Lawrence Maeba Slams Super FM Port Harcourt For Disowning Reporter Over HYPREP Collapse Water Tank Report, Demands Apology For The ‘Disgraceful’ Treatment Of An Honest Reporter
Mr. Lawrence Maeba (aka Lawman Maeba), an Ogoni-born philanthropist based in the United States of America and the Chief Executive Officer of GlobaSafe International USA, Inc., has issued a strong condemnation of the management of Super FM Port Harcourt for disowning their reporter, Mr. Barry Diginee, after he exposed the collapse of a multi-million-naira HYPREP water tank in Gwara, Khana Local Government Area, just three days after the failed project was commissioned by the Minister of Environment.
Mr. Maeba made these remarks at an award ceremony organised by the Methodist Church, Diocese of Nyokhana in Beeri, where his mother, Mrs. Leka Kpughi Maeba, was honoured with the “Award of Leka” for her outstanding service to the kingdom. He used the opportunity to call on Ogoni women and youths to live exemplary lives that would distinguish them for honour, rather than bring shame and dishonour to society.
He said he felt deep disappointment and disbelief that a media organisation entrusted with informing the public and holding those in authority accountable would abandon its own staff for doing the right thing. He noted that Mr. Diginee only posted the report on his personal social media page, without using the Super FM platform or watermark, yet the station chose to humiliate him in public rather than stand with him in truth.
According to Mr. Maeba, “Super FM’s action is not only shameful but deeply troubling. Journalism is supposed to protect society from abuse, injustice and deception. For a radio station to openly disown its reporter simply because he reported facts that may inconvenience HYPREP shows how compromised and morally weak their leadership has become.”
He continued: “The Ogonis are beginning to gather pieces of evidence from several events showing how Super FM has become a tool used by HYPREP against developments in Ogoniland. This is the same radio station that closed a paid weekly airtime titled ‘Buan-Bee Ogoni’ because the program exposed the criminal conducts within HYPREP. Mr. Sagun, a pastor with Christ Embassy, is the most corrupt agent of HYPREP managing the radio station. We are watching his actions with one eye and would label the radio station an enemy of Ogoni by the time we open the second eye.”
He described the management’s conduct as “questionable, obnoxious and a complete disgrace to the core values of journalism.”
He added, “What Super FM has done exposes how incompetent they are in the practice of journalism. A credible media house protects its reporters, especially when they report the truth. Instead, they have chosen to act like errand agents for those in power rather than the watchdogs of society.”
Mr. Maeba strongly condemned Super FM’s attempt to label Mr. Diginee a “stringer,” calling it an insult and a deliberate act intended to belittle him. He clarified that the reporter is neither a freelancer nor a part-time contributor but a fully employed correspondent of the station.
“You do not call your own staff a stringer just because he spoke the truth. You do not destroy the dignity of your employee simply to satisfy your paymasters. This is unacceptable. The Ogoni people and all lovers of justice will not forget this betrayal,” he stated.
He further accused the station of placing monetary patronage from HYPREP above ethical responsibility, public trust and the safety of the journalist involved. “If a media house is willing to sacrifice truth for money, then it has no moral authority to call itself a news organisation,” he said.
Mr. Maeba issued a firm ultimatum to the management of Super FM to tender a clear and unreserved apology to both Mr. Barry Diginee and the Ogoni people, who feel deeply insulted by the station’s actions. He emphasized that the Ogoni people have a long history of environmental injustice and deserve support from the media, not further humiliation.
He warned that failure to issue this apology would compel him to petition the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation and the Nigerian Union of Journalists to take appropriate disciplinary measures against Super FM. “If Super FM refuses to do the right thing voluntarily, then they will face the consequences. We will not stand by while truth is silenced and those who speak it are punished. This fight is bigger than one reporter. It is about protecting the soul of journalism and defending the Ogoni people from further injustice,” Mr. Maeba declared.
He finally called on the Ogoni people to be brave in all they do and to never allow anyone intimidate them on Nigerian soil. He reaffirmed his commitment to standing with journalists who are courageous, honest and dedicated to the public good, and vowed to resist any attempt to silence voices that speak truth on behalf of the oppressed.
