BUREAUCRATIC INCONSISTENCIES, MEDIA SCRUTINY AND ANDREW LIBERTY’S VERDICT

BUREAUCRATIC INCONSISTENCIES, MEDIA SCRUTINY AND ANDREW LIBERTY’S VERDICT

By Williams Ayooso

There is a class of media personalities in Taraba State whose write-ups I read whenever I come across them, not just because of the respect I have for them, but also because of the intellectual depth they deploy to drive home their points. Andrew Liberty, a media practitioner and public affairs commentator, belongs to this class.

Nevertheless, his latest article, entitled “TETFund or Compliance? Setting the Record Straight on the Suspension of COAST Jalingo Rector,” left me with the impression that he drifted slightly, at least this time, from the vantage point of media analysis that he has built over time.

I had no issues with the write-up, particularly his condemnation of Sahara Reporters for failing to balance its story linking the suspension of the Rector of the College of Agriculture, Science and Technology (COAST), Jalingo, Dr. Yakubu Ali Garjila, to the Commissioner of Tertiary Education, Hon. Mike Dio Jen, based on its alleged pecuniary interest in TETFund funding for the institution. I equally have no reservations about his praise of the Commissioner. Of course, Liberty is at liberty to express himself.

From Liberty’s worldview, the situation may appear normal; but from another perspective, the suspension is a serious indictment that could jeopardise the Rector’s academic future, damage his reputation in society and affect his standing within his family circle. In other words, Liberty did not beam his intellectual binoculars through the lens of fairness and objectivity. By failing to balance his views with the Rector’s position, while stretching his intellectual arguments to justify the government’s action in suspending the Rector, he almost towed the same path of journalism he had criticised Sahara Reporters for taking.

If the suspension, which is undoubtedly a punitive measure, has been made public, the publication of the committee’s findings on the offences that the Rector has committed, should not be negotiable. The Rector is not a personal aide. He holds the position in trust, not only for his employees but for the entire people of Taraba State.

In taking such a serious administrative measure, the public interest must be considered. Hence, accountability should not be confined to government circles alone. Again, compliance, which is the fulcrum of the entire scenario is not a rocket science invented by bureaucrats. Punishment for non-compliance, must be measured on the scale of conscience and must pass the test of a reasonable man. Unless, from a perspective of a reasonable man, considering the circumstances that weaves around the saga, fairness and justice is served in the punishment melted on the Rector for non-compliance.

Painting the Commissioner of Tertiary Education, who is at the centre of these perceived administrative inconsistencies, as a saint and describing Sahara Reporters as a typical example of jungle journalism, without taking into cognisance the image, feelings and official interests of the Rector or the perception of the general public, leaves the article wanting in fairness and objectivity.

The seven-man panel was inaugurated by His Excellency, Dr. Agbu Kefas, on August 11, 2026. The sole mandate of the panel was to investigate the alleged non-compliance with his policy on a 50 per cent reduction in school fees at the College of Agriculture, Science and Technology. This is the crux of the matter.

But why did the Rector refuse to comply with the Governor’s directive on the 50 per cent reduction in school fees?

“Our school used to have the lowest fees. We were on the verge of reviewing them upward, but upon receiving the circular on the 50% school fee reduction, we reversed to the former rate. I can assure you that our school fees are moderate and affordable.”

This is a direct quote from the Rector, as captured in an exclusive chat published in the August 2026 edition of Worldview Magazine.

Let us assume that the defence of the Rector does not matter. But does this breach of an administrative directive is in the scale that warrant the empanelling of a committee of inquiry? Does it mean there are no other disciplinary or administrative measures that the government, through the supervising ministry, could adopt before resorting to a panel of inquiry that seemingly appears designed to give the Rector a bad name and push him out of the system?

We are not talking about a security breach in the college, student riots or a monumental sleaze in the institution. When did issues of governance and bureaucracy become so trivialised? This is the angle that discerning minds should be interrogating.

I rummaged through the statement from the Taraba State Ministry of Tertiary Education debunking the report linking the COAST Rector’s suspension to TETFund funds. I expected to see a portion where the ministry stated that it had called the Rector to order, directed him to comply, and that he refused. None of this was captured. What about the query approach that is synonymous with dealing with recalcitrant employees? Did the supervising ministry exhaust these administrative measures before embarking on such a significant process?

Mal-information, misinformation and speculative media reports can only be curtailed if these administrative gaps are closed. Until this is done, suspicion and distrust over political actors’ alleged complicity in the college saga will continue to linger.

The College of Agriculture, Science and Technology has experienced enormous transformation under the embattled Rector. Some of these developments have been facilitated by the implementation of Governor Agbu Kefas’ free education policy. Liberty Andrew also alluded to this fact. This is the bigger picture surrounding the activities of the college, and it is what we should be promoting across our media platforms.

I’m on the same page with Liberty Adrew on the need for descent journalism. But media is a microcosm of society.

A legal luminary, Lord Denning, once said, “You cannot take something and put it on nothing.”

Therefore, if the country’s political actors continue to dispense a quality of leadership that does not promote accountability and transparency, society will continue to taste the bitter side of the media. As we scold the media for its lapses, let us not forget to insist on good governance, transparency and fairness across the board. That is the only way we can get the quality of media services that we yearn for.

It is the right of government to activate any method of its choice in laying off its employees, just as citizens are entitled to make observations and ask questions, including refusing to be blindfolded by a veil that is not transparent—a veil cumbersome with suspicion, sentiments and bureaucratic inconsistencies.

Sorry. I’m just helping a friend, Comrade Liberty Andrew, to set the record straight.

Williams Ayooso is a Jalingo-based media practitioner