‘The Drastic Fall Of Quality Journalism In Nigeria Is Alarming’ – Azuh Arinze Offers Insight On What Journalists Must Do
“Without mincing words, the quality of reporting in Nigeria has fallen drastically,” Arinzechukwu Azuawusiefe, widely known as Azuh Arinze, lamented in an interview with Neusroom.
Azuh’s observation about the decline of Nigerian journalism’s credibility should concern not only journalists, but also Nigerians who rely on this profession for a glimpse of truth in a world bombarded by fake news. If the quality of Nigerian journalism has indeed fallen so drastically, then Azuh is a living legend whose voice deserves not only to be heard but also heeded.
Over two decades ago, when he began his career, with the absence of tools like smartphones and social media readily available for journalists, Azuh navigated through the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, securing exclusive interviews with prominent figures and uncovering insights into the lives of some of the country’s most successful people. However, while the mediums of reporting in Nigeria have evolved considerably, “only a few people,” as Azuh observes, “now report” with the same dedication.
When journalism ‘chose’ Azuh Arinze in the early 1990s, and he ditched his dreams of becoming a lawyer, he fell under the tutelage of some of Nigeria’s best – Femi Akintunde-Johnson, Ray Ekpu, and Segun Osoba – an influence that instilled in him a disdain for fake news and unverified reporting.
“What is happening in journalism today is both shocking and alarming,” he said. “It is so sad.”
But what made Azuh Arinze stand out? What qualities did he cultivate that allowed him to become the resilient reporter who interviewed some of Nigeria’s heavyweights, including Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi, Ken Nnamani, Aminu Tambuwal, and Anyim Pius Anyim?
Born on March 24, 1972, Azuh grew up in Azia, a small town in Ihiala LGA, Anambra State, about 80 kilometres from Onitsha, the economic hub of southeastern Nigeria. Before his family moved to Lagos, where he attended Victoria Island Secondary School and excelled in English, Azuh lived in another southeastern town, Nsukka, in Enugu State.
During his era, when children often aspired to careers considered prestigious like medicine, engineering, or law, Azuh set his sights on becoming a lawyer. While it’s tempting to wonder what kind of lawyer Azuh might have become, perhaps someone mentioned alongside Femi Falana or even Gani Fawehinmi, that dream was unexpectedly dashed by a failing grade in English Language during his Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
“I was adjudged good in English, so I was like the one representing the school in the debating society competition, coming tops and taking the first position. So apparently, it got into my head, and then I wrote WAEC and failed English. The school and my parents couldn’t believe it. It was a big shock and surprise to many,” he revealed during an exclusive interview with Neusroom in 2022.
After the “big shock” of his WAEC results, Azuh found himself temporarily managing one of his father’s shops in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub. However, his avid reading habit soon led him to journalism. Out of boredom on a Saturday, he bought a Punch newspaper and became captivated by a column written by Mr. Azuka.
But who buys a newspaper to quell boredom? Exactly typical of Azuh, who would follow the column after Femi Akintunde-Johnson took over the column. He became a fan, then a mentee.
If reading Femi Akintunde-Johnson’s column, whom he fondly calls FAJ, made him a fan, meeting him in person solidified his love for the profession and placed him under the tutelage of one of Nigeria’s foremost journalists.
This happened shortly after FAJ left Punch to co-found FAME Magazine in 1991 with his friends Kunle Bakare and Mayor Akinpelu. When the magazine launched a writing competition to celebrate their ‘reader of the month’ with a cash prize, Azuh entered and became the first winner.
“The day I went to collect the prize, I fell in love with journalism,” he said in the 2022 interview. “I saw these young men, smartly dressed, and I knew this was what I wanted to do. So I went back to school to study mass communication.”
At 26 years old, after completing his HND program at the Institute of Management Technology (IMT) in Enugu, Azuh’s career trajectory took a significant turn. He was appointed Editor of ‘Reel Stars’ magazine, a sister publication to National Encomium, another brainchild of FAJ. A year later, he returned to serve as editor of Encomium after Reel Stars ceased publication. He would remain there for eight years before leaving in 2011 to start YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine.
With a career spanning over 25 years and having learned from the likes of FAJ, Azuh has a unique perspective on the devolution of reporting in Nigeria. He has truly seen it all.
“The menace of fake news is a major challenge,” Azuh wrote. “Fake news even moves faster and flies higher than ever before.”
The spread of fake news is largely fueled by social media platforms. With a single click of the share button, a completely fabricated story cooked up in a WhatsApp group can find its way onto X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or other platforms, where it can snowball and gain traction. Unfortunately, sometimes even journalists from well-established media houses amplify this misinformation without making any attempt to verify its accuracy. Hiding behind the word “alleged,” these professionals fail to fulfil their responsibility of thorough investigation before publishing, despite having advanced technology at their disposal that makes fact-checking easier and faster than ever before.
“Back then when I started,” Azuh reminisced, “you dared not publish any story without confirmation. In fact, back then, one of my editors, Femi Akintunde-Johnson, used to warn us that all efforts to confirm a story must not prove abortive. Meaning that you must get the reaction of the person you are writing about before turning in your stories”
According to a 2024 report by the World Economic Forum Global Risks, misinformation and disinformation are ranked as the world’s most severe global risk within the next two years and the sixth most concerning risk over a longer ten-year timeframe.
While Azuh offers a piece of advice for young journalists – “be professional, don’t cut corners, leave things out when you’re not sure, work harder than your contemporaries, think smarter than them, and be more creative” – his two new books, ‘Anything And Everything Journalism’ and ‘My Story Of Many Colours,’ provide an even deeper dive into what professionals need to navigate the complexities of journalism in today’s world.
Set to be launched on Monday, March 25, 2024, ‘Anything And Everything Journalism’ is being hailed as the ultimate guide for aspiring journalists. In this role as a champion of journalistic integrity, Azuh convinced 37 of Nigeria’s most respected and accomplished journalists, including Segun Osoba, Ray Ekpu, Bayo Onanuga, Mike Awoyinfa, Dele Momodu, Femi Adesina, Dimgba Igwe, and Simon Kolawole, to share detailed accounts of their lives and the experiences that shaped their careers.
Dedicated to two fallen heroes of Nigerian journalism, Dele Giwa and Dimgba Igwe, who died under controversial circumstances, the 500-page book can be seen as the “bible” of journalism. It offers a window into the career paths of 37 journalists profiled in the book, the challenges they encountered, and the valuable lessons young journalists can learn from their years of experience.
Azuh’s second book, My Story Of Many Colours, takes a more personal approach. It chronicles his own encounters with some of Nigeria’s most prominent figures, including President Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi, Senator Ken Nnamani, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Chief Michael Olawale-Cole, and Chief Michael Omolayole. With ‘My Story Of Many Colours,’ which features a foreword by renowned writer and poet Uzor Maxim Uzoatu, Azuh shares, for the first time, a true story about YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine.
Azuh Arinze’s unwavering dedication to truth and his own impressive career trajectory offer a clear message: excellent journalism is not a relic of the past, but a vital necessity for the future. As he continues to mentor the next generation of professionals, Azuh’s two upcoming books – ‘Anything And Everything Journalism’ and ‘My Story Of Many Colours’ – promise to equip aspiring journalists with the knowledge and inspiration they need to navigate the complexities of the modern media world.
