By Agbenu Oyale, Abuja
The Federal government has blamed the media for the “image problem Nigeria is suffering from today.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this on Thursday in Abuja, during the renaming of News Agency Nigerian (NAN) headquarters building after its late chairman Alhaji Wada Maida said “Yes, we have challenges, especially in the area of security. But this administration has not only acknowledged these challenges, it is earnestly tackling the challenges.”
He said if one picks up most newspapers, watches most television stations, or listens to most radio stations in Nigeria today, he or she will be right to think Nigeria is a country at war.
He said a good example is the decisive manner in which the nation’s gallant troops are tackling the banditry in the North-West or the way they are combating the terrorists in the North-East.
He said even when some media organisations report fake news, they never have the decency to retract such stories and apologise.
He said they simply move on as if nothing has happened.
“We are not saying the media should not report on the security challenges we face. All we are saying is: be fair and report accurately the efforts being made by the state and federal governments to tackle the challenges.
“Even if you don’t want to encourage the men and women in uniform fighting to keep us safe, please don’t discourage them with negative reporting. The security challenges we face today will be successfully tackled and Nigeria will not cease to exist, despite the antics of naysayers.”
Speaking further, he said when recently hosted some members of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO) UK Chapter, who visited him in his office here in Abuja, they told him that some of their colleagues who would have come to Nigeria for their programme, tagged ‘’A Week in and For Nigeria’, in July, did not come out of fear of the security situation in Nigeria.
He said, “Those who made the trip said they travelled to their hometowns across the country and returned to Abuja safely. If Nigerians in the diaspora can be afraid to come to their country, imagine how foreigners, including investors and tourists, will feel about coming to the country.”