As part of ongoing efforts to sanitize Nigeria’s image, journalists in South-East and South-South regions have been challenged to focus more on positive reportage that will proffer solutions to issues affecting the country rather than reports that tend to further dent the image of the country.
This was made known during a media parley organized by First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in Port-Harcourt with the theme: “Achieving National Cohesion and Security Through Positive Reporting: The Role of the Media”.
The guest speaker, Idorenyen Enang, Chief Executive Officer of Corporate Shepherds, charged journalists in the country to contribute their quota in achieving national cohesion in Nigeria through positive reporting.
He said it was high time journalists began to see the importance of nation building in their areas of specialization and urged all and sundry to raise a new generation of patriotic Nigerians without ethnic discrimination.
He described national cohesion as the process and outcome of instilling and enabling all citizens in the country to have a sense as well as a feeling that they are members of the same country engaged in a common enterprise and facing shared values.
Mr. Enang noted that symbolic institutions like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the National Pledge actually promote national cohesion which needs to be promoted by journalists so as to revive the consciousness and attitude of the people.
His words: “It is time to raise a new generation of patriotic Nigerians. The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has a symbol of national cohesion. It needs to be rebranded”.
Mr. Diran Olojo, Group head, Corporate Affairs and Mr. Okey Ogelle, Regional Head, South East and South-South in their separate speeches said it is on record that the hardwok of Nigerian journalists have ensured that the country’s image remains protected amid the various challenges of nation building, and urged them to do more.
They thanked the media for their support in their business and pleaded for more support to enable the financial institution to perform better, saying that the capacity building and interactive section was another demonstration of how much they valued the media and their commitment in contributing positively towards their success.
They described the South-East and South-South zones of their operations as its strong base in the country and thanked the people for their co-operation, adding that the media parley which had already held in Lagos, Abuja and the Northern part of the country, would be a continual exercise considering the positive results already recorded from it.
