SaharaReporters: Our Philosophy and Editorial Policy

I have nevere seen before this type of post your posts are always different from others.

Pls, Mr. Jaga, any party that is caught parading tugs should be nullify and give the mandate to the running mate.

RESISTANT TO THE TRUTH CAN NEVER BE MORE THAN A TEMPORARY FOLLY.TRUTH IS LIKE A CORK, WHICH CAN NEVER BE SUBMERGED. FIGHT ON MY SAHARA REPORTERS.

A look at some of the reports posted on this site is a onfirmation of the dictum that every man has the right to speak his mind. I think SR has done the right thing by providing Nigerians the opportunity to speak their mind on burning national issues regardless of what side of the fence they stand. Some of the reports I have read on this site confirms this observation. It is my considered opinion that the more Nigerians know the truth about their leaders, the better the leaders themselves will sit up and lead responsibly.

I love reading SaharaReporters. You guys are honest, unafraid, fair and balanced.

I used to enjoy reading Sahara Reporters hoping that the site would make factual contribution. To write that "We adhere to strict standard of verification in order to present authentic and evidence-based reports to our readers" is not true. SR must ensure that written facts are credible. But not so yet. A good example is that written about Daddy Hezekiah,aka Obi Onukogu, man of God. That article has no iota of truth in it. SR must also ensure that the site is not used by people with hidden agenda!

@ Kaparak:

So the reason SR does what it does is to beat NVS? What competition are they in, given that NVS is a compendium of opinions and does not report news, let alone corruption and and accountability news?

Is it that you cannot read, or you have difficulty in analysis? "Credible and more popular" indeed? They are in different markets: With every respect to NVS, it has never been in the business of reporting let along in mounting any kind of offensive against corruption and poor governance. Abeg, let us give credit where it is due, instead of always looking for hidden agendas.

Whatever your name is, you should be the one to shut your dirty mouth. I am not an hypocrite. No, I did not leave any ethnic sentiments until I read from you Igbo people who denigrate other people. I only respond to those comment. If you really checked what I wrote about Emeagwali, I did not insult him; I only wrote that I wish the story were not true.

Look, I have been one of the people who praised Emeagwali in the past (not on this forum), when I learned about the aledged discovery that he made. And if it is true that he discovered whatever it is, then, good for him. But he does not need to keep making too much noise about it. For example, James Gosling, the father of the Java does not have to go around the world proclaiming himself about it. By the way, James Gosling is a PhD holder, but whenever he introduced himself, he never mentioned that he has a doctorate.

Meanwhile, it doesn't take a PhD to be a genius. Thomas Edison, credited with the discovery of light bulbs, and a number of several invenstions, never attended traditional college. Go figure.

I would not be the first person to hull insult at people. However, whenever anyone tries to denigrate my people (Yoruba), I will respond accordingly, and I hope SR would display it.

One thing is very clear, your area is landlocked. And the only way to get over it, is to try to understand those surrounding you. Even if you break away, you would still need those people in order to survive!

It is laughable when you say you verify your stories. I can bet that none of the main stories in your site now are verified. You can not change society by resorting to destroying people in the name of giving opportunities to ordinary citizens to air thier views. In feb 2007 you published a story quoting Nuhu Ribadu as saying 'Do not worry, we are coming out with a bombshell on Tinubu. All the accounts he operates internationally have been investigated. Tell him that he will soon hear from us'. We have been waiting for Ribadu and saharareporters. You can continue to destroy people in the name of changing society. Of course your latest victim is Emegwali, an achiever.

Anybody who wants to run SaharaReporters down would be the BIGGEST ENEMY of Nigeria and Nigerians! Close your eyes for a moment and think what would have happened if we did not have a website like Sahara Reporters! As of now all the national dailies that come out of that country called Nigeria are mere archaelogist's relic of an historical past; these newspapers have been sorely and severely compromised that I rarely open any of their websites! They all report trash.

As far as most people know at the moment, the SaharaReporters website is the only site that gives authentic news reporting of happenings in Nigeria. Some people complain that the website reports only sensational news items that do not bring hope or comfort to Nigerians. My question to these people is to tell us what news items from Nigeria give hope and comfort to Nigerians. All the news about Nigeria border on massive stealing of public funds and corruption in all strata of the society; spate of kidnappings and armed robberies; uncontrolled killings of civilians by policemen and members of the military and incarceration of civilians by policemen who have turned prosecutors, defence and judiciary all rolled into one; total collapse of all the infrastructure in Nigeria; widening religion-fuelled and ethnic-fuelled violence that are even beckoning at the serpentine and devilish Al-queda, etc. So what is the cheery news one expects from Nigeria? Some of us just sit in the comforts of our homes in Europe and America and think that all is well with Nigeria, and so nobody must report on the trials, travails and sorrows faced by Nigeria and Nigerians. That must be the most 'unkindest' thought from such people! Things are really, really bad and an immediate change is required; a change that does not or would not seem to come from the so-called coming election in 2011, no matter which political party or personality that comes to power! I am sure if there were any cheery news SaharaReporters would be or would have been the first to report them.

My fellow readers, let us give kudos to Sahara Reporters for the wonderful work they are doing. In fact information from this website should and would be the evidence that would impel anybody who wants to change things in that country using peaceful or violent means. Repeat, change is overly necessary and beckoning at all and sundry. Stating that only Divine intervention would change things is just an insult on God who has given us everything we need to make that country the best place on this earth.

SaharaReporters, it appears you are beginning to cave in gradually to the series of unsolicited pressures from some contributors to this website. You must have to remain firm and resolute; you must ignore those pressures. Probably some other websites have bowed to this kind of pressure and these websites have now become irrelevant and have been consigned to the dustbin of history. I can mention some of them but for legal reasons I shall not but I am sure you know what I am talking about.

This idea of admitting 'Anonymous' contributions fuels the urge to pass useless comments on an otherwise serious matter on the ground. One may say it is a democratic principle to admit such comments but it is a travesty of democracy if people should cover their faces with a basket in order to hurl insults or trivial comments on others. There must be a dividing line in this situation. Anybody who feels strongly about a matter should equally be bold enough to supply his/her true name; anonymity goes to trivialise and water down the entire entries on this website.

with innate sense of feelings and love for humanity, i say, 'SR watch your backs' bcos they are hunting. i pray that their desperation to get you would fail them in Jesus name! amen.
they feel you have allowed people to spoil their names and even pray for their death openly and this sense of feelings of emptiness has atuned their quest of suicide and to become like satan, so them and their boss have staked money on your heads. also, becareful which beautiful women are posed to you, all, to track you down...like Samson in the Bible.
God will save His people.
Long life the republic of Biafra!

@Gboluwaga shut your dirty mouth you hypocrite! You come here to commend people for not leaving ethnic sentiments, when you left some of the most vile ethnic sentiments against Igbos in the Emeagwali story. Here we go with the two-facedness of a certain people that we all know very well.

WELL, STOP VISITING THIS SITE. IT IS NOT A LECTURE ROOM AND STOP ACTING HOLIER THAN THOU. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS NIGERIA IS IN SUCH A BAD SHAPE. HYPOCRITES! YOU GUYS SURE HAVE MAJOR ISSUES IF THIS IS YOUR PET PEEV. YOU HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS AND GET A LIFE. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT YOU WANT TO BE TELE-GUIDED, MONITORED AND BABYSIT, AND THIS IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SR . THIS SITE BELONGS TO GROWNUPS NOT HIGH SCHOOLERS. IT IS THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON THIS SITE THAT MAKES SR A BETTER FORUM IN CONTRAST TO OTHER NEWS SITE. THIS WHINING BEHAVIOR IS SO LAST CENTURY AND NEEDS TO STOP. IF YOU HAVE PERSONAL ISSUES THEN I RECOMMEND YOU VISIT A SHRINK. THIS SITE WILL NOT BE SUBJECTED TO A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO. BTW, I RECOMMEND YOU VISIT THIS SITE AND ASSESS HOW BLOGGERS INTERACT. PERHAPS THIS MAY ENLIGHTENED YOUR NARROW VIEWS ABOUT LIFE, GRUMPY NIT WITS.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

@Okwuchukwu Ezeanyika, KEEP IT COMING! I am EAGERLY AWAITING this EXPOSE!

As for SR, it has its WEAKNESSES. They can only improve on their present standard. I rather rely on SR than all Nigerian papers combined. These journalists on the spot including Abati, have their prices or else they disappear in a haze of bullets or a poof of BOMB! NO thanks to IBB. What is pleasing is that so far they cannot muzzle it by the usual Nigerian means!

I appreciate it is a pretty tough and dangerous job being A JOURNALIST in Nigeria. That is why it is easier to fraternize in 50 room Mansions at odd times of the night than become another Giwa or Bagauda Kalto!

For those that want to give up freedom of speech and its “cousin” freedom of the press based on their “smart guy” mentality deserved not to be heard themselves.

I’m all for free enterprise! Lets the people decide for themselves. Oh crap, congratulations on missing the big picture. Loooooong live SR.

Bravo Brother! SR is a good example of true journalism with an unbiased reporting. They dire to expose the truth and fight for justice through their reporting. I'm proud of your works and ethics, Show Baba. Please carry on, may your day be long like Methuselah, may your work never be tainted with fake stories, if you ever get sued by bad people for bringing to us the truth and unbiased news you shall always prevail. You shall win over enemies, and other paid online news media that maybe used against you to bring you down.

I was there when SR was lunch in New York at the Empire State building and I asked Show the damming question, how he was going to start reporting without no background what so ever in Journalism and he simply said : It is through Citizen Reporting, Citizen has to report themselves. I'm proud that this has lived up to its expectation today. Thank God. Long live SR, long live Federal(true federalism) Republic of Nigeria
Cheers!

If you want to drop your bombshell, drop it on SR. When they write exposees they mention names, account #s, house addresses. They name names and sometimes photos.

These childish tantrums about "Southwest mafia" in the media is too peurile. Please take my challenge, if you know anyone that has funded SR or given them bribes, don't just stop at throwing tantrums. Drop their names, the amount, the dates and possible way that SR has been bribed or compromised for money. That would work.

Otherwise, no one would ever take your allegations serious. I am really sick and tired of this "Southeast" talk. If SR reported on Iweala, Soludo, Iwu or Andy, they also reported on Dikko, El-Rufai, Obasanjo, Bola Tinubu, Aondoakaa, Bukola Saraki. They've done reports on Alao Akala, Gbenga Daniel, Segun Oni, Adamu Waziri. I have read reports on Timipre Sylva, Timi Alaibe, Rotimi Amaechi. Reports have been done here on compromised judges, police officers and university professors that are not from the "Southeast". Certainly reports on James Ibori, Lucky Igbinedion, plenty of stories on Abubabakar Atiku and his wife-Jemila, Babangida. You can name them. It is long list!
Every Southeasterner is not the bigot that s a few of us have turned the region into.
SR keep hammering, Abeg!

Thank you SR for this elucidation. If not for this forum, I would not know how bigoted and the deep-seated hatred some of my fellow citizens harbour against the other. May God deliver us.

When someone that has an ax to grind goes on a self perpetuating site and writes all manners of lies about individuals without a given their victims a chance to address their accusers and you say you report news?

SR is nothing but a tabloid magazine used in settling scores. I know you (Sowore) have collected money from politicians and government officials. I know you (Sowore) has used your site to settle scores.

There's nothing about SR that is fair. When you targeted like your Southwest Media mafia brothers ANY southeasterner that holds office from Okonjo Iweala to Oby Ezekwesili to Soludo to Earnest Ndukwe and other Southeasterners, it does not take a rocket scientist to know what your motivations are.

Why don't you (Sowore) tell folks how much you collected from Atiku Abubakar in 2006 or continue to collect from Tinubu up until today? Or from GJ towards the Save Nigeria Group or the group you ran with Wole Soyinka? The truth is that you are a very compromised Nigerian that peddle lies and half truths passing it off as journalism. Like other individuals who bear false witness against people just for lucre and other reasons, your judgement will come one day.

So save that BS for folks that don't know your antecedents.

SR is the best thing to happen to Nigeria in a very long time.

Please keep up the good job .

I'd suggest you keep this article permanently on your homepage because of the fools coming here to write rubbish against you. We didn't force them to come here.

Thanks for being there for the common man. We appreciate your sacrifice.

Good job thus far. More of it.

To the contrary, lately, anything goes as long as SR publishes "TORIES" true or false to remain relevant and keep Nigerian motor-mouth gossip heads coming back for more. SR started as a credible site but has since sold its soul to become a TABLOID just to compete with a credible and more popular Nigeria Village Square (NVS). This is why competition is better than Monopoly. Hopefully this competition will eventually motivate SR to be more truthful in its reporting & do better in the future. Hope floats. Good luck.

You've done well so far and you've demonstrated courage in your reporting. However your laudable goals could be jeorpadised if you continue to flout privacy laws particularly where you disclose personal data of subjects who are not public figures. You really need to be careful.

"We believe that a fully reported society is key to a functioning society, and that a shackled press and uninformed citizenry constitute a liability to democracy" Sahara Reporters.

Rumours and ignorance are all that most in Nigeria dwell on, since they do not read of follow issues. The reason why reason and conventional wisdom is all time low while religion is booming about.

Probably sahara reporters should be printing their news and smuggle them Nigeria, if government would ban it.

Thanks  a lot SR for all your efforts for Nigeria.

IMPORTANT SUGGESTION TO SAHARA REPORTERS

Dear SaharaReporters,
I have followed your news reports day by day, year after year and you have stood the trust of time. You have remained unwavering in your focus.

Now I think you should take it to another level with your Investigative Reporting. Begin by setting up a "CITIZEN JUSTICE TRUST FUND". This will complement the investigation that you uncover by dragging those same people you have exposed to Nigerian courts.

THis fund will pay (Cost of Filing Lawsuit) to an accredited network of Nigeria Barristers on a per-diem basis to file lawsuits against these public officials who are busted on Sahara Reporters.

For example, (1) the day the UBC Moddibo was busted to have been giving contracts to his lover, he should have been dragged to court to payback all those public money. (2) The day that ACN governor was installed in Ekiti; Both Maurice Iwu & The REC woman plus the shamed PDP governor should have been dragged to court (3) Any Public official (Past and Present) should be dragged to court if they have been busted for misappropriating public funds (No matter how small)

These are few examples but such network of citizens lawyers across the country should be filing lawsuits on a daily basis to harass and embarrass any busted official to pay-back. That way they will know that revolution has started legally and they will not be shoving their looted funds in our faces.

This will catch momentum at some point and bring Nigeria back to seriousness. I will gladly DONATE when you start this project. We will also hold any accredited barristers to be accountable if they will want to join this fight!
JKJ
ybsletters@gmail.com

Okwuchukwu:

Thanks for your comment. You mentioned those (bad) people about what they did without any ethnic sentiments. That is what Nigerians should be doing. Perhaps you need to sent your Report to SR directly, so that others can comment on it. Kedi kodu (sp).

Take care.

Gboluwaga.

Please leave your Philosophy and Editorial Policy, so that those people abusing you can understand. If they don't, nobody is forcing them to go to your site! Y O U A R E T H E B E S T!

SR, please do not censor any comment here. This is how we will know how our people feel about each other. Eventually, we (Nigerians) will censor ourselves. Yes, the language can be vulgar. For example, Yoruba is this, Igbo is that, and Hausas/Fulanis is whatever. So what? This is where we can air our view. At least it will guide our relationship. And before you realize, we will all shape up. Thanks SR, you are the best!

Please if you don't like commenting or don't like what you read here, please do not visit SR. You can go to Punch, Vanguard or Guardian or Tribune. SR, you the best that ever happens to Nigeria in Journalism (or I mean, "People's Reporter").

May God bless you and your staff, and I hope you have enough server (computer) to withstand your audience.

By the way, I'm a developer and a database architect, if you think you need my service, you can contact me via the email that I used to register on your site.

Sahara is the best thing that has happen to Nigeria since our independence 50yrs ago. I start my day by visiting Sahara rep, can't stop thinking of it while at work and dreaming of it in my sleep.. Almighty God will bless everyone one that make it a success.

If you don't like reading different viewpoints on the comment section go to 234next and the Punch where they muddle commentary and prevent people from speaking their minds. The comment section and SCATHING exposes are the only reason why my friends and I are addicted to SR. In a democracy,freedom of speech is what propels the country forward not censorship. Keep up the good work SR.