FRI, 06 MAY, 2022-theGBJournal | ‘’I make bold to state here that Nigeria has a vibrant, pluralistic and free press, and this would not have been possible without an enabling environment,’’ says ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE.
‘’In Nigeria, we have made the freedom of expression not just a guiding principle but also a key priority, just like the safety of our media practitioners,’’ the Minister said while buttressing the case.
The Minister made the bold claim on the occasion of the presentation of the UNESCO World Report on Freedom of Expression 2021/2022, at the Regional Forum for West Africa on Thursday MAY 5 2022.
According to him, as a country, Nigeria has always championed the observance of rights of freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.
‘’However, we have always insisted that this right that we all enjoy, especially as media practitioners, comes with a huge responsibility; a responsibility that says we must be circumspect in the use of information at our disposal to avoid misinformation, #fakenews and #hatespeech which, if not well managed, could lead to serious disaffection and chaos in the society.’’
He also outlined steps he said his ministry has taken to strengthen the information sector in Nigeria.
He said since assumption of office, he has made it a point of duty to regularly engage with several stakeholders in the media space, with a view to strengthening the information sector and building the capacities of our media practitioners for better service delivery.
‘’I have met with journalists under the various umbrella unions, media owners and executives, online media practitioners and bloggers, among others, in this regard.’’
The Ministry, he said has organised seminars, workshops and symposia for media stakeholders.
‘’A key workshop organised in collaboration with UNESCO in 2018 was on Conflict Reporting and Safety of Journalists. We have also been celebrating World Press Freedom Day yearly by organising symposia, the last time being in 2021 when we held a symposium themed Journalism as a public good.’’
The Ministry plans this month, in collaboration with UNESCO and other partners, to organise a workshop in celebration of World Press Freedom Day, after the global celebrations.
‘’We remain resolute in our determination to continue to provide the enabling environment for media practitioners to thrive within the ambits of our laws,’’ he added.
The Minister also had some harsh words for journalists who he says have taken advantage of the extensive freedom they enjoy to engage in misinformation and hate speech and to spread fake news.
‘’That was why we launched a national campaign against fake news and hate speech in 2018, a campaign that has brought the issue to the front burner of national discourse.’’
He urged journalists within the West African sub-region to join hands with various governments to curb the activities of such journalists who taint the image and good works of those of us who desire to uphold the ethos and professionalism of this very important profession
‘’As a step towards the realization of this, I call on journalists and media houses to set up a fact- checking desk, so as to arrest the prevalence of misinformation, fake news and hate speech in our society.’’
He assured that Nigeria will be hosting the 2022 Global Media and Information Literacy Week, the first country within the sub-region to host this event.
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