Religious leaders in Nigeria have called on media professionals to see their jobs as a calling and not a profession that guarantees access to riches and fame.
The clerics made the call at the second quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), in Abuja with the theme “Media and effective nation building.”
President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, who is also the co-chair of NIREC, explained that the theme of the second quarterly meeting was designed in recognition of the vital role of the media in nation building and the need to foster unity and a better working relationship between the media and those in leadership for the interest of the country.
“The media can help to enrich the conversation of leaders by providing well investigated and researched stories to improve the religious literacy of the leaders, which simply means having basic knowledge of other religions and engender respect for other religions.”
When Media sees their jobs as calling and not a profession that guarantees access to riches and fame. “This is the attitude that will help them eschew selfishness and work for the good and development of Nigeria.
Media professionals have the power and platform to cause and end crisis, and they also have enough information to set different religions and ethnic nationalities on a collusion, hence the need for the professionals to understand the situation in Nigeria.”
He commended the media professionals who never compromised quality and truth in their work, particularly during the just concluded general elections.
On his part, the Sultan of Sokoto and the President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, stressed that media is a critical stakeholder in nation building, hence they should be involved in all activities and programmes of the government.
“Take a look at what’s happening across the countries of the world where the media compromise in quality, facts and truth. It’s unfortunate that Sudan is passing through war and the role of the media is crucial in ending or prolonging the war.
“The media played a vital role in the 2023 elections. The media should also play a crucial role in the coming administration. So, we expect to hear from the media professionals on their challenges and expectations and pass the message to the incoming government.
The religious leaders also lamented over the sudden resurgence of banditry and other forms of insecurity across the country shortly after the 2023 general elections.
Unfortunately, the resurgence of insecurity in the country is very alarming. Throughout the campaigns and the elections, we never heard these cases of insecurity. Suddenly after the elections, the killings continued across Niger, Plateau, Kaduna and other places. These killings are definitely not related to religion, but the activities of some set of uninformed people.”
Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, in his remarks, explained that NIREC is the body saddled with the responsibility of providing leadership for the religious institutions in the country towards a harmonious and peaceful coexistence of the citizenry.
He said the blueprint and terms of reference of NIREC provide the space and capacity that can give Nigeria a national renaissance and peaceful coexistence.
“If God entrusted the deliverance of Nigeria into the hands of Christians and Muslims, then failure to entrench peace in the nation would be akin to failing God. I pray that God should continue to guide the leadership of NIREC with a united mission and sincerity of purpose to achieve the mandate for which it was established.”
He appreciated the unflinching support he received from the traditional and religious leaders over the years he served as SGF which resulted in appreciable growth and development of Nigeria’s democracy.
He suggested that more should still be done, especially in the key areas of effective and investigative reportage that promotes peace and unity among and between members of the various religious and ethnic groups in the country.
