By Aminata Phidelia Allie
A consultant with the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Batilloi Warritay, has called on the media in Sierra Leone to be “more mature” in their reporting of issues ahead of the 17 November polls.
He said the International Criminal Court would be following the elections which would be crucial to peace and stability in the country.
His advice comes in the wake of a front page headline carried by the Independent Observer newspaper on 5 November 2012, bordering on the personal life of the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. He said the IMC totally condemned such a publication.
The article, Mr. Warritay went on, could “ruin diplomatic relationships between the two countries because it was a very unethical thing to do in this era of ethics and professionalism.” He added that, “it is not too far from last year’s embarrassing publication on the president’s underwear” by another local newspaper (NOT Politico).
“Let us pay less attention to the individuals and focus more on their performances as that would help our voters make informed decisions, especially on the eve of elections,” he warned, and stated that there was absolutely no reason for that article to have been published in Sierra Leone because even in Nigeria it had made scanty headlines.
Commissioner Mohamed Samoura said that there was no excuse for such a publication to have entered the media market of Sierra Leone.
“The article is unjustifiable and the IMC totally condemns it,” he chided.
(c) Politico 08/11/12
