These days, anyone with a smartphone, internet access and is, crucially, sufficiently unscrupulous, can dupe less discerning members of the society into offering him assistance to peddle half-truths and outright lies against anyone, particularly those in positions of authority. What to do? Concoct a lie, disseminate it via social media channels and wait for it to catch fire. Many people in positions of authority, including President Muhammadu Buhari, have been victims of this eminently anti-social behavior.
The latest victim of this sad trend is Mr. Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), whose headship of the agency has seen tax revenues increase year-on-year, from 2015 when he took over, to the record collection of N5.32trillion in 2018.
A Whatsapp message currently in circulation, a piece of pretend-journalism by an insignificant online platform-leadingreporters.com-has Fowler as being on the run from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Being a pretend-journalism outlet, the publishers neglected to even contact the EFCC to find out if, at all, the agency wants the FIRS boss. It also failed to get the Commission to confirm if it invited Fowler and he failed to honour the invitation to shed light on whatever alleged infractions he may be wanted for.
The EFCC that the Nigerian public is familiar with is not known to fold its hands and not issue a notice declaring a suspect wanted. Up to now, it has done no such thing, butleadingreporters.com and its ilk have been hawking the tale that Fowler is on the run. It is public knowledge that the EFCC is investigating some staff of the FIRS on the use of duty tour allowances (DTAs). A few of them identified as having abused the DTAs have been directed to pay back and, according to reports from credible print and online media platforms, have been doing so.
Not one of those credible platforms has reported that Fowler has been asked to refund any amount of money or has even been quizzed let alone give unsatisfactory responses. When the news of the investigation of FIRS staff broke, similarly unscrupulous platforms, run by pseudo-journalists and retailers of lies, reported that what was being investigated was the misuse of tax revenue. This was an uncomplicated indication of illiteracy, as tax revenues do not go to the FIRS, but straight into the government coffers.
It is basic that one should have some familiarity with any subject one wants to speak authoritatively on. Speaking with authority on any subject one has no familiarity with is fraudulent in any walk of life, more so in journalism-a business of accuracy-that the hawkers of these based lies purport to practice.
This strain of illiteracy, a grave sin in journalism, has been on display since the news broke and is happily shared by the “shared as received and copied” brigade.
Honest errors- seriously frowned at in journalism are made worse by venality. My suspicion is that these lies are agenda-driven and their propagation is generously funded. The agenda I see is that some powerful interests, with an eye on the position Fowler currently occupies, have found a raft of unscrupulous young people pretending to be journalists to sully the reputation of the man, under whom the FIRS has continued to post impressive results in revenue collection.
Some equally unscrupulous ones have claimed, without a shred of evidence, that Fowler is eyeing the governorship of the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is a legitimate aspiration, if he harbours such. But he is no position to nominate himself even if he desperately wants the office. It is the same way he cannot, by himself, renew his tenure as FIRS Chairman when it lapses in August, which is almost upon us.
The treatment the man is being given by social media hounds, despite his immense achievements, is certain to discourage many others who may want to serve the country in any capacity. Not wanting him as FIRS boss any longer is fine. Concocting lies to blemish his reputation, in any language, spells EVIL. And for those of who receive these bile-driven messages, a little more scrutiny of them is important. Sharing them makes us as guilty as the originators.
Last week, a photograph of a grotesquely disheveled man surfaced on social media platforms and was accompanied with a story saying it was that of a former Sudanese Defence Minister jailed by the country’s recently deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir. It was frenziedly shared by those who could lack restraint and were unwilling to check. These included practising journalists, surprisingly.
A check on google, however, revealed that the photograph was that of a drought victim in Kenya’s Turkana County. When you have an itch to share, hold back, ask a few questions and try run independent checks. These steps will stop you from hurting innocent people and spare you the embarrassment of having to explain to friends when they discover you are vending falsehood.
*Morounfolu Tychus, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja
