. Report by Mudasir Opeyemi
He is a masked character. By this, he goes about, his face permanently tucked behind a veil of strings of beads not for ornamental purposes but for necessary survival. Perhaps, you may have run into him in the market place not knowing because he, as you now, is human who sometimes dumps the veil but wears a new identity at such moments.
His loss of identity is part of the prices he must pay for his daring adventures to expose he ills that kill the society.
“I name, shame and jail!” Anas Aremeya Anas told his bewildered audience at NECA House, Ikeja Lagos venue of the 2022 edition of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism last Thursday.
In what appears like running against the creed of simple journalism, Anas said even though “The books say we should inform as journalists, I don’t do that. I am not your conventional journalist, I name, I shame and jail. I’m a lawyer also.”
His array of investigated stories have sent many to jails.
Some of the Stories of Anas Aremeyaw Anas include:
2010 – Inside Ghana’s Madhouse: Abuses and corruption at Ghana’s Psychiatric Hospital
2011- Enemies of the Nation
2013- Spirit Child: Infanticide in Parts of Ghana and Burkina Faso
2011- Spell of the Albinos: Murder of Albinos in Tanzania
2014- Food for thought: Sale of food meant for nursing mothers from WFP
2014- Nigeria’s Fake Doctors: Practicing Without License
2015 – Justice: Judicial corruption in Ghana
2018 – Betraying the game: Continental football corruption
2018 – Malawi’s Human Harvest: When investigations go wrong
2020- Cash in on Covid
2020- Corona Quacks
- Base Editing: Revolutionary Therapy Clears Girl’s Incurable Cancer
- Nobel Peace Prize: Russian Laureate ‘Told to Turn Down Award’
- SERAP Asks Okowa, Wike, Others to Account for N625bn 13% Derivation Refunds
Anas believes it is waste time to go undercover and find “ingredients of the crime and” but “fail to testify in the court of law to ensure that the bad guys are jailed.”
He said further, “I know that there are valid opinions of how journalism should be. But, I consider myself being in a boxing ring, considering the kind of society we have today. I’m a product of the society and I’ve always said that there is no point in doing undercover journalism if it does not progress society.
“So, when I say you are a thief, I give you evidence and hardcore evidence of how you plotted to commit the crime. When you committed the crime and I step forward in the court of law, testify and people get jailed. I’m not talking to you about journalism that I’m about to practice or an experiment. I’m talking to you about what I’ve done and I’ve seen palpable results.”
Some of his stories that have sent those he called “the bad guys” to jail are about “The Chinese Sex Mafia Story in Ghana” and the “Nana Kusi Ajiment’s story.
While the Sex Mafia culprits ended up in jail for Forty-five years, a man who raped girls as young as three went to jail for fifteen years.
He said when Ghana was under siege and the country’s cocoa was being stolen and sold to neighboring countries, he went undercover, brought the evidence.
He said, “The security officers were jailed for eighteen years and many more.
“So, I’m not here to tell you what I’m about to practise. I say I’m a product of society. Once we have criminals in society and the criminals step up their game, we also step up our game.”
Anas agrees with the claim that “journalist must always inform.” However, he insists he can’t afford to tell that same story on the same street with those criminals.
“I believe in impact oriented-journalism. I see nothing absolutely wrong to step forward and stand in the court of law and meet the law enforcement agencies halfway to testify and ensure that these bad guys are jailed. Some of my friends don’t believe in it. They are entitled to their opinion but I am saying that this is the kind of journalism I do and I’ve always loved doing it,” he said at the event.
Investigative Journalists and the Law
And in the life of an investigative journalist, the law comes in very handy just as he argued that “if you don’t go by the law, your evidence would not stand the test of time or would not stand a legal record.”
He explained further why this is key, “We are not lawless. We always make sure that before we take that step to put the camera to film you, we would’ve gone through the necessary preparations; gathering of evidence, necessary reconnaissance before we put our evidences together.”
For “Justice”, Anas has over sixty-six legal suits and for “Betraying the Game,” he has over hundreds legal suits.
“But, guess what, when the evidence is firm and strong, you never lose. I’ve never lost a single legal suit in my life. What else should I do if not undercover journalism? I’m able to stand here and talk to you because undercover journalism has defended me and defended my life despite the dangers.”
How Does the Society See Investigative Journalism?
“It is interesting that when we do undercover journalism in our countries, some people say it is unprofessional. Yet, this same undercover journalism has been done and we will continue to do it for the BBC, CNN, Aljazeera and Many International Networks. There is a deficit of understanding of the work we do and I think the society will grow and learn. We also see a lot of pushback from state and non-state actors depending on the stories we do.
“The last story I did in Ghana, which was about the Finance Minister; three weeks ago, the Minister got fired immediately. Why? Because I am tired of committees! When you are seen taken the money, it is a people’s story now because the people have seen you. It is very difficult for corrupt government to hide criminals within their shelter. It is not because I love undercover journalism. Yes, I love it but I got into it as a result of double necessity of this kind of journalism in our society. We’ve seen African governments all over the continent and their behavior when it comes to corruption. Even when his hand is in it, he says “No, I haven’t taken it.” How else are you expecting me to tell my people stories if I don’t go undercover?
“Unfortunately, in one of my stories, I lost one of my colleagues, Ahmed Swalleys. He was shot twice in his neck and thrice in his heart. He died a tragic one. So, it’s not as if it is easy to do undercover journalism but the dangers go beyond that,” he said pointing out some of the dangers associated with the adventure.
The Need for Paradigm Shift
Anas argued that there must be a paradigm shift at how journalism is viewed in Africa.
He said, “The journalism we do is not about what somebody has written in Colombia or what somebody has written in Cambridge. We live with the people who face the danger and the threat in the society. We also know that our state institutions are also not properly resourced. All our colleagues in the UK will do a story and within fifteen minutes the person has resigned and all that. Unfortunately, we don’t have such strong institutions in our various countries.”
He said the circumstances that people find themselves must define their journalism. “It doesn’t mean you have to be unprofessional but I will emphasise here before all the good professors that I don’t believe in taking hook, line and sinker what has been defined in the good books of journalism but what you can do. Of course, threats have become normal and I believe it’s not just me but my colleagues here will testify to people wanting to get you.
“Undercover journalism, some people really understand what it can do to them when they are caught taken on tape. Apart from not even being punished by the government, society itself has its way of punishing you. People are more dangerous when it comes receiving undercover. Before you release a story, you have to fly your family including your staff out for people who can afford or you move them to somewhere that’s safer. Personally, go on a low-key for months or years before you raise your head up again for another story.”
The Landmines for Investigative Journalists
Anas was full of stories of the various landmines that lay ahead for the investigator. He walks through dangers all the time
“The story I did in a psychiatric hospital was a tough one. I don’t drink or take alcohol but I needed to play along. At some point my body couldn’t stand it any longer but I had no choice than to continue. The second week in the cedating, I was expecting to meet a cocaine syndicate and what it means is that you have to come in contact with cocaine (I never said that I’m into cocaine because that’s self indicting). Having been in contact with the cocaine, my body couldn’t stand it anymore. I could sit down for hours and when you ask me, I thought I was sitting down for five minutes.
“My condition was very bad, I had to do what they call “Parole”. They took me to the hospital and I went through detoxification and Doctor said “no, we don’t think you should go back” and I said, “no I can’t let this go. I have to go back. I went back in there, filmed the cocaine syndicate and I came back.
“Here was the issue. When I came back, I realized that thing weren’t working properly in my body. Apparently, the drugs I was given had an effect on my fertility and I realized that things weren’t working. My girlfriend came around, wear short dresses, I look and nothing happened. So, I went back to Doctor and I told him it was a story I went to do, I didn’t go to lose it. They gave me some drugs and instructed me to relax for two weeks that everything will be okay. When it was two weeks, my girlfriend came and it worked. I say thanks to Allah”
To the younger journalists, Anas has a counsel: Don’t try this at all except it is extremely with a lot of supports from your organization and a lot of cares for your mental health.
“Go and do the regular investigations that you don’t need to go undercover for. It is important to work but the life of a journalist matters. The mental health of a journalist matters,” he advised
For his works, Anas has been recognized variously. In December 2015 Foreign Policy magazine named him as one of 2015 leading global thinkers and in 2016, Anas had a “Best Journalist” award named after him by the Press Foundation in Ghana. He is much sought after for his contributions over issues of investigative journalism on the continent.