The Mirror Cracks – Femi Falana SAN Exposes the Hypocrisy Behind Arise TV and ThisDay’s Labor Posturing
The Mirror Cracks – Femi Falana SAN Exposes the Hypocrisy Behind Arise TV and ThisDay’s Labor Posturing
When Femi Falana SAN, one of Nigeria’s most respected human rights lawyers, appeared on Arise TV’s Morning Show, few expected the interview to turn inward. What began as a discussion about workers rights and the controversy surrounding union activities at Dangote Refinery soon became a scathing critique of Arise TV and its parent company, ThisDay Media Group. In a stunning moment of televised openness, Falana accused the media empire of the very same labor violations it routinely condemns, non-payment of staff salaries and suppression of unionism. His remarks did not merely question journalistic integrity, they exposed the uneasy contradiction between the media’s moral voice and its internal ethics.
Falana’s intervention came amid ongoing tensions between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on one hand, and the Dangote Group on the other. Arise TV’s reporting and commentary had been criticized for appearing sympathetic to Dangote, portraying the unions’ protests as disruptive to national economic stability. Falana, however, shifted the conversation from the refinery’s gates to the newsroom, arguing that Arise and ThisDay had no moral standing to criticize labor activism when their own employees are reportedly barred from joining the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and still face unpaid wages. His point was simple yet piercing, credibility begins at home.
The allegations are not without precedent. Arise TV and ThisDay, both founded by media entrepreneur Nduka Obaigbena, have long been plagued by labor disputes. In 2016, Arise’s London operations were briefly shut down over unpaid staff wages reportedly exceeding £1 million, leading to a union-led legal challenge. Earlier, ThisDay South Africa collapsed under similar circumstances, bankrupt within a year of launch due to mounting salary debts. Even in Nigeria, ThisDay staff strikes over unpaid salaries are well-documented, in fact I know several of my classmates back in the days at NIJ Ogba working for ThisDay Apapa confessing to me that at times they don’t get paid for over 6 months. Falana’s charge therefore struck a chord as more than rhetorical flourish, it reopened a conversation about systemic exploitation in Nigeria’s private media sector and the complicity of silence among journalists working under repressive internal conditions.
The deeper irony, however, lies in Arise TV’s branding as a “voice for the voiceless.” The station’s fiery anchors routinely challenge public corruption, corporate malpractice, and government hypocrisy, yet its own labor record suggests a troubling double standard. Falana’s intervention stripped away the pretense of moral superiority often worn by elite media houses, revealing an industry that demands accountability from others while avoiding self-examination. If true, the practice of denying journalists union membership violates both the 1999 Constitution’s Section 40 on freedom of association and international labor conventions ratified by Nigeria, underscoring how labor law violations are not limited to factories or oil rigs but extend to editorial boardrooms.
Public reaction to the interview was swift and divided. Many viewers praised Falana for his courage in confronting Arise on its own platform, describing it as a masterclass in integrity and consistency. Others argued that his comments, while valid, risked derailing an important conversation about industrial relations at the Dangote Refinery. Yet, the broader implication remains clear, when a media organization that thrives on advocacy journalism is accused of flouting basic labor principles, it undermines its own credibility as a moral arbiter. Silence from Arise or Obaigbena’s management only deepens suspicion and public distrust.
Beyond the personalities involved, Falana’s revelations reignite a national debate on labor justice, press ethics, and corporate governance. They compel the Nigerian media industry to reflect on its internal contradictions, championing fairness in society while perpetuating inequity within. The test of true integrity, Falana seemed to imply, is not in how loudly one condemns the wrongs of others, but in how diligently one corrects their own. For Arise TV and ThisDay, the time for introspection may have finally arrived, not just to restore trust, but to prove that the moral authority they wield on air is not a mask worn to conceal the rot within.
©️ Adebamiwa Olugbenga Michael
