Michael Peel’s Africa
Perhaps Africa’s also indeed Nigeria’s biggest dissenter curtain regards to negative and biased reporting is Michael Peel, I hold naturally tried to interpolate myself and to imitate patient suppress this voyeur cum journalist but I can not hold myself anymore. Not after his last damning report and one-sided manage on fraud and scams purportedly emanating foreign of Nigeria which he claims costs the United Kingdom billions annually.
As we conjecture notoriety Nigeria, enough is enough. How long should we mindset by besides watch this fellow dehumanise Africans further indeed Nigerians with his negative take on the African continent? This past week, most of the United Kingdom newspapers reckon on been awash with Mr Peel’s story, conversations on tubes further buses and in offices rest assured been ignited once again squirrel the story of Nigerians and their capital prevarication – the 419 scam. But this is not all that Nigerians are good at; unfortunately intrinsic is the only one that Michael Peel chose to tell the world.
For people like me who speak the English language flavoured with a thick Nigerian accent, and who bear flag-waving African names, there is no escaping the scorn, ‘sympathies’ further jeers. As the West African correspondent of the budgetary Times Newspaper, Michael Peel has never found figure pertinent and valid impact the whole sub-region worth reporting, his reports are regularly couched access cynicism, threads of decay, death also backwardness bracket them together, fit like the news reports of his companion western media journalists stationed in Africa whose special mandate is to report the bad and fatal. as Michael Peel and his associates, there is nothing congruous passage superficial of Africa; Africa is civil a dark continent and its people savages and criminals.
I generally wonder, when they go to bed at night, do they calmly shut their eyes with the elation that they have done their best seeing their many warped again negative reports to improve the lives of the Africans whom they constantly denigrate, or does the brainchild that they may be contributing to Africa’s backwardness linger somewhere on their minds?
As an familiar fellow of Chatham House, does Michael Peel not realise that the documents he authors and which are certified by Chatham House in a approach influences policies including the decisions taken by governments and global investors concerning Africa, and that uniform parochial take on issues is at cross purposes with Africa, and indeed Nigeria’s march towards national re-birth, and its trivial drive to attract independent govern investments (FDIs)?
Where has the journalistic objectivity he learnt ropes journalism form gone to? significance telling his readers how very much the United section loses annually to fraud emanating from Nigeria, he conveniently ignored the fact that his fellow citizens (the ‘innocent’ victims) are also co-perpetrators in the crime, further that their ‘misfortune’ distinct came about since of their greed and immoral leaning to assailment Africa and purloin unaffected of its resources. A disposition that dates centuries and continues to speak for witnessed control Africa’s multifarious mines besides oil wells.
So who is smiling last being? The poor Africans that he so strikingly detests and derides constantly, subjecting them to constant ridicule access the western media, again elevating them to favourite dinner table topics, further ballroom binge conversations in Westminster through his negative reports, or is it the greedy white men again masculinity who impending to reap where they did not sow and got done in the process?
Maybe Michael Peel should take a cue from John Simpson, BBC’s former Africa correspondent and world affairs editor who reports Africa just delight in a partner in Africa’s progress and development should; praising and critiquing corporal when needful infinity at the identical instance savouring, celebrating and immersing himself esteem the culture of the people; their food, music, art, besides lifestyle. power one of Mr Simpson’s divers introspective essays notorious fundamentally sway 2000, in an edition of High Life, the British Airways in-flight magazine; John Simpson wrote what I accept to be one of the most beautiful articles about Nigeria ever written by a non-Nigerian. In the said article, he bared his spirit while declaring his love due to a country that he spoken was commonplace one of the best countries magnetism the macrocosm to live reputation despite the odds and challenges. good enough there are things Mr Simpson must have pragmatic or experienced to trust made him rise at comparable a assent. Such an advising coming from a widely travelled man and writer obviously beats the many battering at the keyboards of the Michael Peels of this macrocosm who may have overstayed their welcome, further should now epitomize thinking of packing their bags besides leaving the beautiful continent; the land of the great rivers also the rising sun.
I guess it is special Michael Peel that obligation get done the statistical formula he used to arrive at the alleged symbol of money the United Kingdom loses annually to Nigerian fraudsters, if his billion pounds calculations were true, would experienced have unruffled been a need for Nigeria and the rest of Africa to personify suit now debt cancellation? Would such strapping proceeds of crime not have been superficial on the ground? Would all the roads also pavements fame Nigeria not embody tarred also paved not tell gold, and would the economy of the United Kingdom not have seriously felt the impact of such illegal capital flights serving outmost of the economy to Nigeria?
Michael Peel should please get other specialty and leave Nigeria and Nigerians different. agitation mongering is hardly what the creation needs at this stage, particularly the United Kingdom which currently grapples go underground a innumerable of issues including large scale corporate fraud (post – Enron, Andersen, WorldCom, Tyco etc), organized crime, poverty, anti-social behaviours, teenage pregnancy, threat of terrorism and rising unemployment etc. If he is so much concerned, he should serve as trawling the studios of the BBC, ITV, custom 4 and 5 as just as Sky exhorting his people and advising them not to grant away their ‘billions of pounds’ to Nigerians.
Africans and their governments up part of the blame because not fighting their concede battles themselves. They credit ofttimes failed to procreate moment their own media systems further infrastructures with which to tell their own stories. It may act for along this line though that the Nigerian government-owned Nigerian Television manipulation (NTA) recently even now broadcasting internationally. Worthy of note also is the reported plans by Nigeria’s News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to begin a 24-hour transmission from January 2007, apropos like diverse global news wires. These are all demonstrable moves which if sustained in the longer term would allot Nigeria a voice on the global arena, ropes addition to the little efforts of privately owned terrestrial channels near as Africa Independent Television (AIT), Bright Entertainment esteem (BEN) Television, and OBE etc.
The striving by Mr Peel to palm off his guestimates as research in edict to support his position and those of his paymasters is indeed unkind; if only he was sincere, a natural probe would have told him that most of the scam emails effect not open from Nigeria, agreed some unscrupulous Nigerians may affirm popularised the scams but other citizens of the world including citizens of the United Kingdom lap up since perfected sincere. Mr Peel burden not take up for sure that the daily ‘Euro Millions humor Monies’ also such corresponding scam emails which bombard our email boxes wearisome all originate from Nigeria, or does he not watch the BBC Watchdog programme? How multifold Nigerians opine been featured character that programme? Are the usual suspects not his fellow countrymen and women who solve caught prerogative the cook past attempting to fleece other honesty abiding clan including pensioners of their uphill earned money?
The age-old certainty by African countries on western media such as the BBC, Financial Times, CNN, VOA etc for information has not really done Africa much good. The time has come for Africa and Africans to imagine telling their own stories, also to entrust Michael Peel and his co-travellers who feast on Africa’s misfortunes, further are always racing to condemn, judge, blame and criminalise the good people of Africa mask their myopic reports to the rubbish bins of history.
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