The governor of Nigeria’s Sokoto State in northern Nigeria, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, has
urged Nigerian editors to remain vigilant and educate and mobilise Nigerians to defend
the country’s democracy.
Declaring open the 15th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2019) on Thursday in Sokoto,
Tambuwal said: “We must join hands to checkmate anti-democratic elements and return our
country to the path of constitutionalism, progress and development.’’
He noted that the threat by Hate Speech and Social media bill are efforts to regulate the media
through a law and that “there are enough provisions in our law to deal with people whose
actions can undermine national unity and cohesion”.
The governor, who was a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, noted that the
media occupied a special place in the history of Nigeria, saying that the media was at the
forefront of the struggle for independence.
“It is the media that waged a relentless battle against military authoritarianism. It has
continued to serve as a check against the excesses of those in power.
“The media keeps us on our toes and ensures that we remain accountable to the people,’’
he said, adding: “We cannot operate democracy like military dictatorship.”
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “A Distressed Media: Impact On Government,
Governance and Society”, Tambuwal, noted that the media is also feeling the heat of the harsh
economic environment and urged them “not to despair, keep faith and remain unbowed”.
“The difficult times will give way to a better and prosperous future, but there is serious work
to be done.
“The media may also initiate a serious conversation on the place of the media in the age of
information technology. People now prefer to read newspapers online.
“Online publishing may need to be prioritised. You may need to strategise on how to
aggressively canvass for advertisement online,’’ the governor said.
According to him, our television and radio stations must reposition in order to compete
favourably in a globalised world.
He suggested the need to search for creative and innovative ways to boost Internally
generated revenue in order to keep afloat
In an opening remarks, the Chairman of the conference, Chief Olusegun Osoba,
noted that the media does not deserve the Hate Speech law being proposed by the Nigerian
lawmakers.
“I don’t think anybody will want to make the law to punish some of us who fought for
democracy.
“We must all fight with anything that we have. I offer myself to lead you as a chieftain
of the All Progressives Congress to lobby the lawmakers.
“We are trained journalists; we have our Code of Conduct instituted by the Nigerian Press
Organisation.
“We have our standards. The social media is not part of the mainstream media.
“We are not part of the social media,’’ Osoba, who was a former governor of Ogun State
in south-western Nigeria said.
More than 120 editors from 36 states of Nigeria and Abuja are attending the four-day
annual conference, which opened on Thursday in Sokoto
GIK/APA