New Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday took on the Federal Government-owned media for allowing themselves to be used as tools of attack by politicians.
He also said because of their serious lack of integrity and sincerity, these media including the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) have lost followers and as such, lost huge sums that would have come to them in the form of advertisements.
Recall that some of these government-owned media were used to carry campaigns against the All Progressives Congress, its presidential candidate and some of its top leaders during the 2015 general election.
Mohammed who met with heads of all the parastatals under his ministry on Thursday slammed them for dragging the government agencies and parastatals down.
“Let me start with the Federal Government-owned media organisations, the NTA, FRCN and NAN. Why have you all chosen to play second fiddle in the country’s media landscape? I ask because the NTA and FRCN of yesterday is not the same as what we have today.
“Whereas most broadcast journalists of note in our country today passed through NTA and FRCN, there is no denying the fact that the private radio and TV stations are doing much better, at least going by the fact that most Nigerians prefer them to the public broadcasters. Indeed, most Nigerians find the private broadcasters more credible.
“The reason for this is not far fetched. First, the public broadcasters have thrown professionalism to the wind while also showing total disregard for editorial independence. They have mortgaged their credibility on the altar of political correctness.
“Yet, these Federal Government-owned media establishments are endowed with highly-trained and well-qualified personnel, better infrastructure and a wide reach.
“It is interesting to note that these government-owned media organisations complain of financial woes, forgetting that there is a link between credibility and profitability.
“Advertisers will surely flock to more credible media organisations, and of course it is also true that content drives advertisement.
“The same law of diminishing returns also apply to NAN, which was once the leading national news agency in the whole of Africa, boasting of the best professionals in the news business. Today, the agency is punching far below its weight, despite its presence in all the states of the federation.
“We intend to provide leadership for the Federal Government-owned media organisations in a manner that will make them to become the first source of information, so that they can more effectively function as a vehicle for the change mantra of the Buhari administration, and also regain their lost glory.
“The combined reach of the NTA, FRCN and NAN, if effectively utilized, will facilitate the success of the change campaign. But they must first enhance their own credibility, because no credibility-deficient news organisation can successfully propagate the message of change.
“At this juncture, ladies and gentlemen, let me assure Nigerians that under this Administration, no Federal Government-owned media organisation will deny the opposition the opportunity to air their views.
“It is true that while we were in opposition, we were treated as outcasts by these public broadcasters. They denied us the use of their platforms, they rejected our adverts and even made themselves available for the most abhorrent hate campaign ever in the history of electioneering campaign in our country.
“But in an era of change, which is our mantra, that cannot and will not continue. Opposition members are Nigerians, just like members of the ruling party. Even the ruling party will benefit when the opposition is allowed to air their views freely, because you learn more from people who disagree with you.
“Therefore, let the ruling party and the opposition air their ideas and let the people, who wield the ultimate power, decide at the end of the day.
“To the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), I say we are committed to the realisation of the Digital Switch Over in Nigeria, because of the inherent opportunities that this will unleash in the news, entertainment and creative industries and the vibrancy that it will usher into the sector.
“This will in turn create jobs for millions of our teeming youths. The same is true of the National Film Corporation and the National Film and Video Censor Board, which are also key to propagating the change agenda.
“In the end, all of us here, including the Voice of Nigeria, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria and the Nigerian Press Council will have a role to play in the days ahead, when we launch the massive national re-orientation campaign aimed at achieving a paradigm shift in the way we do things.”
Mohammed, who also met with heads of parastatals under Culture and Tourism, did not mince words telling them how they have made their parastatals redundant.
He said: “The parastatals under the old Culture and Tourism Ministry, which are now under the new Ministry of Information and Culture, are suffering a crisis of leadership. There are square pegs in round holes at the leadership cadre of some of the Parastatals.
Sometimes where academicians are required, administrators are holding sway.
“There is a critical lack of understanding of the mandate of the various Parastatals by some of the heads, and where they understand the mandate, there is a serious lack of capacity. The implication is that those heading these Parastatals simply invent their own agenda sometimes and impose such on us, with devastating consequences. That explains why most of the parastatals are lying comatose.
“But for a critical lack of imagination, the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) would have just worked to encourage each of the 36 states to declare 10 cities each as cultural cities. Add five cities within the Federal Capital Territory and you will have a total of 365 cultural cities. Imagine cultural activities in one cultural city daily, and you will have such activities for 365 days, all year round! This will improve the economy and lead to a reduction in crimes.
“The National Troupe of Nigeria for example could borrow a leaf from its counterparts in Uganda and Kenya. In those countries, their National Troupes perform for the public every two hours. And it is a regular fixture to have long queues outside the performance venues.
“Just imagine the kind of money these National Troupes in Kenya and Uganda will be making. Not only will they be self-sufficient, they will have enough money for other things.
“Let’s look at another example: The National Theatre. This magnificent and historic edifice is mostly lying fallow all year round. Why can’t the management make it available for the use of the creative industry, like Nollywood and others?
“Even the movies that used to be shown in halls within the building have either dwindled or stopped altogether. No wonder a past administration almost succeeded in selling it off. A less magnificent and less historic building elsewhere within or outside Africa is a money spinner. Yet, all we hear is that there is no money to do this and no money to do that.
“Or is it the case of the National Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), which has the mandate to develop, market and manage tourist sites. How successful have they been in executing their mandate?
“The law that established the National Commission for Museum and Monuments (NCMM) mandates it to establish and manage national museums. What have they been doing? What is their scorecard.
“Take the fact that Nigeria has only two UNESCO World Heritage sites – Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and the Sukur Cultural Landscape in Adamawa, when the country boasts of numerous sites that are of special cultural or physical significance to qualify them for listing as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Even the Osogbo is in danger of losing its designation. By way of comparison, Ethiopia has nine UNESCO World Tourist sites, Kenya six, Libya five, Mali four and Morocco nine!”
He told the heads of parastatals that they are sitting on a gold mine, “but you have either refused to realise this, simply feigning ignorance or totally lacking the capacity to mine the gold. It can no longer be business as usual.
“Stop feeling second class, snap out of your complex and mine your gold. Culture drives tourism, and both are good for creating jobs reducing crime and diversifying the economy, which are three of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari administration.
“It is important to state here that Information and Culture is a key vehicle for the massive national re-orientation campaign which we are planning to launch soon as part of efforts to drive the change agenda.
“Culture is particularly important in this regard. We need the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, the National Council for Arts and Culture, the National Gallery of Arts, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation and of course the National Orientation Agency to be part of this campaign, just like we need the film corporation as well as the film and video censor board.
“We will give the necessary leadership to ensure that these parastatals realise their potentials for the benefit of Nigerians. I encourage you to think out of the box to bring about the much needed change in your various organisations.”
