Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged international media outlets to adhere to the principles of fairness, accuracy, and objectivity while reporting issues concerning Nigeria.
During a meeting with a delegation from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) at his office in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Idris emphasized the Tinubu Administration’s commitment to upholding press freedom. However, the government expects international media organizations to exercise proper diligence in their reporting.
The Minister stressed the importance of balanced and unbiased reporting and highlighted that while Nigeria, like any other country, faces challenges, the international media must provide a complete and nuanced portrayal, rather than focusing solely on negative aspects.
“We will also urge you to continue to balance your stories to hear our side of the story. It’s not only bad things that come out of Nigeria, but there are also a lot of good things and I’m sure your correspondents on the ground would have seen that we have a lot of positive things that we are doing in this country and there is a gradual progression towards prosperity that we are seeing.
“I want to share with you the commitment of the Nigerian Government to every news-gathering organization. Our commitment is that we want to stay as focused and unbiased and as free as possible,” he said.
The Minister acknowledged that the Nigerian government has not received any reports concerning the harassment of journalists working for international media outlets in the country.
“The thrust of the policy of the Tinubu administration is that every news organization has the freedom to practice the profession and am happy you didn’t report to us any of your staff, who has been molested or under any kind of pressure from the Nigerian government,” he said.
Idris commended the foresight of the BBC in moving the studio of the Hausa Service from London to Abuja, where the audience and the markets are, stressing that the brilliant initiative has led to the engagement of about 200 Nigerians working for the BBC across the country.
The Minister expressed his pleasure in the trust and mutual respect between the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Nigerian audience, a relationship that has remained strong for almost six decades.
“The Nigerian people are partners with the BBC and this partnership goes back several decades and that commitment to what we hear on the BBC and the respect and trust our people have, have been largely unbroken for the last five to six decades,” he said.
He commended the BBC for embarking on capacity building for some journalists working for public media organizations and appealed to the British broadcaster to extend a similar gesture to private media outlets as well.
In his remarks, the Director, of Global News and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the BBC, Jonathan Munro, who is in Nigeria for the first time, said he is highly delighted by the reputation of the BBC in the country.
He said the BBC has expanded into multimedia platforms in Nigeria and it’s now broadcasting in Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to reach the country’s diverse audiences.
Munro who described Nigeria as a global power, said about thirty million people visit the news services of the BBC in Nigeria every week, making Nigeria the third international marketing audience for the BBC after the USA and India.
Munro was accompanied by the Head of West African Languages, Ehizojie Okharadia; the Head of Newsgathering for Africa, Juliet Njeri and the Head of BBC Hausa, Aliyu Tanko.
Lantana Nasir
