… As
FG launches ‘Change Begins with me’ campaign
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed has said that online publications under the aegis of Guild of
Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) occupies special place in new media, just
as his ministry on Monday unveiled 'Change
begins with me’ campaign as part of reorientation strategy, reports
ITRealms.
Speaking at a media parley in Lagos with the online
publishers, Mohammed also said that the Federal Government led by President
Mohammadu Buhari has no intension to regulate the online industry.
According to him, time has gone when people have to wait
for the next day to get updates and today online publishers even deliver news
via emails, “so we may not need to wait and visit your website to get updates.”
He urged the publishers to maintain
their credibility, saying ''If the online publications suffer credibility
problems, they stand the risk of losing the confidence of their readers and the
advertisers who provide the lifeblood for the publications' survival.''
Mohammed pointed out that while the
number of online publications is bound to grow in the days ahead, only the
credible ones will continue to enjoy patronage, either from the readers or from
the advertisers.
Equally, he noted that its in the
interest of government that online publications continue to grow in number
''because the more the number of such online publications, the easier it
becomes to bridge the information gap between the government and the governed,
and the easier it becomes for the government to carry the citizens along in the
formulation and implementation of policies that touch on their lives.
He further promised that the Federal
Government would patronize the online publications through adverts, asserting ''All
we ask for, in return, is that you provide accurate information to the people,
and avoid sensationalism and partisanship.''
He also sought the publishers
support to ensure the success of the various campaigns that have either being
launched or are about to be launched by the Federal Government.
''The National Security Awareness
Campaign, aimed at rallying the support of Nigerians for the war on terror, is
ongoing. Also, the National Sensitization Campaign against Corruption was
formally launched in Abuja on Monday, and it is aimed at rallying Nigerians
against the cankerworm of corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of
our society. We are also preparing to launch a National Re-orientation
Campaign, which is tagged 'Change begins with me,' to achieve a paradigm shift
in the way we do things,'' Alhaji Mohammed said.
He described the war against
corruption as one of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari administration, asserting
that ''Some have said the government is dwelling too much on the war against
corruption to the detriment of other areas of governance. Our response to that
is that indeed, there is nothing like dwelling too much on this war, which is a
war of survival for our nation.
“The situation
is grim, very grim indeed, as far as corruption is concerned. That is why the
Federal Government is embarking on this sensitization campaign our approach is
not to vilify anyone but to use facts and figures to give Nigerians a sense of
the cost of corruption,” the Minister explained.
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