By Correspondent in Abuja.
The Federal Government has rejected the 2021 annual World Press
Freedom Index that characterized Nigeria as a country not conducive to
the practice of journalism, saying Nigerian press remains among the
most vibrant and freest in the world.
This is contained in a statement signed by Segun Adeyemi,
Special Assistant To The President (Media),Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja on Tuesday in Abuja and a copy made available to The Reporters.
He qouted the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,as having announced the rejection on Tuesday in Abuja, when he received the executive members of the Nigerian chapter of the International Press
Institute (IPI) on a courtesy visit to his office.
The President of IPI Nigeria, Mr. Muskilu Mojeed, who led the
executive members on the visit, had cited the World Press Freedom
Index as an example of the country’s low rating in the area of press
freedom.
“I disagree with your assessment of press freedom under this
government. Honestly, at times when I read what the media write here
about Nigeria, I begin to wonder whether I live in the same country
that they are writing about.
“I disagree vehemently with the assessment because it is unfounded and has no scientific basis. I have been the Minister (of Information and Culture) since 2015 so I know the state of press freedom in Nigeria,”the Minister said.
The minister clarified that some people had misconstrued government’s efforts to ensure a responsible use of social media as an attempt to tamper with press freedom or threaten independent journalism, emphasizing that the government did not harbour such intentions.
Alhaji Mohammed reiterated that the present government was not a threat
to the media, and that it was not about to stifle press freedom or deny anyone his or her constitutionally-guaranteed rights.
“After all, this must be one of the very few countries in the world
where a section of the media can refuse to recognize popular
sovereignty, or how does one describe a situation in which a President,who was duly elected by millions of Nigeria is willfully stripped of that title, President, and then cheekily cloaked in the garb of a dictator by playing up his military title? .
“Despite that abuse of press
freedom, those doing that have continued to practice their profession without hindrance.
“Ours must also be one of the few countries in the world where a
reputable medium will report fake news and, when called out, will not
retract or apologize,” he said.
The Minister enjoined the media to always stick to their
constitutional watchdog role, and not to constitute themselves into a
political opposition.
He also charged IPI Nigeria to take seriously the issues of ethics,
credibility and fake news, among others, in relation to the practice
of journalism in the country.
”For example, on the issue of ethics, is it part of the ethics of
journalism for a media organization to function like an opposition
party, seeing nothing good in the government of the day and only
reporting bad news?” Alhaji Mohammed queried.
He called for a sustained engagement between the government and the
IPI in order to share views on how to enhance the practice of
journalism in the country.
In his remarks, the President of IPI Nigeria, Mr. Mojeed, said the
visit was part of a series of engagements with governmental and
non-governmental organizations to enhance independent journalism and
operating environment for journalists and media organizations in Nigeria.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
