This, so long we remain what we stand for: Media for “…defending the truth and national integrity”, cannot stop because, if we have verifiable facts about why and how Nigeria of our fathers got this bad after having been a better place before, there will be no influence that will stop us from publishing it. The only such influence with a better fact or truth.
After a four-day of meetings in Abuja, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday, we have resolved to finally come up with our position against the blackmail against The DEFENDER by some political interests trying to create wrong impression about us and what we do.
They, for sometimes now, have painted The DEFENDER as newspaper of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, which therefore, according to them has been anti-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its Presidential Candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Senate President Bukola Saraki.
We wish to clarify that PDP, its Chairman Mr. Uche Secondus, Atiku, Saraki refused to feed us with their information and we won’t take third-party information sources to avoid Fake News for integrity purposes.
Former Chairman of Lagos State PDP, Koshoedo, is our witness. Why then are we, a young but truly fast growing “DEFENDER” of “the truth and national integrity” be blackmailed to be APC, PMB, Anti-PDP, Anti-Atiku/Saraki paper therefore? If some people refuse to grant us audience over certain issues for which we need clarification or even project their plans for nation, must we stop press so that we would not be called “bias”? Impossible. News publication must get out else there will be darkness in the land.
On the Twitter handle of the PDP National Secretariat and National Chairman Uche Secondus of the party, even Saraki and Dino Melaye once sent Text Messages, we wrote to them to put The DEFENDER on their mailing list to that we can be able to give all parties level playing ground.
All these harassment here and there and blackmailing does not serve these categories of eminent Nigerians and their supporters any good to want to destroy a “young Nigerian business” because of politics. That, those who know us very well, know won’t work.
We are once again therefore calling all political parties and personalities, ethnic, religious, business and social groups in Nigeria who believe that we are not just small but making our own impact in the society to make use of our contacts particularly email to send us their correspondences and press releases so we can publish them in line with our “journalism with difference” policy.
Details of contacts:
The DEFENDER Email: thedefenderngr@gmail.comTWITTER: TheDEFENDERNew1Facebook Page: facebook.com/thedefenderngr/News Website: thedefenderngr.com
PLEASE NOTE that anything that is published in form of news, features and interviews in The DEFENDER is strictly the responsibility of the media organisation and not of any external influence.
ALSO NOTE that even when “WAKE UP” that is the opinion column of Prince Bashir Adefaka – a notable Facebook social media based supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari – is published, The DEFENDER hereby notifies the public of THIS DISCLAIMER that such “WAKE UP” or any other opinion articles by any other writer so published is strictly the opinion of the writer no matter his or her relationship with any Nigerian personality, the newspaper (DEFENDER), religion, political party, ethnic or social group. To therefore deny individual of his or her to his own opinion is the very unconstitutional behavior that authorities in the country must adequately deal with.
Just before we stop, we observed, after due investigations of ourselves and consultations with independent minds outside our fold to be our mirrors, that our hard knocks at corrupt or allegedly corrupt individuals in the country and who have therefore caused a drawback to the effort currently being made to move Nigeria out of the pit of economic and security challenges facing the country are what they hold against us as being anti-certain individuals or groups.
This, so long we remain what we stand for: Media for “…defending the truth and national integrity”, cannot stop because, if we have verifiable facts about why and how Nigeria of our fathers got this bad after having been a better place before, there will be no influence that will stop us from publishing it. The only such influence with a better fact or truth.
We therefore advise people who feel bad about what we do, thereby misinterpreting us to mean anti-their interests to, instead of taking us for what they have told people we are, get in touch with us for clarifications or do so with other media clarifying their positions, as continuous attempts to run us down for whatever reason will not succeed.
Agreed that such people make us know why we can be starved with lack of business (advert) patronage. But they need to know that when The DEFENDER was established in 2002 as print newspaper mainly in Northern and South Western of Nigeria, it came by surprise made possible by Allah. When it stopped seven years after due to pressures of some vested interests, it was Allah’s doing. So, when it now came more noticeably in 2016 with Value Addition in terms of now operating the online aspect also, it was another surprise made possible by Allah and for over two years now, it has continued to operate as a serious media organisation recognised particularly in Nigeria, Canada, United States and United Kingdom doing greatly. Yet we are not in those countries.
So, to starve The DEFENDER with lack of business (advert) patronage is only testing of the capacity of Almighty Allah and it is a thing beyond us.
To them however who have patronised us with adverts, kindness and moral supports, we appreciate you all and pray that right in our own time, Nigeria will be great.
It may be pertinent to note here that we will not be constrained to take necessary legal action against any further effort made at running us down by way of libel, blackmail or slander. We are a media enterprise registered under the law of the land. And since the constitution guarantees us such rights to seek our living without prejudice or endangerment of any individual or group of people in the country and without compromise of national interest or security, whoever loves Nigeria and truth based information circulating to the Nigerians should consider that supporting us they are not only being patriotic but earning the favour of Allah.
Thanks and may Allah bless you all!
