By Mideno Bayagbon
Not very many people suspected it was fake. It looked and read like a genuine copy, letterhead, reference number, signature and all. But we at TheNewsGuru.com have had to establish a tradition, especially in these political times, of verifying every document, video and even photographs. Fact Check saved us the agony of publishing a press release purportedly released by the Independent National Electoral Commission. It was titled:
CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF CRIMINAL FORFEITURE AGAINST APC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BOLA AHMED TINUBU IN THE UNITED STATES
Our attention has been drawn to the recently released certified true copy of an order of criminal forfeiture granted against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu the presidential flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress by the United State Court of northern Illinois district dated 23rd July 1993.
The order borders on issues of criminal forfeiture of funds linked to narcotics smuggling conspiracy and money laundering.
WE are currently liaising with the Northern Illinois District Court in order to establish more facts about the case before taking a decision.
We are also studying the judgment in order to determine whether offences which contradict the INEC guidelines and Electoral Act 2022 has (sic) been committed.
We endeavour to expire the process and shall communicate the results of our findings together with our decision to the general public within ten working dates (sic) from today’s date.
Festus Okoye Esq
National Commissioner and Chairman
Information and Voter Education Committee
Friday 11th November 2022
A large segment of the media fell for it. And now, after the expected rebuttal by INEC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is threatening judicial hailstones and brimstones on all the media who helped make such a tendentious, aspiration abridging, fake press release go viral. It is a sign of the times we are in that even some very serious media platforms fell for the fake release. How the cranky brains behind it must be having a good laugh! And since bad news sells exponentially, the social media was not only awash with it, it was the major trending issue for well over 24 hours.
In a Facebook post, the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, lambasted the established media organisations: “All those people, including Arise TV, BusinessDay, and Channels TV spreading fake news and assassinating the character of Asiwaju Tinubu: ‘You have all thrown professionalism and objectivity to Jabi Lake because you are playing the script of your master puppeteers, Atiku and Peter Obi. The height of your shenanigans today was the wide use of a fake INEC statement.”’
Nothing was, however, said about the contentious forfeiture of $460,000 to the United States government by the APC Presidential candidate in 1993 over an alleged narcotics trafficking offence. A US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, according to published records, had ordered the forfeiture over alleged links with drug dealers. This is one of the many swords of Damocles hanging over the candidature of Alhaji Tinubu who is one of the three top contenders for the 2023 presidential elections. There are many others which we will soon come to.
In this era of alternative truths, fake news, deep fakes, and Artificial Intelligence, AI, it is hardly surprising that the media is becoming a ready tool of manipulation by hired digital natives. Lies are masked in beautifully embroidered, seeming truths. In a frenzy to break the news, especially in a clime like ours where channels of confirming news and stories are usually an herculean bottleneck, most media are bound to make costly mistakes and fall victims of cheap political blackmails and manipulations. An avalanche of threats of legal actions will flood the space between now and the elections.
Media platforms and those who will not invest deeply in checking and cross checking information are at great risk. And truth be told, every serious medium, bombarded daily by social media cretins, most of whom are in the employ of politicians aspiring for top offices, are bound to make the odd mistake now and again.
What my senior colleague, Onanuga, simply did with the unfortunate broadcasting of the viral fake press release is to be clever by half, nevertheless. Why did he not go the whole hog to state categorically that his principal never suffered the forfeiture of $460,000 to the American government. Why did he stop at threatening to go to court over the fake INEC letter?
And for that matter, when will Tinubu come out to address the many issues around him and his candidature? When will he call a press conference and personally address the issues of his alleged link to a narcotics ring about 29 years ago? When will he frontally put to rest the issues of his name, his parentage, his primary and secondary education? When will he come to show, through his personal tax payments, how he acquired the humongous wealth associated with him? When will he confidently showcase his chairmanship or directorship of companies associated with him? Where and how did he acquire his wealth? What does he do for a living? Last most people know of him is that he was a two term governor of Lagos State, a NADECO activist and former staff of an oil company.
Many “rumours” abound about his alleged wealth and ownership of companies. For example, it is assumed that he owns the Nation newspapers and TV Continental, TVC, a radio station and Alpha Beta among a legion of other issues. But a check at the Corporate Affairs Commission turns a blank when his name is cross checked against ownership/directorship in these establishments. Like so many other issues, Nigerians deserve to know the truth, from the horses mouth.
Then there is the small issue of his health. True, since he went for his last medical tourism to Europe and the United Kingdom, he has been more spritely and less sluggish. His speech, especially if reading from a prepared text, of not more than two pages, makes more sense now than before. Yes, his hands are still visibly shaky but his legs wobble less now. And if he speaks in the Yoruba language he is able to communicate with less gaffes. But will he be willing, for example, to join the other candidates in undergoing a medical fitness test? And when will he also grant a live, unscripted interview with journalists of his choice, in a television station of his choice, even if it is with TVC which he allegedly owns? By not doing any of the above, he is giving the wrong impression about his health, state of mind, etc. He is giving the impression that he has something(s) to hide and wants to rough-ride Nigerians and railroad them into making him another President Buhari who has spent the better part of his presidency hiding the true state of his health.
He is aspiring to the number one public office in the land. The well over 200 million people he aspires to be president over deserve to have him come out and address these issues and if for nothing else, put their mind at ease that they are doing the right thing voting for him. They deserve nothing less. The current strategy of stonewalling and refusing to concretely address them may succeed in the short term. But it is foolhardy. These issues cannot be wished away.
If Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not dignify Nigerians with personally coming out to assuage their fears, and as they say, in Nigerian humour to “expatiate and elucidate”, on his state of health, his background and his wealth, then he does not deserve to be trusted with the presidency of Nigeria.
Mideno Bayagbon: [email protected]