Insecurity, no doubt, is one of the major challenges facing the country today. In fact, for over a decade, Nigeria has been disturbed by activities of Boko Haram and their ISWAP counterparts...
Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu ; former president Nigeria Guild of Editors and Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mrs Funke Egbemola; President Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isah; Editor-in-chief, LEADERSHIP newspapers media group, Azu Ishiekwene and permanent secretary, Ministry of foreign affairs Dr.
In his opening speech, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors , Mustapha Isah, who decried the security situation in the country, warned that Nigeria couldn’t continue on its current trajectory. According to him, “the media can’t afford to be aloof at this time of national crisis. We have to be part of the solution to insecurity, which has become an existential threat to this great nation. We played a major role in the fight against colonial rule. We were in the forefront in the fight for the restoration of democracy. That fight led to the death of some journalists, with others imprisoned and media houses shut.
In his keynote address titled, Media in Times of Crisis: Resolving Conflict, Achieving Consensus, Publisher, Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi, noted that “media is central to democracy and that for the fructification of the values of democracy that can enhance good governance, promote freedom and democracy, we need to focus more attention on what is broken in our journalism that makes it inoperable to deliver the best values for democratic development.
Veteran journalist, Ray Ekpu, who chaired one of the sessions, stated that the most significant problem facing the country today is the lack of security for life and property. In his presentation, Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai called on media practitioners to always verify reports on security before dissemination to avoid misinformation and inciting people against the government.
Also, Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, decried increasing insecurity in the country, stressing that it has assumed a dizzying height and justifiably invites the attention of all critical stakeholders. Contributing to the discourse, the Force Public Relations Officer CP Frank Mba, observed that the only two professions you find running towards disasters or emergencies when the rest of the public is running away are security agencies and the media.
He asked, “why for instance, will an editor continue to call or not call those who in destruction of lives and property by their names? Who are unknown gunmen? If you know them, and I think you should know who they are, call them by who they are. Call them by their names because like one of the speakers had earlier said, terrorism thrives on publicity.”
For Azu Ishiekwene, Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspapers, “while it may be sensible to assume that the editor, guided by the basic professional requirements of accuracy, balance, fairness, objectivity and facts should exercise reasonable judgment, there is the temptation to over-estimate the role of the media in building consensus or mediating peace.
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