By BASHIR ADEFAKA
“Today, even more than the Boko Haram time bomb, a bigger time bomb awaiting the nation is intellectual laziness, a lack of intellectual depth, objective and analytical reasoning fueled by a non functional educational system that throws up half baked and half illiterate products bereft of independent thought.”
Worried by the amount of intellectual deficit being displayed daily by the knowledgeable, especially those who should feed the populace with truth and unifying information, thereby plunging the society into daily situation of crisis and social disorder, many Nigerians are speaking out on the inevitable need for attitudinal change.
They are saying there is no reason for media practitioners to leave what is right and start feeding vulnerable members of the public with falsehood, fake news, twisted and divisive information, knowing the strong attachment of those innocent souls to the media as people’s court, which is expected to be balanced, accurate, fair and operated on clear cut national interest.
Among the Nigerians, who are sad about the situation currently, is Dr. Uche Diala, the Convener of Nigeria Patriots Call. They believe there should be no cause for any media operating on the soil of Nigeria to take side with anti-Nigeria – local and foreign – forces working hard to bring down through undemocratic means the government that was democratically elected by well over 15 million voters in a globally adjudged freest, fairest and most credible election.
Dr. Diala is not alone. There is is also another doing well Nigerian in Agbai Nnena, who said, in a contribution she made to concern expressed by the Nigeria Patriots Call’s convener, that her greatest worry was not about the “unpatriotic, irresponsible, and uniformed journalists, but Nigerians who rely on the trash they spit.”
Accord to Dr. Diala, “I wish our nation can begin true national orientation and reorientation, civic education, enlightenment, information and communication.”
On why, he said because, “There is a serious lack of understanding of how things are supposed to be and function.
“Sadly every Nigerian feels he or she must have an opinion on everything under the sun, as a matter of right, whether we understand the issues or not.
“A deteriorated and non functional educational system which is focused only on paper qualification and not on actual education and knowledge that liberate the mind and broaden the perspective has complicated our case.
“Today, even more than the Boko Haram time bomb, a bigger time bomb awaiting the nation is intellectual laziness, a lack of intellectual depth, objective and analytical reasoning fueled by a non functional educational system that throws up half baked and half illiterate products bereft of independent thought.
“#ItIsIndeedANationalTragedy,” Dr. Diana ventilated her worry in a post as member of a patriotic social media group on Tuesday.
Reacting to him, Agbai Nnena shared her experience even as she helped amplified the convener’s title, exclaiming, “National Tragedy indeed and more than Boko Haram!”
She backed Dr. Diana by quoting from his statement,, “intellectual laziness, lack of intellectual depth, objective and analytical reasoning fueled by a non functional educational system that throws up half baked and half illiterate products bereft of independent thought”, referring to him, “as you rightly observed @Dr. Uche Diala , constitute national worry and concern.”
She said, “Sharpen the vulnerability of uninformed Nigerians who are mostly preys to unpatriotic and irresponsible journalists littered across Nigeria, who have continued to twist, mislead, and make joke of sensitive and serious information.
“I gave my ears to one radio station this morning (Tuesday), during a newspaper review program, to know what it has for its listeners on the insecurity that is making headlines.
“What I heard from the news analysts and callers who called after, made me to regret ever listening.
“My greatest worry is not about the unpatriotic, irresponsible, and uniformed journalists, but Nigerians who rely on the trash they spit.
“WE ARE IN A BIG TROUBLE!” She submitted.
