Plagiarism at the highest level

It was not my intention to write again this week on the communication architecture of our president. After all, there are many more urgent issues demanding attention in the country. But, like other citizens, I suspect, one never imagined that the Change Begins with Me campaign has other secrets.

Who could have thought that the global media attention on our country would again be on the negative? Who could have imagined that CNN, BBC, Yahoo News, and others would be reporting on dishonesty at the highest level of Nigeria? A former CNN correspondent, Jim Clancy, even rubbed salt into the wound with his derogatory tweets on the matter.

However, I think we brought it on ourselves. Initially, like many others, I underestimated the damage of lifting from President Barrack Obama’s speech without attribution in a speech meant to inspire us. How could we build on a faulty foundation without expecting our house to collapse? Good enough that the presidency reacted earlier this time around than their previous record, but they still have a long way to go to convince us that they will get to the bottom of this. When we remember President Buhari’s vow to punish those who padded the budget and the fact that nothing of such happened, we should take the claim that heads will roll with a pinch of salt. But we must push well enough to ensure that whoever was responsible for lifting quotes without attribution is shown the way out, it’s the minimum to show us that integrity still counts.

A late night call to me last Friday further demonstrated how far this latest scandal has gone. On the line was a friend who just had to reach someone to vent his pain and anger over the matter; particularly painful for him is the fact that he was part of the vanguard that brought Buhari to office. Thinking that he was in distress, which forced him to call me, I quickly picked the phone praying that he should not be far off as I was very tired. “Hello Wale,” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you but I just needed to talk with somebody as I’m about losing my mind,” he added. In short, he just got home after attending a function at the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos and the dinner discussion was on plagiarism at Aso Rock and he and his wife had to make a quick exit, as he could not stand the shame. It’s as bad as that, people.

Beyond the fury unleashed on the social media and news channels by supporters and opponents of the president, we must sift through the drudgery put forward by both camps. First, it is appalling that some people could say that this is just a storm in a teacup. Why bother, they reason forcing one to doubt the sanity level of some of our compatriots these days. I’ve written so much on the deification of our president but when has stealing become fashionable? For a president whose major plank of governance is anti-corruption battle, does it not worry his supporters that some of those working with him lift other people’s work without attribution? How many more have been lifted that we are not aware yet? The tepid response that it was an unnamed director who was responsible does not atone for this egregious action.

The next stage is name and shame; otherwise we can assume nobody will be punished for this. It shows also lack of thoroughness and attention to detail, which are symptomatic of a more serious disease, that of anything goes and at a level the intellectual rigour at the highest level of government. If as Sahara Reporters claimed that it is one of the president’s nephews responsible for his speeches, our problems are more than what we are dealing with. How do you justify that with all the expertise available to Buhari as seen in the media aides, fine professionals in their own right, none could be deemed worthy of writing his speeches? How many other experts have been dismissed by our president?

Years back, two senior journalists, Kunle Ajibade and Dele Momodu, both then of the Concord family of publications, accused a journalist with a news magazine, those who are old enough will remember the story, of plagiarizing Thomas Paine, one of the founding fathers of the United States.  It was a serious matter then, and it is still now. When we have dumbed down reading, part of what we get is contempt for intellectual works, as some of our commentariat want us to believe that it is a simple matter. A society that does not respect creativity will find progress difficult. We do not expect the president to know everything and he cannot, but it is his responsibility to seek for the best help available wherever he can find it. That is his major duty.