Lai Mohammed was very accurate in his choice of words when he called the CNN report irresponsible.
It is easy to call it a lie, but it is more of irresponsible because CNN, knowing that it was lying, carefully crafted words that will deceive the people AND make you unable to take any legal action against them. Let me break it down,
- They started with Godson’s video but carefully cut out when Godson was saying the guns were being shot by “boys”, they also cut out where Godson saw a man that was shot and the man was speaking out yet Godson says “here is another soul, gone”. That would have given CNN an insight into how “dead bodies” were counted at Lekki if truly this was an investigation.
- They showed us when soldiers were coming, then referred to DJ Switch but carefully never told us she said the soldiers left. This is another trick of introducing “evidence” on issues that are not disputed. Why show us satellite images of soldiers coming when the military already said it was indeed there? Note this with liars. When they want to lie or deceive you they say some other unrelated truth to establish trust. Those truths were however not disputed.
- Notice when they brought the single dead body from 1am, they carefully never said he was shot by the Army! They allowed you assume it. If you read their reply to the Nigerian government they said some other shooting occurred after the Army left. Well, let’s assume it is the Police they referred to. So what was the point in claiming the government lied when the Police never denied shooting anyone after the burning of infrastructure started?
- The bullet they said they “investigated” by seeing 2005 on, they never said that it was what was used to shoot the dead guy. They just muddled up the information so that you make the assumptions yourself and they are not liable.
- They carefully never said one victim. When they had to mention the one person they found dead they quickly add “hundreds of witnesses” using the psychology of proximity on you so you hear dead and hundreds and assume by yourself that hundreds were dead. This was indeed the assumption of people until those of us who could see clearly started drawing their attention to it.
- Ask yourself why they showed the time stamp on the video. It was an argument against them. That time stamp shows that the soldiers could not have killed that guy. They showed it to remove any blame from themselves while making people believe soldiers killed people with their “we are going to tell a radically different story” This is how they are leading you to believe one thing while never saying it so that they won’t be liable.
- They show clearly soldiers firing into the air. Then one time they circle two shots that were just leaving the guns and say the soldiers here “appears” to be firing at the crowd. Take note of the word “appears” that is their escape while you are still fooling yourself.
- They totally left out the incident after the soldier left. They left out the fact that properties were being burnt and there was total chaos. That is in the Godson video! Matter of fact at about 10pm Godson says “I have to find my way home, Lagos is on fire” CNN disregards all these then jumps to some three hours later when someone was shot.
So you see the report was not just wrong. It was carefully and meticulously edited to mislead people while choosing words that would shield CNN from any consequences. Even they now say “at least one person was killed” after claiming 38 persons were killed.
If you still think we are attacking the CNN report because we want to defend government then you should tell us what we hope to gain by doing that and what your response to all these is.
Do not allow the hatred for Buhari or anyone ever make you take a position on an issue. Stay with the truth and don’t sell out. Selling out is not only when they are paying you, it may also be when you allow your hatred buy your conscience. When you allow your bias imprison your common sense. When your truth is based on how much of your point it will make. Lying on the devil is still lying. Stop supporting falsehood.
Ohwojeheri is CEO of Minhaj Publicity, Benin City.
