Sahara Reporters vs Okonjo-Iweala: What Do We Make of This? By Emmanuel Arinze

I am not one to make much fuss about media reports beyond profiling and updates. By virtue of my profession, my involvement with virtual and terrestrial media – local and foreign – usually does not transcend the bounds of neutral analysis. But, I must admit that, there have been times when I have had to cast off my aloof toga and join the fray of “glocal” (global & local) debate to air my personal view on pertinent matters where sitting on the fence rankles against the grain.

In the course of my media analysis, I have also been intrigued by a trend I have observed between two parties dear or aggravating to some Nigerians; that is the person of Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the entity called Sahara Reporters. Truly, both parties elicit different reactions from Nigerians for various reasons. But, it appears the party with the biggest voice is not always fair to the other and is consciously attempting to undermine the credibility and dehumanise the other party.

From my findings, it appears that since Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came back to Nigeria for a second stint at the helms of the country’s finance ministry, she has not really done much to merit the positive reportage of Sahara Reporters. All I have read on Sahara Reporters’ site about the woman have been one negative press or the other.

But, then, this was only a theory that I had no empirical basis of proving as a fact. So, I decided to conduct an independent survey to ascertain the veracity of this claim. I spent hours going through the gamut of Sahara Reporters’ website and consulting popular search engines to get raw data on Sahara Reporters’ coverage of the person of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in the space of 25 months. The results of my findings are captured in the table below for discerning people to see and make their conclusion:

SN	HEADLINES	DATE OF PUBLICATION	DETAILS OF MENTION	TILT OF MENTION
1	Oil Subsidy Is Fiction-Okonjo Iweala Is Here To Seduce People To Accept The Callous "Oil Subsidy" Removal-Tam David West-TheNEWS	Oct 28, 2011	Professor Tam David-West alleged that Okonjo-Iweala is "sermonising to seduce people to accept the callous oil subsidy removal."	Negative
2	AUDIO: Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Caught On Phone-Tap, Lying, Playing Dumb	January 5, 2012	Saharareporters alleges that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala played the dumb when she was called to tell Nigerians about the fuel subsidies.	Negative
3	VIDEO: "Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Is Not An Economist, She Is A Demographer"-Occupy Nigeria-Lagos Day 02	January 15, 2012	A protester at #OccupyNigeria says that Okonjo-Iweala is not an economist but a demographer.	Negative
4	Ngozi Okonjo-iweala Must Resign – Prof. Tam David West	February 5, 2012	Prof. Tam David West called on NOI to resign her appointment.	Negative
5	Fuel Subsidy: UAD Calls For Sacking of Okonjo-Iweala, Allison-Madueke; Urges Masses To Be Ready For Further Action	March 7, 2012	UAD calls for the sack of Dr. Iweala and others over their role in the subsidy row.	Negative
6	World Bank Presidency: Obama Rejects Iweala Nominates South Korean-born Jim Yong Kim	March 24, 2012	The report maliciously screams that President Obama is not comfortable with NOI’s candidacy for the World Bank when she is clearly the favourite and most qualified for the position.	Negative
7	World Bank Presidency: Ghana, Uganda Spurn Okonjo-Iweala's Candidacy	March 25, 2012	SR alleges that Ghana and Uganda reject Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy for the World Bank.	Negative
8	#OccupyNigeria: Why Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Should Be The Next President Of The World Bank By Ikhide R. Ikheloa	April 1, 2012	An opinion writer contends that when NOI departs for the World Bank, she will be leaving Nigeria much worse than she found it.	Negative
9	Go, Ngo, Go: This Battle Is Not Yours By Sonala Olumhense	April 1, 2012	The writer opines that there are two sides to NOI; "The first is the one who, when she is in Washington, DC, longs to come home, where home is Nigeria.  The other is the one who, when she is in Nigeria, longs desperately for home, home being Washington, DC".	Negative
10	Fuel Subsidy Fallout: Combat Corruption, Sack Okonjo-Iweala, Allison-Madueke, Civil Society Organizations Tell Jonathan	April 20, 2012	The United Action for Democracy (UAD) calls for the sack of NOI and some members of the federal cabinet for their role in the fuel subsidy debacle.	Negative
11	FOI: Okonjo-Iweala May Be Dragged To Court To Explain Lavish Expenditure On Funeral of Father-In-Law	April 24, 2012	CPC spokesman wants to know how much was spent on the burial of NOI's Father-In-Law.	Negative
12	The Jailing Of James Ibori	April 25, 2012	The opinion writer describes NOI's World Bank presidency run as "excessive ambition and naivety".	Negative
13	Power Outage Mars South-South Economic Summit As President Jonathan, Paul Kagame, Okonjo-Iweala, Shun Event	April 27, 2012	NOI was reported absent on the first day of the South-South economic summit.	Indifferent
14	Ngozi Okonjo Iweala: Rejected Abroad, Resented At Home	May 1, 2012	The writer criticises the economic policies of NOI in strong terms.	Negative
15	Is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Stupidly Intelligent?	May 15, 2012	This opinion article questions NOI's actions and inactions on the oil subsidy saga.	Negative
16	Okonjo-Iweala Insists On ‘Transparency And Careful Management’ Of Nigeria’s Resources, Spokesman Says	July 30, 2012	NOI reassured that the 2012 budget is being managed in a way that protects and enhances the best interests of the country.	Indifferent
17	Okonjo-Iweala And The Budget Of Abracadabra By Simbo Olorunfemi	July 24, 2012	The article questions the rationale behind the preparation of 2013 budget when the one for 2012 has not been fully implemented.	Negative
18	Budget Implementation Is Failing To Achieve Citizens’ Human Rights, SERAP Tells Finance Minister	July 31, 2012	A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) challenged NOI’s statement about 2012 budget.	Negative
19	PHOTONEWS: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala At The Olympics Sport Of Lying About Budget Implementation	August 2, 2012	SR maliciously captioned the minister's picture in the National Assembly. SR claimed that her eyes were popping as she claimed that she was "misquoted" by the media when she stated that the 2012 budget has recorded 56% implementation.	Negative
20	Ngozi Iweala: Nigeria’s Weakest Link	October 21, 2012	Sonala Olumhense described the minister, whom he called "Double duty" minister, as the weakest link in President Goodluck Jonathan's cabinet.	Negative
21	Anti-Corruption Group Storms Ministry Finance To Demand Removal Of Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Over Oil Subsidy Payment Scams	November 8, 2012	Executive Secretary of the Anti Corruption Network, Dino Melaye led hundreds of protesters to demand for the sack of the minister.	Negative
22	Jonathan: Combating Corruption By Conversation	December 12, 2012	A reaction to the clamor for the sack of Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu, and the Minister responsible for the Niger Delta, Mr. Godspower Orubebe.	Indifferent
23	Okonjo-Iweala Pledges Action Against Pension Racketeers	December 12, 2012	NOI stressed that it is a crime to defraud helpless, old people.	Positive
24	Sucker Punch: Ten Provocative Demands from Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to President Jonathan	December 12, 2012	The writer presents what he termed "ten provocative demands from Mrs Okonjo-Iweala to President Jonathan"	Negative
25	Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's Statement Regarding Release Of Her Kidnapped Mother	December 14, 2012	The minister issued a press statement where she confirmed that her mother, Professor Mrs Kamene Okonjo, has been freed by her abductors.	Indifferent
26	Still On Okonjo-Iweala Over Controversial Appointments By Yushau A. Shuaib	March 5, 2013	The piece laments what it terms the ‘biafranization’ of top public offices by Okonjo-Iweala.	Negative
27	Assault On Free Speech Continues, As Okonjo-Iweala Masterminds Sacking of NEMA Image Maker	April 17, 2013	The report alleges that NOI has engineered the sacking of Yushaib Shuaib, the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).	Negative
28	Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s World- All Things Being Equal, Okonjo-Iwealla Continues To Bungle Facts	April 23, 2013	The commentary picks hole in the minister’s assertion that all things being equal Nigeria's economy is on the right path. The commentary further accuses her of lying over the figures she quoted.	Negative
29	Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala Tip Aig-Imoukhuede As Next CBN Governor	April 23, 2013	The report states that Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede, the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, enjoys the support of NOI and President Jonathan to become the new CBN Governor after the expiration of the tenure of Mallam Sanusi.	Indifferent
30	Press Freedom, Yushau Shuaib And Okonjo-Iweala	April 26, 2013	Abdullahi Yunusa, a friend of Yushau Shuaib eulogises Shuaib and expresses worry over NOI's alleged attempt to use her office to maltreat a patriotic Nigerians of Shuaib's standing.	Negative
31	Stable Electricity Still a Decade Away for Nigeria By Toyin Dawodu	May 4, 2012	The writer quotes Okonjo-Iweala as saying that Nigeria’s power is heavily subsidized and investors want tariffs to match the cost of producing power.	Indifferent
32	The Frustrations of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala et al By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo	May 9, 2013	Rudolf Okonkwo, a columnist on Sahareporters, comments on NOI's keynote speech at the 5th Annual African Business Conference at Harvard Business School in February of 2013.	Negative
33	Clarifying Nigeria's Debt Position By Dr. Okonjo-Iweala	June 7, 2013	NOI's release in response to misinformation and misconception in the public debate on Nigeria's debt.	Indifferent
34	Full Transcript Of My Presentation At The Ministerial Platform By Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala	June 16, 2013	Transcript of NOI's speech at the Ministerial Platform on Monday, June 11, 2013.	Indifferent
35	Minister Ngozi Iweala And The Turtle By Prince Charles Dickson	June 24, 2013	The writer takes a swipe at NOI's figure over economic growth. He holds that those numbers are nothing but a publicity stunt.	Negative
36	EXCLUSIVE: Okonjo-Iweala opens up, says Nigeria economy in danger	June 14, 2013	The story claims that NOI painted a gloomy picture of the economy contrary to what she said in her speech at the Ministerial Platform.	Negative
37	SR Speaks: Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s Economy of Lies	July 1, 2013	SaharaReporters responds to NOI’s spokesman’s rejoinder in an unsavoury manner.	Negative
38	Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala storms Dr. Damages show with a piece of the National Cake	July 7, 2013	A parody of NOI's presentation at the Ministerial Platform sandwiched with some unsavoury comments.	Negative
39	Don’t Be Deceived By Okonjo-Iweala; Economic Growth Stopped In 1970s – Dr. Muttaka	July 7, 2013	In an interview, Dr. Muhammad Usman Muttaka, the Head of Economics Department of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria described the reported growth of Nigeria’s economy as a “paper growth”.	Negative
40	Nigeria Rated 8th Most Corrupt Nation- PM NEWS, Lagos	July 11, 2013	In a story that has nothing to do with the personality of NOI, SR prominently features her picture in this report that Nigeria is now rated the 8th most corrupt nation in the world.	Negative
41	Nigeria's Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala Forced THISDAY Publisher To Sack Editor	September 10, 2013	SaharaReporters alleges that the CME masterminded the sack of the Thisday's Saturday editor, Lawrence Ani.	Negative

Judging by the foregoing where out of 41 mentions profiled in 25 months, 32 of them are negative, 8 are indifferent and only 1 is positive, it is obvious to identify the standpoint of Sahara Reporters where the person of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is concerned.

For a medium like Sahara Reporters to have only one positive out of 41 reports about anyone says a lot about how evil such person must be, doesn’t it? My findings leave so many questions unanswered, is Okonjo-Iweala that bad? Is she so wrapped up in evil that she deserves only one positive report out of 41 Sahara Reporters’ mentions in 25 months? In fact, can anyone be that bad? Can there be more than meet the eye in Sahara Reporters’ coverage of the person of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala? Why does Sahara Reporters have more negative things to say about the finance minister than the other media? Why is Sahara Reporters always the first medium to break negative news about NOI? I leave the answers for the discerning minds to conclude.

Emmanuel Arinze is an Abuja-based Research consultant.