Six years after leaving office, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has acknowledged that media criticisms targeted at his administration were in the nation’s interest.
He spoke as Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan asked the media to set agenda amidst the myriad of challenges bedevilling the nation for a better tomorrow.
The duo spoke Thursday at the 10th year anniversary and Impact Series/Awards of Blueprint Newspapers at the Trasncorp Hotel Abuja.
Blueprint newspaper, one of Nigeria’s leading national dailies, debuted on the 3rd of June, 2011.
Speaking shortly after being conferred with the Blueprint Newspapers’ Africa’s Icon of Democracy award, the former Nigerian leader said he was not embittered because of the criticisms.
Represented by a former Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, the former president said despite the criticisms, he had received several local and international recognition from media houses since leaving office in 2015.
He said: “Since I left office in 2015, I have received recognition from many media houses, at home and abroad. This is despite the fact that the media was quite critical of my administration, especially during the build up to 2015.
“I recall that I was not embittered, knowing that media criticisms and appraisal, especially when they are constructive and not borne out of ill-intent, are important components of nation-building.
“I understand that back then, we might have taken different routes and preached different sermons. But I always took it in my stride, believing that despite the differences, we had one goal; which was, and still remains, to put Nigeria and the interest of our citizens first in all our calculations.”
Jonathan, however, asked the Nigerian media practitioners how they had fared in the usage of the Freedom of Information Act (FO1A), enacted by his administration some 10 years ago.
He said the FOIA was enacted in 2011 to bequeath the media with the abiding freedom required to practice and an unfettered access to information in the public interest.
“I recall that in May 2011, my administration enacted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to bequeath the media with the abiding freedom required for this onerous duty, give the people unfettered access to information of public interest.
“The year 2021 makes it one decade since that landmark law was enacted. It will be interesting to see how far that piece of legislation has impacted on general reporting, development of journalism and national leadership.
“The media should therefore guide the crusade to checkmate the spread of false information which obviously does more harm than good in the society.
“On this score, I believe mainstream media has even greater responsibilities now, especially at this time of worsening insecurity and ethnic tension, to promote patriotism and national pride. The media should be deliberate, constructive and exercise the kind of restraint that should promote unity, peace and sustainable development,” he said.
The former president also commended media practitioners, who he said remained on the path of constructive reporting and professionalism, and urged them not to join the purveyors of fake news.
While commending the management and staff of Blueprint newspapers for the award, the former Nigerian leader said the recognition would encourage him to continue on the path of making Nigeria a better place for all.
Lawan
Also speaking at the event, President of the Senate Lawan challenged the media to set agenda for the country on the way out of the present security challenges. Lawan, who chaired the event, said this became very necessary in the face of the dark patch the country is going through and wrong narratives along ethnic, religious, cultural and geographical diversities by those he called cynically minded Nigerians.
The narratives, the lawmaker said, were fake because they were against what the founding nation’s fathers stood for.
He said: “Our founding fathers were first to acknowledge our diversity. But they were also convinced that by standing in brotherhood, each generation can hand over to the next a banner without stains in the long race to building the great nation that they believed Nigeria is destined to be.
“I still fervently believe in that destiny. And in spite of the current clouds under which we are sailing, I urge every Nigerian to hold on to that faith.
“It is against this backdrop that I will challenge the media to reaffirm their faith in Nigeria and rededicate themselves to their role as the fourth estate of the realm.
“That role asks them not just to produce the first draft of a grim history but to set the agenda for a bright tomorrow for their country.
“That role requires them to responsibly moderate public conversation and debate, douse tension, resolve disputes including by providing context for issues, and help in stabilizing the polity.”
The Senate president further said in this age of information, the media play a crucial role in creating national unity and remodelling of public opinions.
On the current economic situation in the country, he said this was being felt in many parts of the world, with countries still seeking to escape the havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic on many aspects of life.
The lawmaker further said: “The insecurity in our country has taken an alarming dimension with killings, kidnappings and wanton attacks on public facilities becoming daily events in many parts of the country. While the Government is forthright and unrelenting in its efforts to contain the security challenges, the crisis is certainly being aggravated by people cynically projecting our ethnic, religious, cultural and geographical diversities as the primary cause of political instability and social insecurity in Nigeria.”
He also said: “In this age of information, the media play a crucial role in creating national unity and remodelling of public opinions. It is true that public opinion is always disturbed during a crisis. But in such situations, the media can control the public emotions and control public opinion with a positive attitude. Without a positive attitude in the media, even the best efforts of policymakers and government cannot produce results.
“Let us also remember that crisis is inevitable in society. Indeed, it drives development when properly managed. The Nigerian media must, therefore, always seek to help the nation turn its crises into wheels of progress.
“This they can do by providing useful information to calm the people and encourage them to do positive actions. In the current situations, the media should seek information only from credible sources in order to limit the spread of fake news. They should avoid information that is capable of inciting violence and reprisals. When law and order succumb to anarchy, even lawmakers, journalists and journalism are endangered.
“We also tend to forget the challenges that shortened our earlier democratic journeys, and that our struggle to address those challenges brought us to where we are. If what we adopted as solutions in the past now seem to us as mistakes, let us be charitable enough to see them as honest mistakes, learn from them to fashion better solutions, and move on.
“Democracy is a perpetual learning process that improves with constant practice. It learns from and builds upon experience. That is the reason our constitution makes provisions for its constant review and amendment so that the fears of the past and short-sightedness of the present do not shackle the future and waste its opportunities.”
“Under the constitution review exercise, the National Assembly has received hundreds of memoranda from across the country and many bills have been proposed for consideration. These show the commitment of the National Assembly to improving the laws upon which our polity and governance system are based and the support of Nigerians for its efforts.
“The end product of our efforts through the constitution review exercise and others is to build up our democratic institutions such as the Legislature and the Judiciary at the national and sub-national levels, the local government system, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Civil Society into sturdy guardrails of our democracy that are capable of checking the abuses and strife that have been holding back the development of our economy and general polity,” the lawmaker said.
…Lauds Blueprint’s tenacity
The lawmaker commended the Publisher/ Chairman of the newspaper, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, for his tenacity of purpose in seeing to its survival and success in the face of daunting challenges.
“Unlike most of its older colleagues with which it has been confidently rubbing shoulders since it hit the newsstand in 2011, Blueprint is a child of democracy, having been born and bred under the Fourth Republic.
“And from the scope and tone of its reporting, I believe that this newspaper was conceived from a patriotic desire by its founders to contribute to building a stable democracy in Nigeria, as a vehicle for conveying our nation to its manifest destiny of unity, peace and prosperity,” Lawan said.
Journey so far –Publisher
Welcomingguests to the event, the publisher, Alhaji Malagi said 10 years on, the newspaper remains on the path of professionalism.
Malagi, who is also the Chairman of WE FM, an Abuja leading radio station and Bifocal Communication Limited, a reputable public relations and communication firm in Abuja, expressed the satisfaction that the paper had contributed to useful conversations towards a more democratic and egalitarian Nigerian society.
The Kakaki Nupe also disclosed that the Blueprint newspaper had authored ground-breaking stories and kept the trust of its numerous readers, to the satisfaction of its internal and external stakeholders in the last 10 years.
He also revealed plans to acquire more radio stations and a new television station.
“A decade after, we are encouraged by the fact that we have practised professional journalism, tightly manned our gates, contributed to useful conversations towards a more democratic and egalitarian society, authored ground-breaking stories and kept the trust of our numerous readers, to the satisfaction of our internal and external stakeholders.
“And as part of our extensions, in 2018, we acquired controlling stakes in one of Abuja’s leading radio stations, the WE FM 103.6 FM. In the medium term, we plan on activating more radio stations and a new TV channel.”
Recounting his experience as a publisher, the media owner said: “One other fallout of the newspaper publishing business outlook in 2011 was the competition. Nearly every insight suggested that the market was saturated, meaning there was no room for new players unless they deliberately wanted to waste their money.
“This position was backed by evidence of the mortality rate in the industry, as there were more rested titles than active ones. Nonetheless, I wasn’t a total rookie, given the fact that I had made a foray into the murky waters of publishing in 2004 with a business news magazine called The Market, which lasted for about five years.
“Today, our team is glad that in 2011, we took the dive to sink or swim. The good news is that we are afloat. We are a new generation newspaper compared to older titles that floated in the era before the advent of the phenomenon called Social Media, and who were certainly entitled to the monopoly of the news and advertising space.
