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In a deeply reflective and spiritually charged essay titled “The Danger of a Corrupt and Hungry Media,” Apostle Bolaji O. Akinyemi, a nation builder and social reform advocate, has issued a solemn warning about the moral and institutional decay within the media profession in Nigeria. His apostolic reflection, inspired by Adeniran Abiodun’s earlier critique on the same subject, paints a haunting picture of how hunger, greed, and compromised ethics are turning journalism — once revered as a noble calling — into a weapon against truth and justice.

According to Akinyemi, the problem is not with the media as an institution, but with “the spirit that drives it — the hunger that has replaced truth with traffic, and conscience with contracts.” He lamented that in today’s Nigeria, journalism has strayed from its sacred duty as a watchdog of society, becoming instead a “war dog — unleashed by whoever pays the higher price.”

“When truth becomes transactional,” he wrote, “journalism becomes prostitution by another name. The sacred power of the tongue and pen, once dedicated to defending justice, becomes the very tool used to bury it.”

The Apostolic Lens: The Office of the Scribes

In his apostolic exposition, Akinyemi drew parallels between biblical scribes and modern journalists. He described the scribes of old as custodians of truth and divine order — recorders of history whose pens were guided not by profit but by purpose. Citing Ezra 7:6, he referred to the ancient scribe Ezra as “a ready scribe in the law of the Lord,” emphasizing that the duty of a scribe was sacred — to write in service of truth and posterity.

In this light, Akinyemi described journalists as the “scribes of our generation,” divinely positioned to preserve truth for coming generations. But, he warned, when the scribes of old became corrupt, they “misled kings and polluted generations; when journalists become corrupt today, they mislead nations and darken destinies.”

Quoting the words of Jesus in Mark 12:40 about false scribes who “devour widows’ houses and for a show make long prayers,” Akinyemi interpreted this as a metaphor for modern-day journalists who “devour reputations and for a show make long headlines.” According to him, “the pen, divorced from purpose, becomes a sword against the soul of the nation.”

From Media Freedom to Media Poverty

Akinyemi traced the decline of Nigeria’s media integrity to systemic manipulation and the deliberate pauperization of the press. He recalled that Nigeria’s democracy was midwifed by a courageous media, with journalists like Dele Giwa, Gani Fawehinmi, and Beko Ransome-Kuti standing as “prophets with pens” who chronicled tyranny into defeat.

“The voice of the free press,” he wrote, “inspired the march to the barracks and the dawn of democratic governance.”

However, he argued that this freedom was systematically undermined. The elite, he said, “made honest journalism unprofitable,” diverting investments from truth to propaganda. The military era further consolidated this control, seizing both the narrative and the newsroom. By the time democracy was restored, the media had already been impoverished and morally weakened.

“A hungry media cannot be a free media,” Akinyemi asserted. “A starving journalist cannot speak truth to power; he will speak power to truth — twisting facts to favor his next meal.”

The Consequences of a Compromised Media

Akinyemi warned that the collapse of media integrity carries grave national consequences. He observed that when the media becomes compromised, truth becomes relative, facts are twisted to fit sponsors’ desires, and lies parade themselves as headlines.

According to him, this erosion of trust leads citizens to believe rumors over verified reports, thereby destroying public confidence and endangering democracy. Without a well-informed citizenry, he argued, elections degenerate into “rituals of deception,” and justice becomes impossible. “If the storyteller lies, the judge will err; if the historian bends, the nation breaks,” he warned.

Pathways to Redemption

While painting a grim picture of the current state of journalism, Akinyemi offered a roadmap for redemption through what he called “moral and structural renewal.”

He proposed the creation of a National Media Development Fund through public–private partnership to sustain independent journalism. He further advocated tax reliefs and grants for ethical and investigative media organizations, and fair remuneration standards to end the professional hunger that drives corruption.

Institutional reforms, he argued, are equally vital. He called for a strengthened Nigerian Press Council and Broadcasting Commission that would reward integrity and punish propaganda. Akinyemi also urged all major media organizations to establish internal ombudsmen as accountability watchdogs.

Ethical reorientation, in his view, must be central to journalism education. He recommended the reintroduction of moral and civic education in journalism schools, teaching the “Ethics of the Scribes” — truth, accuracy, courage, and accountability. Faith-based media, he added, must reclaim their sacred duty as “Ezra scribes” — documenting truth with reverence to God, not men.

Beyond institutional reform, Akinyemi emphasized citizen empowerment through training in fact-checking and responsible reporting. He proposed the creation of digital platforms that would allow citizens to rate media credibility, exposing falsehood while rewarding truth.

Finally, he urged journalists to reclaim their prophetic voice — standing as moral interpreters between power and the people. Quoting Isaiah 50:4, he reminded them: “The Lord has given me a tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.”

A Call to National Conscience

In his conclusion, Apostle Akinyemi described a corrupt and hungry media as “not just a professional tragedy but a national security threat.” He warned that “the pen that once fought for freedom must not become the dagger that kills democracy.”

Calling for a revival of moral standards among journalists, he urged Nigeria to “raise again the standard of the scribes of truth — men and women whose words are not for sale and whose headlines are holy.”

“If the media is the mirror of society,” he concluded, “let it be a clean one. For only a pure reflection can reveal a true nation.”

Signed in truth and patriotism, Akinyemi’s apostolic reflection serves as both a warning and a wake-up call — a reminder that the nation’s conscience cannot afford to be sold, and that in every generation, the purity of the pen remains the foundation of freedom.

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