Voice of Nigeria, VON has reiterated its commitment to propagate culture and positive narratives in Africa.
The pledge was made when the Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Mallam Jibrin Baba Ndace paid a courtesy call on the Ambassador of Ugandan to Nigeria and ECOWAS States, Nelson Ocheger and Angolan Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Jose Bamoquina Zau at their respective Embassies in Abuja, Nigeria.
According to Mallam Ndace, it is imperative to be deliberate about sharing good content to fight fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
“Your excellency we are here to work with you, collaborate with you in the fight against fake news, misinformation and disinformation and also to partner with your external broadcast so that we can both countries work together in telling our stories in a truthful, believable, consistent manner, so that we are respectected within the committee of nations”. he said
The Angolan Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Jose Bamoquina Zau also pledged his commitment to facilitate partnership between VON and its counterpart in Angola for the proper dissemination of information that could promote the economic development of both countries and the continent.
“Communication right now for the government is the most powerful weapon and if communication is well utilized it would be a great vehicle to actually disseminate information that is economic in nature and many other areas”. He said.
Dr. Zau also solicited that Voice of Nigeria comes up with a programme in one of the Nigeria’s indigenous languages for the listenership of Nigerians in Angola.
Similarly, Ugandan Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS States, Nelson Ocheger said Africa needs to be deliberate in promoting the consumption and trade of local products, tourism and natural resources on the continent.
“When you talk about trade, go to any of our supermarket in Nigeria, or any of our supermarket in Ghana, or even Uganda you will find considerable products which are imported from outside Africa. And yet in Africa we have got similar products which are organically produced and in good quantity and quality but because of the narrative that we have been given by the western media we think that the product coming from outside Africa are superior.
“But like you rightly said, the level of interaction is not where we want it to be. But the positive aspect of it is that there is a commitment from both sides for us to scale up this corperation. Not just to benefit the government of the day, but to benefit the people of Nigeria, the people of Uganda and the people of Africa.” He said.
Ambassador Ocheger stated further that it is heart warming that across Africa there is a realization that the continent holds the key to change the bad narrative and trends and the need to take over the sector that communicates information.
