attend the ceremony. Baba Alaafin respected Oba Adetona. They had very strong bond. If Baba Alaafin is angry and Baba Awujale speaks to him about it, that is the end. I told myself that I would make Baba Alaafin shine at that birthday. I went to meet my editor in the office and told him that I had an interview with Alaafin. He said go and bring it. I’m always with my jotter whenever I was with Baba Alaafin. Whatever he says, I will write. I just went to one of my jotters, searched and saw some of the things he had told me. I turned it to interview. I published it on the day Oba Adetona was celebrating his birthday. Baba Alaafin didn’t know because I didn’t tell him. At the event, he sat beside Oba Adetona on the high table and Oba Adetona’s chiefs were coming one after the other to thank him. They were telling him that they saw his hands. He didn’t understand. Somebody later told him that they enjoyed his interview in the Tribune Newspaper. He was shocked and couldn’t remember when he granted an interview to Tribune Newspaper. He asked his Personal Assistant to get him the newspaper. He buys Tribune newspaper every day. When the newspaper was given to him, he saw the interview and kept it to himself. On his way back home, he called me and asked me to see him in Oyo. When I got there the following day, he asked me when we had the interview. I told him that he used to tell me a lot of things. I told him that as my profession requires, I should be able to make something out of it. He said the report was so accurate. He asked me if I had used midget recorder to record him and I said no. I told him I kept the note on my head and I use to jot whenever he was talking to me. He was amazed. He then said, Tunde you made me shine yesterday. He prayed for me. Another story concerns the monarch that gave me the Chieftaincy title of Baroyin, Olu of Itori, Oba Abdulfatai Akorede Akamo, Agbodere 1. The day we met, we had an issue. We later settled. I turned the issue into a story. When he read the story, he was shocked. He called me to see him the following day. When I got to him, he asked me how I did it and that he fought me that day. I told him I didn’t fight him and I couldn’t have fought him. He called the Queen and told her that I was around. The Queen came and greeted me. He said that from day, I’ve become his Baroyin. That was November 2018. I thought it was a joke. Three or four months after, he asked me to prepare for my installation. That was how I became Baroyin.
Q: How risky is it to practice journalism in Nigeria?
A: It is risky in the sense that many people don’t want what they did in the secret to be made public. Meanwhile, making public what people do in secret is the assignment of reporters. If you do that, they go after you. We have seen series of our colleagues who have been victims of molestation, harassment, imprisonment and even death. In a society like ours where anything goes, it is not a free society to practice real journalism. What you can only do to save yourself is that if you can’t beat them, you join them. You have to play safe.
Q: At what moment did it occur to you to start your media outfit?
A: Having my outfit has been my life time dream. When I set out to be a journalist, my mission was that one day I would also publish my own copy. When I was moving from different houses, it wasn’t that I didn’t know what I was doing. What I was doing was that I needed different experiences from different places so that when I become a man of myself, all these experiences would be brought together. In fairness, I am very happy that I took that decision that I didn’t stay put in a particular media house for long. The experiences I had from different media houses are helping me today. My editor in Saturday Punch, Mr Joseph Adeyeye, couldn’t believe that I wanted to pull out. He is the Managing Director of Punch today. He reported me to the MD then, whom I told I had to go. Punch was comfortable for me. It was like my natural habitat. The salary, the work condition are okay. I enjoyed working there. Going through many places helped me to publish my paper today. When I was leaving the Nigerian Tribune, I remembered that when I was with the editor and the MD, on my last day, I told them, this has been my dream. The MD prayed for me that I would succeed. Incidentally, the first edition of The Tabloid.Net was printed in the Nigerian Tribune one month after I left. I left in August 2020, the first edition of the Tabloid.Net came out on September, 2020.
Q: What does it take to run digital newspaper?
A: It is not easy. If you want to follow the crowd, it is simple. It is just to look for general story, cut and paste and that is the end. I didn’t plan to follow the crowd. I plan to do something different. I plan to invest on exclusive stories. Stories that people will read and say, this paper is different from others. It is expensive.
Q: How are you coping and what makes it fashionable to publish hard copy and online together?
A: Hard copy is going out of fashion, because of the low numbers print media are printing and unsold copies recorded daily. This doesn’t mean that hard copy is irrelevant. Some people insist they must have hard copy. The hard copy gives you the urge to read unlike the soft copy that looks as if you are reading text messages. Lawyers want to have the hard copies and keep them in their libraries.
Q: Can you say that the internet has made journalism freeror more dangerous?
A: It makes it more dangerous. Maybe it is two ways. Internet makes journalism easier now. Stories ideas can be generated through internet. When there is a trending news on the internet, you will assign your reporters to talk to people about it to give you a fresh angle and the fact of the news. It shouldn’t be a copy and paste thing. Internet has become a source of information.
Q: What keeps you going when things are tough?
A: Determination and God.
Q: What is your message to the next generation of Nigerian journalists?
A: If they want to practice journalism, they must be ready for it. They must be ready to sacrifice, and to take unfamiliar route to avoid being an average person.
