The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has on Thursday, blamed the Media for the bad image of the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government, .
He accused some Media outfits in the country of allowing haters of the administration to use their platforms to castigate President Buhari and spew lies.
The Minister made the assertion at the 75th General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON, in Kano.
His exact words: “Today in Nigeria, some broadcast stations revel in lending their platforms to those whose stock-in-trade is to spew hate as well as angry and divisive rhetoric and misinformation. Someone went on national television to say that the army officer that was abducted from the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna on Aug. 24, 2021, had been killed, only for the officer to be rescued alive shortly after.
“Some broadcast stations lent their platforms to a very senior public official whose stock-in-trade is divisive rhetoric and unjustified castigation of Mr. President. Of course, we cannot forget how a television station reported erroneously that the Ecumenical Centre, in Abuja, was set ablaze by hoodlums during the EndSARS protest, or how another television station reported also erroneously, that a workman atop a Bank building in Lagos was a sniper. But for providence, these false reports could have triggered an orgy of violence.
“Let us, therefore, resolve to use our platforms to serve both public and national interest, rather than the interest of a few naysayers and agents of destabilisation. Let us harness the power of broadcasting to inform, educate, and entertain our people in a positive way. Let us deny dead-enders the use of our various platforms. Let us remember that it is because we have a country that we can have broadcast stations.
“Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we are not asking you to shut out those who are critical of the government or those who have opposing views. All we are saying is that agents of disunity, divisiveness, misinformation and hate, should not be allowed to use private and public broadcast stations to achieve their goals.
“On our part, we will continue to partner with BON, which we consider a reliable Ally, to keep the people adequately informed of the activities of the government, and also in the successful implementation of key projects, like the Digital Switch Over.”
