Premium Times' Reporter And His Misleading, Unprofessional Report About Fedpoffa

By: Busy Brain

Recently, the Management of the Federal Polytechnic Offa Kwara State held a campaign against sex for grade, a cankerworm that is eating up the fabric of Nigeria tertiary institutions. This campaign, no doubt, was acknowledged and embraced by Kwara State Government and at the same time to be staged in other institutions owned and managed by the State. The campaign was covered and shown on Osun State Broadcasting Cooperation Television channel and was published in  print as well as leading online media such as SaharaReporters.com, nationnewslead.com, naijahitz.com, Voiceairmedia.com, Affairstv.com, blazenewz.com, nigerdeltareport.com to mention but few. These platforms picked the story from different angles as expected of the press in delivering its cooperate social responsibility to the masses. Probably because it's a goodwill campaign and not a negative story about the institution, it doesn't feature on Premium Times.

Recently, the Federal Polytechnic Offa was ranked as best affiliated  institution in Nigeria according to National Universities Commission Ranking ( NUC) with 99.3% point. This feat was reported by different media outfits including The Punch. This doesn't interest Premium Times' reporter since it is a positive story about the polytechnic. When the Polytechnic was ranked 8th best among the 112 polytechnics in Nigeria, it was reported by the media. But Premium Times' reporter for the reason best known to him turn a deaf ear to it. Alfred Olufemi of Premium Times has never featured anything good about the polytechnic, meanwhile, many landmark achievements revolved in the institution on a daily basis.

Since anything good about the Federal Polytechnic Offa has not featured on premium times, then, why would Premium Times' reporter, Alfred Olufemi look out for negative stories to soil the image of the institution ?

On 24th of February 2020, Alfred Olufemi of Premium Times for the third time published a misleading and unprofessional story about the Federal Polytechnic Offa which was centered on probing a lecturer as a result of his  investigative stories published last year. And the said investigative stories he was referring to were fact checked to be lies by Hammed .J. Suleiman, a fact checking journalist from Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto State. Having read the fact checking stories released by Mr. Suleiman, one would pity the stories Alfred of premium times called investigations. Wonders shall never end. Everyone wants to make ways through negative stories.

In actual sense, it's so disgusting and annoying for saying  a whole institution established in year 1992 whose management had had different disciplinary committee  that had looked and still looking  into the excesses and misconduct of staff and students without any journalist investigation or media interference now staged a panel to probe a staff because of one fabricated stories published on Premium Times. It's an embarrassment that a campus journalist who has never studied any journalistic related courses begin to attach a worthless victory to himself on a weak and impotent report. Now that Premium Times' reporter claim the school authority set up a panel because of his published stories, Should other tertiary institutions in Nigeria wait for Premium Times' reporter to visit them before their disciplinary committee will set up a panel to probe misconduct from any staff or student ? Is this not a mess against the institution disciplinary committee that they actually need a journalist to make report before they do their work ? I think any serious Management like the Federal Polytechnic Offa will rather act on their disciplinary committee's findings rather than taking decision on a questionnable investigations as published on Premium Times.

This is noteworthy to disregard the report published on Premium Times by Alfred Olufemi taking glory for unprofessional story. In as much as any School Management and disciplinary committee set up will never condone any act of indiscipline from both staff and students, the Management should not as well embrace any fabricated stories from the media, The management through the Directorate of Information, Public Relations and Protocol should always make its stand known to the public when necessary.

As obviously written on Premium Times platform that good journalism is costly, it is important to call the attention of the publisher to yellow journalism being practised by the campus Journalist, Alfred Olufemi before destroying the image and the credibility of the platform. If good journalism is costly, Federal Polytechnic Offa should not be made to pay the price before they would be shown the good side of journalism. At least, a single positive story should have featured on Premium Times as regards to countless good tidings that revolve in the polytechnic. The press is not an agent of destruction.

Busy Brain is an award winning writer, poet, journalist, researcher, media critic, political analyst.

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