by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in which Mr Umana was
interviewed for his view on the political phenomenon called
‘godfatherism.’ We have reviewed the said interview and want to state as
follows:
1) Yes, Mr Umana took part in a BBC interview that he believed was meant
to educate members of the public on the political phenomenon called
‘godfatherism.’
2) However, Mr Umana spoke in generic terms about godfatherism and did not
mention the name of Senator Godswill Akpabio or the name of any other
person; he did not illustrate his contribution with any specific cases
either. To be specific, Umana said godfatherism could be a positive thing
in politics and could also be negative. He explained that in a positive
way a godfather could be a man of high standing, great insight and
influence in society who uses his brand power to point the way forward by
supporting a candidate who thereby also benefits from the support of the
followers and admirers of the godfather. In a negative way, Umana said, a
godfather could be a problem by seeking to impose a particular candidate
without merit on the people. Throughout the interview no question was
asked about Senator Akpabio, and in his remarks, Mr Umana did not make any
reference to Senator Akpabio either. The part of the BBC interview that
linked Mr Umana to any reference to Senator Akpabio or any other
individuals and specific cases is a fabrication and detracts seriously
from the worldwide reputation of the BBC for integrity and fairness, which
made Umana to agree to speak to the corporation in the first place.
3) In light of the above, Mr Umana demands from the BBC a full retraction
of the false attribution to him in the interview along with an apology. Mr
Umana also hereby advises the reading public to disregard any link of his
name to other people and cases mentioned in the said BBC interview.
Signed:
Iboro Otongaran
SA Media to Umana Okon Umana