By Justina Asishana
I have been understudying the trends and contexts of Misogyny and Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria, research published by Journalists for Christ International Outreach and upon reflecting, I realised that this has been happening under my nose, especially in recent times.
The Collins dictionary defines misogyny as ‘a strong dislike of women’, the Cambridge dictionary defines it as ‘feelings of hating women, or the belief that men are much better than women’, and the Webster dictionary defines Misogyny to mean ‘hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women’.
The interplay of sexist and misogynistic statements online has also been found to be part of the influencing factors that promote repressive acts against girls/women online.
Misogyny also involves using intimidating or humiliating behaviour to destroy a woman’s self-confidence and undermine her; while trying to treat women differently from men in social and professional settings.
In the world of Nigerian politics and media, it is often easier to blame a woman than to confront systemic issues.
When something goes wrong, the instinct is not to analyze the structure, question the policies, or hold the real decision-makers accountable—most often, it is to scapegoat the most visible female figure.
And that is exactly what is playing out in the Niger State media space with the recent, calculated attacks on Aisha Wakaso, the Special Adviser on Print Media to the Governor.
It is no coincidence that of the three media aides to the Governor, only Aisha Wakaso, who is a woman, is being targeted. The Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, and the Special Adviser on Digital Communications, Abdulbaqy Ebbo remain untouched, despite welding significantly more power over the media-government relationship.
The question that intelligent observers should ask is: Why? Let us look at this, who controls media relations in Niger State?
To understand the absurdity of the accusations and allegations against Aisha Wakaso, one must first understand the actual structure of media engagement in Niger State:
The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) controls all media funding especially when it has to do with the Governor or activities around the Governor. Every advertorial, approval, and financial disbursement related to media work in Niger State goes through him and not any of the Special Advisers. No money enters or exits the media landscape except through him.
The CPS controls access to the Government House. Any journalist or media personnel trying to meet the Governor must first call the Chief Press Secretary. Even these days, journalists cannot enter freely into Government House as it was done in the past. Any Journalist trying to enter into Government House would be first asked to call the CPS to confirm if they can be allowed in or not. If you doubt me, please go and try. So is this also Aisha Wakaso stopping them from entering the Government House?
The Governor reacts to media coverage independently. Like any political leader, the Governor reads what is written about him and chooses how to respond.
If journalists in the state have taken a negative stance, that is a reflection of their own choices, not the influence of a single media aide or would we say she asked them to write the negative reports that the governor is probably reacting to?
Despite all these, Aisha Wakaso is being blamed for the deteriorating relationship between the media and the government. Why is she who neither controls the funding, nor determines access, nor the stories Journalists decide to write being singled out?
The answer is clear: because she is a woman in power.
The surprising thing is that these issues are not just being said, they are being written as articles and shared on various platforms by male colleagues for reasons best known to them.
If, as journalists, we choose to follow this misogynistic path rather than embracing developmental journalism, then we are certainly heading toward very interesting times.
Justina Asishana writes for the Nation Newspaper, is a renowned conflict reporter in Nigeria and is a multiple award-winning female reporter.
