LET'S TREAD CAUTIOUSLY!
It's amusing how almost all the headlines I came across recently on some of the various online media (here in Ghana) were focused on Nigerians perpetrating crimes. I stand corrected but It seems ever since the news broke that most of the alleged kidnappers of the two Canadian girls were Nigerians, all of a sudden, any news of a crime that pops up automatically, has a Nigerian involved in it or spearheading it.
One would be pardoned to think, is there accuracy in all the reports or it's just an attempt by friends in the media to generate traffic for their various online media pages? Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out!
I just read a fascinating lead on one of our online media. It was captioned, "An old Nigerian man beaten up in Mamobi as he attempted to kidnap four children." Just so you know, I live in Mamobi. And down here(in Mamobi), when something like the above caption 'claimed' happens, it spreads like wildfire in the community before it even gets to the media. Funny enough, we didn't hear of it any kidnap not to talk of one involving a Nigerian old man. I used 'we' because I'm not the only one saying I didn't hear of it.
The most unfortunate thing about these online media with regards to the recent headlines is, in their quest to give their mass audience what to think about, they tend to put out things that will have some of these mass audience thinking all Nigerians are crooks. This is sickening and makes you want to ask, is sensationalism the only thing they are accustomed to or it's a deliberate attempt to incite our people against brothers from a neighbouring country thereby creating a chaotic relationship between us? Shrugs!
Well, I might not be able to tell the motivation behind all these fear-inducing headlines about Nigerians but what I do know is, Nigerians are following all the online reports by our media. And they are keenly watching the happenings too. There was one report that showed a pic of a Nigerian man attacked with plasters on some part of his head. Which doesn't augur well for us as Ghanaians, especially those living in Nigeria.
What are we telling these people? Not too long ago we were all here, bashing South Africans for the inhumane xenophobic attacks on our fellow African nationals but clearly, we haven't really learned anything from it because from the look of things, our online media are leading us towards a similar path, perhaps, unconsciously though.
#BetterMustCome!
One would be pardoned to think, is there accuracy in all the reports or it's just an attempt by friends in the media to generate traffic for their various online media pages? Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out!
I just read a fascinating lead on one of our online media. It was captioned, "An old Nigerian man beaten up in Mamobi as he attempted to kidnap four children." Just so you know, I live in Mamobi. And down here(in Mamobi), when something like the above caption 'claimed' happens, it spreads like wildfire in the community before it even gets to the media. Funny enough, we didn't hear of it any kidnap not to talk of one involving a Nigerian old man. I used 'we' because I'm not the only one saying I didn't hear of it.
The most unfortunate thing about these online media with regards to the recent headlines is, in their quest to give their mass audience what to think about, they tend to put out things that will have some of these mass audience thinking all Nigerians are crooks. This is sickening and makes you want to ask, is sensationalism the only thing they are accustomed to or it's a deliberate attempt to incite our people against brothers from a neighbouring country thereby creating a chaotic relationship between us? Shrugs!
Well, I might not be able to tell the motivation behind all these fear-inducing headlines about Nigerians but what I do know is, Nigerians are following all the online reports by our media. And they are keenly watching the happenings too. There was one report that showed a pic of a Nigerian man attacked with plasters on some part of his head. Which doesn't augur well for us as Ghanaians, especially those living in Nigeria.
What are we telling these people? Not too long ago we were all here, bashing South Africans for the inhumane xenophobic attacks on our fellow African nationals but clearly, we haven't really learned anything from it because from the look of things, our online media are leading us towards a similar path, perhaps, unconsciously though.
#BetterMustCome!
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