Mr. Ochereome Nnanna, Chairman Editorial Board of the Vanguard newspapers, has described the Yorubas as “sophisticated morons”.
Nnanna made this assertion in his reply to a post on Facebook.
Areh Sunday, a journalist and an aide to Delta State Governor, while reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of June 12 as Democracy day on Thursday had gone to his Facebook page to express his disappointment in Yorubas for falling for the antics of the government of the day.
He posted:
“I use to think the South-West was very sophisticated. I was wrong. They are the most gullible. They fall for every poisoned carrot dangled before them”
Reacting to the post, Nnanna wrote:
“Sophisticated morons, more like”
This comment would not have elicited any reaction from me but for the fact that it was coming from the Chairman of the editorial board of one of the reputable newspaper houses in the country. A man of his status is expected to conduct himself in a respectful and responsible manner consistent with his function as an opinion-molder in the society.
Each and every newspaper is incomplete without the editorial section. They (editorials) are believed to be the heart and soul of newspapers. They display the values and policies of a newspaper and influence policy decisions.
A member of editorial board is expected to be matured, experienced, intelligent and well-informed. He must rise above politics, tribal and religion partisanship. An editorial member should be able to explain all the aspect of any issue in relating with past events, presents scenario and future prospectus. This is not the case with Nnanna as seen in this circumstance.
If this is the opinion of the Chairman of the editorial board of a national newspaper about Yorubas therefore, one should not be surprised about the view and news policies of Vanguard newspapers about the race.
It is my hope that Vanguard newspapers will caution Nnanna and apologise to the Yorubas for the embarrassment he has caused them.
Wale OLAYANJU
