NIGERIA NEEDS A HEALTHY MEDIA, SOCIAL MEDIAS, FOR A HEALTHY COUNTRY
Margaret Akpa
We hold, and very firmly too, that it is only a healthy media that can birth a healthy country… It is because of this desire for a healthy country that we urge our colleagues to take a more balanced view of the tremendous opportunities offered the country in the coming elections.
A lot is at stake, but, sadly, the required leadership and direction that the media should offer is grossly missing.
Let me begin on a note of appreciation to all of the staffs, good people of Oru Media & Associates, News Dot Africa and NAIJA Now, gathered on the Saturday, November, 2022 for End of year celebration to keep faith with our annual celebration of some of the best brains in the Nigerian media.
Some of us should be nominees for the honour award.
Some of us qualified for honours because is an important task and we truly appreciate the roles of representatives of various media houses.
The friends of the media houses— members of the civil society on whose behalf the media keeps a watch over society. Without you as representatives, the media can only engage in a monologue.
Lastly, some of us are family who are here to support their own. May we never have cause to disown our own. Anyone who has home support has a good thing. May we never do anything shameful that will cost us the support of our own.
We have asked for nothing in return other than fidelity to ethics, commitment to standards, and the pursuit of a greater tomorrow for our media professionals and our country. We hold, and very firmly too, that it is only a healthy media that can birth a healthy country.
It is because of this desire for a healthy country that we urge our colleagues to take a more balanced view of the tremendous opportunities offered the country in the coming elections. A lot is at stake, but, sadly, the required leadership and direction that the media should offer is grossly missing.
It is not in the interest of the democratic process if the media cannot be trusted to assess the preparedness of candidates for political office. Nor is it in the interest of candidates if they are perceived to be avoiding media scrutiny.
Trusting that there is sufficient time for our media to make necessary amends before the elections, let us turn to the commendable strides that have taken place in the industry.
Barr Margaret is a Human Rights Lawyer based in Abuja.
Photo Credit: Hardware Network
