Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has stated that some media reports about happenings in Nigeria are intentionally twisted.
He noted that attempts by the government to regulate the social media space is not intended to suppress press freedom but to create a conducive and safe environment for citizens.
The Minister bared his mind on Tuesday in reaction to the recent ranking of Nigeria as a country very low press freedom.
Mohammed’s position follows the 2021 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders .
The organisation ranked Nigeria 120 out of the 180 countries graded on press freedom for journalists.
Lai Mohammed described the report as inaccurate noting that the Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration promotes and encourages press freedom.
He made the submission when he played host to members of the International Press Institute (IPI), Nigeria chapter, who paid him a courtesy visa at his office in Abuja.
The team was led on the visit by Muskilu Mojeed.
The Press Freedom Index stated that “Nigeria is now one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who are often spied on, attacked, arbitrarily arrested or even killed,” and this was referenced by Mojeed during the interaction with the Minister.
Mohammed argued that the report is not a true reflection of happenings in Nigeria, particularly under the current government.
According to him, “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,” he said.
“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 noted that the decision of a publication to address the President by his military prefix despite currently being in power as a democratically elected leader is an example of abuse of press freedom in Nigeria but added that the government has taken no action because it allows freedom of the press.
“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 apologise”
The Minister then charged the IPI to ensure that issues of ethics, credibility, and fake news, amongst others, are taken seriously.
Lai Mohammed then asked: “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?”
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‘I Wonder if We’re in The Same Country When I Read Media Reports About Nigeria’ – Lai Mohammed