Why survival of the Tanzanian media can be viewed as a national security issue

Last year I attended a course that opened my mind in a big way. It was a belated “Ahaa moment”.

Unfortunately, many of my colleagues in the media – where we have had tough discussions on our understanding of the national interest and how it differs from national security – had not been exposed to a similar experience as I wrote this piece, but are expected to deliver on the same regardless.

The course, titled “The Ninth Leaders’ Capstone” conducted by the National Defence College (NDC) for senior government officials, media and civil society organisations, aimed at creating a better understanding of two crucial concepts – national interest and national security. What are they? Why do they matter? How are they related?

Military operations

My earlier understanding was that national security matters were those confined to military operations, security of our borders and related issues.

Little did I know that anything that threatens peace and tranquillity amounts to a national security issue. For instance, if the people of a certain country go without food or experience persistent poverty, this may be viewed as a national security matter.

So, it goes beyond going to war with another country as was the case in 1978 when Ugandan dictator Idi Amin declared the annexation of part of Kagera Region, as well as diplomatic disputes resulting from invasion of the economic space of another nation, etc. It can thus be political, economic, cultural, social or religious.

It is from this understanding that one could conclude that information is power. I believe that in a democratic setting, it is in the best interest of any nation to have a stable, strong and independent media.

Informed decisions

It is from making informed decisions, getting to know what is working and what is not, that a nation stands a good chance of progressing both on the domestic and international fronts.

Simply put, it is a leadership challenge, be it in the public, private sector or civil society.

The Director of Studies at NDC, Dr Lucy Shule, hit the proverbial nail on the head at the beginning of the course: “The centrality of leadership to national development is not only a challenge to national leaders, but contemporary global changes also compel leaders to be state-of-the-art as regards national interest and national security.”

Having worked as a journalist for 22 years, my assertion is that the media should be fully involved in the equation.

For instance, more often than not, policy formulation processes are kept away from the public, only to be revealed at their launch or implementation. This stifles citizens’ input into proposed solutions to what adversely affect their wellbeing.

It is from the background of reducing the media to being mere conveyors of information about everyday events that we miss a crucial piece of the puzzle in our quest for rapid development.

Had we as a nation taken the media’s health as a catalyst for national development, we would not have buried our heads in the sand as the industry struggles on the business front without concerted efforts to rescue it.

I can equate the need to have a robust media with being in control of the situation you are in. Parallels can be drawn with the national carrier ATCL, which continued to connect the nation when the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed aviation globally.

Western media

We are all aware of how the Western media reports Africa. They definitely control the narrative. This is partly why the Nation Media Group (NMG), of which Mwananchi Communications is part, crafted the “Media of Africa, for Africa” slogan. We need to tell our own story. Telling our story does not necessarily mean doing PR, but objectively telling success stories to inspire others, as well as exposing the rot and challenges retarding our progress.

On this, it is important to differentiate national interest from personal interest. More often than not, the latter will be hidden in the shadow of national interest.

No wonder the media is always treated with suspicion, and in extreme instances even labelled “enemies of the state”, and consequently “disciplined” by way severely limiting access to business opportunities.

The media needs to be engaged and made to understand the national interest, national security and the nation’s development agenda.

For quite some time now, debate has raged about Tanzanian journalists – that they fall short of international standards. Sometimes, the criticism comes from well educated, exposed and knowledgeable people.

The surprising thing is that everyone wants a “Class A” omelette from “Class C” eggs. Maajabu!

What we forget is the fact that journalists come from the very society they serve. We forget the fact that these journalists are products of our very own Tanzanian education system.

What we also seem not to know is the fact that, by its nature, journalism – as a profession – always puts its ignorance, mistakes and stupidity public everyday, every hour, every minute!

I am not interested in commenting on other fields/disciplines because that is not the intention of this article, but imagine if engineers, doctors, law enforcers, politicians, accountants, etc, also washed their linen in public. Would we witness world-class excellence? If not, then we need to get to the root cause of why we see the shallowness we are grappling within the media industry.

Deadly mistakes

True. These mistakes can be deadly. They can be embarrassing, to say the least. That is why I think it is important to create a favourable environment that will make the industry vibrant and robust.

And do not get me wrong here. I am not talking about subsidies. We are not talking about handouts. We are talking about creating a favourable operating environment, which includes engagement and nurturing of the sector for the national good.

A robust mainstream media is needed now more than at any other time. These are times that are awash with misinformation, disinformation, and not to mention “infondemic” which we have seen in the recent past.

Media is a business, and it must be run as a business first for it to deliver the service society expects.

And because it is a business, and an industry, there comes a time when the number of players goes down. Mergers and acquisitions, as is the case in the banking industry, might be the way to go.

While this is not necessarily a bad thing – as it signals the sector’s maturity – this should be a result of competition and the need to consolidate the industry.

Yes, it is war out there, but there are more benefits in having several major players in that space as it promotes competition, which in turn keeps everyone on their toes – a healthy situation.

What we have now can rightly be viewed as an industry on its deathbed. Some may argue that all this is related to regulation, while another school of thought will go much deeper to appreciate both regional and global trends which point to a much bigger disruption in the name of digital media.

Unpalatable questions

Asking ourselves these tough and at times unpalatable questions that may be contrary to our beliefs and viewpoints could help us address the problem in a way that is both holistic and realistic.

It is thus critical for all stakeholders to have a better understanding of this need. That is, from practitioners to regulators, users, owners, researchers, academicians, development partners, etc.

It is never too late. We need a national dialogue and research to rescue the media. As far as I am concerned, this should be treated as a national security matter.

Bakari S.Machumu is the Managing Director of Mwananchi Communications Limited, publishers ofMwananchi, The Citizen and Mwanaspoti, and content on online platforms, including Mwananchi Digital Twitter: @bmachumu; LinkedIn: Bakari S Machumu