By Oluwaseun Sonde
Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has assured that Federal Government will not relent in its effort to ensure that Nigerian media practitioners are in tune with global best practices in their field of work.
The Minister who gave the assurances on Friday in Abuja, at the occasion of Institutional Interaction Workshop to celebrate the 2022 World Press Freedom Day, June 10, said there is urgent need for every media organisation to set up a fact-checking desk to override fake news and information.
"As I have consistently said, the media has nothing to fear from the federal government, because we see media practitioners as partners in progress, rather than as adversaries. Also, Journalists both public and private media organisations have, under our watch, benefitted from symposia and workshops designed to optimize their abilities, broaden the range of their skill set", he said.
Lai Mohammed who is delighted to be part of this gathering of media practitioners on this very important National occasion, organized by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, commended the efforts of all stakeholders who collaborated with the Ministry to organise the workshop.
According to him, "I particularly thank the NCC, Ministry of Water Resources and some Parastatals under the Ministry for their commitment to this noble course. Our doors remain open to such mutual collaborations in order to achieve our collective goals.
"I must again use this medium to appreciate UNESCO for its consistency in ensuring that the freedom and safety of Journalists remain sacrosanct. "This year’s theme, “Journalism under Digital Siege,” beams the searchlight on a key aspect of press freedom; the vulnerability of data brought about by developments in the technological sector.
"It spotlights the ways in which recent developments in surveillance by state and non-state actors as well as artificial intelligence impact journalism, freedom of expression and privacy. This theme is very germane to the current threat plaguing the sector and affecting the ability of Journalists, practitioners in related fields to freely and effectively use information for public good".
The Minister stated that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explains the fundamental human right as the right to freedom of opinion and expression without interference.
"This fundamental human right is a key aspect of democracy all over the world and has over the years shaped the development of many countries. The need to also ensure the safety of Journalists and equip them for the dynamic and ever-changing technologies cannot be over-emphasized.
"We must know that the tangible cord that links the source and the receiver, or in this case the reporter and the audience, is the truth which, in this context, means timely, undistorted information disseminated in good faith and with the general intent of improving society", he added.
Lai Mohammed emphasized the doubt that the sanctity of professionalism in the media industry in the past few years has been threatened by the malevolent use of technology to distort and even subvert pure journalistic efforts.
He, therefore use this opportunity to call on all Journalists to join hands with the Government to checkmate the activities of quacks, who are tarnishing the profession. "Just this past Tuesday, I was at a UNESCO event organised for Judges on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Judges.
"I reiterated the huge pain I feel when I hear of journalists being attacked or slain in the line of duty. I therefore urged our Lordships to ensure swift judgement for those found guilty of these heinous acts, so that the family and friends of the deceased can take solace in the fact that justice had been duly served".
The Minister called on great members of the fourth estate of the realm, to always verify sources of information at their disposal, "since we are in the era of citizen journalism, where anyone could hide behind their electronic gadgets to send unverified and mostly fake news".
He reminded the media of Nigeria hosting the Global Media and Information Literacy Week Feature Conference and Youth Forum 2022. "It will hold from the 24th -31 of October 2022 in Abuja. The event is expected to have over 73 countries from around the World participating physically in Nigeria.
"We seek your collaboration in this regard, as we will continually brief you as preparation unfolds. Finally this institutional interactive workshop is organised with the hope that it will further enhance the efforts of the government to domesticate global initiatives and transfer knowledge towards the improved output in the nation’s Information sector".
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