Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.

I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.

As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.

One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!

Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.

And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..

Medical doctor members of the National Association of Seadogs on humanitarian duty.

As a way of lending credence to Mr. Soyinka’s claim, some members of the Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Seadogs (NAS), a.k.a Pyrates Confraternity, recently came out to demonstrate their noble intentions by offering free medical aid to some Lagos residents, while using the forum to carry out a voter-education campaign, in preparation for the 2011 general elections.

Under the canopies erected at the Ojuelegba Bus Stop at Surulere, members of the confraternity who are medical practitioners checked the blood pressure (BP) and the sugar levels of passers-by, dispensed drugs and gave advice to people with serious health conditions; while other members of different professions shared fliers educating the public on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction.

A passer-by, Ekaette Daniel, said the occasion allowed her to check her health and confirm some of the health problems she had suspected she was suffering from.

“I saw them giving free medical treatment so I decided to check myself. The doctors told me that my BP is OK but that I am too big for my height. I had suspected this but was not sure because it has been long I did a check-up. They confirmed it and advised me on what to do,” said Ms Daniel.

One man, one vote

While speaking at the occasion, which also served as a forum to educate the public on the forthcoming general elections, the secretary of the group, Uche Nwachukwu, condemned any power shift or zoning formula in the formation of Nigeria’s polity..

Mr Nwachukwu said any concept which supports allotting where a person must come from before aspiring to an elected office, is contrary to the principles of democracy.

“Zoning is an anathema. It runs in opposites to democracy. It is a means of disenfranchising people from certain positions. What Nigeria needs is credible elections. There must be a review of the voters register and necessary structures must be put in place now to ensure our votes count by 2011,” said Mr Nwachukwu, who is a paediatrician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Seizing the opportunity for a free check-up, a teacher, Olaniyi Ogunmuyiwa, said, for eight months, he has been suffering from relapsing chest and throat pains. He said he was “pleased to get free medical attention” because he had been procrastinating going to a hospital.

The association’s Lagos chapter spokesperson, Sylvester Nsor, said over 130 people were given free medical attention during the exercise. He said the association, which is a male-only confraternity, chose the Ojuelegba Bus Stop as its sensitisation point owing to the location being a melting-pot for several inhabitants who engage in diverse clandestine activities.

“Amongst NAS values is the promotion of humanitarian ideals aimed at touching lives and giving hope to the less-privileged in the society. And Ojuelegba is a place with so many characters who need to be informed on the dangers of drugs,” said Mr Nsor, a member of the confraternity since 1991.

Formed as a tertiary campus pressure group, the Pyrates Confraternity was founded in 1952 by seven students of the University College, Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan), including Mr Soyinka, to protest against oppression and tribal alienation. It was formally registered as the National Association of Seadogs in 1980. The Association, since 1984, has continually dissociated itself from university cult fraternities known for anti-social tendencies.

PALOS VERDES, Calif (Reuters) – Film director and deep-sea explorer James Cameron said on Wednesday that BP Plc turned down his offer to help combat the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Over the last few weeks I've watched, as we all have, with growing horror and heartache, watching what's happening in the Gulf and thinking those morons don't know what they're doing," Cameron said at the All Things Digital technology conference.

Cameron, the director of "Avatar" and "Titanic," has worked extensively with robot submarines and is considered an expert in undersea filming. He did not say explicitly who he meant when he referred to "those morons."

His comments came a day after he participated in a meeting at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington to "brainstorm" solutions to the oil spill.

Cameron said he has offered to help the government and BP in dealing with the spill. He said he was "graciously" turned away by the British energy giant..

He said he has not spoken with the White House about his offer, and said that the outside experts who took part in the EPA meeting were now "writing it all up and putting in reports to the various agencies."

The film director has helped develop deep-sea submersible equipment and other underwater ocean technology for the making of documentaries exploring the wrecks of the ocean liner Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck some two miles below the surface.

'REALLY SMART PEOPLE'

Cameron suggested the U.S. government needed to take a more active role in monitoring the undersea gusher, which has become the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

"I know really, really, really smart people that work typically at depths much greater than what that well is at," Cameron said.

The BP oil spill off the U.S. Gulf Coast is located a mile below the surface.

While acknowledging that his contacts in the deep-sea industry do not drill for oil, Cameron said that they are accustomed to operating various underwater vehicles and electronic optical fiber systems.

"Most importantly," he added, "they know the engineering that it requires to get something done at that depth."

Among the key issues that Cameron said he is interested in helping the government with are methods of monitoring the oil leak and investigating it.

"The government really needs to have its own independent ability to go down there and image the site, survey the site and do its own investigation," he said.

"Because if you're not monitoring it independently, you're asking the perpetrator to give you the video of the crime scene," Cameron added.

Cameron made two documentaries about the wreck of the Titanic as well as the blockbuster 1997 movie "Titanic" using a small fleet of specially designed remotely operated underwater vehicles. He said his qualifications are not based on his background as a movie director but on his years of involvement in the deep-sea industry.

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