The Victims

I won't pretend I am not following what is happening between a political party and a media House right now. I was a journalist for several years and Nigerian media houses really needs to do better as regards payment of salaries and benefits of their staff members. My older sister worked with ‘Daily Champions’ for years covering their judiciary beat, she survived on the "brown envelope" given to journalists by individuals/corporate organizations or politicians (this already takes away the objectivity of their report) whose news they were supposed to cover! 

I was supposed to study law, my sister begged me to because according to her, journalism does not put food on the table. I chose to study Mass Communication because the private university I was attending at the time didn't offer law as at that time.

It was after landing a job with a media house that I realised how wicked the Nigerian Media space was. I got employed by a media company based in Anthony, Lagos. Salary was 30,000 Naira; daily transportation cost was 1000 Naira.

I still wouldn’t get paid until the 20th of the following month. Then I moved to another media house and the owner of this media house would tell his staff to check out Arise TV and 'This Day' newspaper's staff and follow their model.

I would have mentioned the name of the organisation but I don't want readers to assume I am supporting or discrediting a political party or candidate. This post is about journalism in Nigeria and the wickedness of the owners of media houses.

Our boss then would say, "Galaxy is owing his staff 3 years, ‘This Day’ has not paid in 4 years, this one has not paid in five years, that one has not paid in seven years.”

There was even this story of the owner of ‘This Day’ holding a staff meeting and asking his staff members why they had not resigned if they really needed the salary.
It was there he reportedly said, "Your ID Card is your means of livelihood if you are wise."

This was the model Jide preached to us when I worked at his media house. I mean the one that wants to be governor of Lagos state now. I got employed as a new producer in his organisation. I didn't have a beat to cover like the reporters and yet he refused to pay us salaries for almost 9 months. When the suffering got to my throat, I resigned. It was wickedness at the highest level.

It got so bad that staff members were stealing money from one another in the newsroom!
And our owner at the time will travel to the UK with babes to go and flex (He said this himself during a staff meeting. "It is cheaper for me to sponsor three babes to the UK as my bed companions than pick a prostitute over there and pay her in pounds."

I mean him no harm but he is still owing me 8 months’ salary and even though God has blessed me, it is still my sweat. Media houses should do better.

Journalists should speak out too and refuse to suffer needlessly in the name of, "There is no job out there."

Journalists deserves to be paid as at when due in line with their contracts with media houses, this should be the norm.

-GSW-