How to Tackle Insecurity, by Swiss Envoy, Others

Date: 2013-05-07

• ‘Nigerians hold key to nation’s better image’

NIGERIA’S insecurity problem can be reduced through agriculture, a sector in which a synergy between Abuja and Berne has reached its peak, according to Switzerland’s Ambassador to the country, Mr. Hans Rudolf Hodel.

Speaking with reporters at the end of a two-week capacity-building workshop in agricultural education in Ilorin, Kwara State, at the weekend, Hodel, who is also the Swiss  Ambassador to Chad and Niger, said the pendulum of the collaboration has shifted to Nigeria.

However, he noted that insecurity could only be solved by Nigerian authorities, while Switzerland could only help in this regard. Hodel, who spoke at the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), cautioned against sensationalism in the media coverage of Nigerian affairs.

Asked whether the country at present was safe to live in, he said: “You are the ones who should know better. I got to Nigeria some eight months ago but we rely heavily on what you tell us about your country.

“We can help the authorities to create jobs, encourage education, improve on social fields so that people will be happy and have less tendency towards terrorism and violence.

“Nigeria should improve agriculture and industrial production so that everyone can be economically active to boost the nation’s trade and commerce, with people producing. Industrial production would make people to import less and export to other countries.”

Meanwhile, the Head of the African Union Diaspora Forum, Ambassador Erieka Bennett, has stressed that the nation’s negative image abroad could only be changed by Nigerians, who should speak well about their nation and project its rich historical and cultural values at every given opportunity.

A statement by the Director of Media, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Mr. Bamidele Salam, said Dr. Bennett made the remarks in a paper entitled “Effective Public Communication: A Global Perspective,” delivered at a workshop organised for Special Assistants (Media) and Directors of Information in Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Abuja.

The African-American described Nigeria as a great nation with a potential to play major roles in global economic and political developments. He advocated a change in the current information management system to encourage proactive engagement between government officials and media stakeholders with a view to telling the Nigerian story in a positive form.

Going by the dynamic nature of the media and communication landscape, Bennett noted, there is the need for constant training and retraining of information officers in government ministries and agencies to equip them with the essential tools of productive public engagement.

She advocated a creative use of the Nigerian film industry by government media managers, declaring that “the Nollywood phenomenon offers exciting, new opportunities for Nigeria to reframe and retell its history, promote dynamic, new self-image and pride among the Nigerian people.”

Also speaking on the topic, “Security and Information Management in an Emerging Democracy,” the Assistant Director (Public Affairs) in the Department of State Security, Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, urged spokesmen to promote public order and confidence in government by providing regular and detailed information on its programmes and projects in order to check rumour-mongering among the populace.

Speaking earlier on the topic, “The Imperative of Organisational Synergy in Effective Information and Public Coummunication,” the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, whose office organised the workshop, explained that the only way the walls of cynicism, doubt and mischief could be broken down was by spokespersons offering true, cohesive and prompt explanations on government policies and programmes before they generate controversies.

According to Okupe, communications managers must be conscious of the environment in which they operate and devise means of cultivating media and public partnerships for government programmes in order to guarantee sustainability of the Federal Government’s transformation agenda, which is President Goodluck Jonathan’s social contract with Nigerians.

Other speakers at the workshop included the Regional Manager of Seismonaut Africa, Mr. Collins Nwanya; Special Assistant to the President on Public Relations, Dr. Olusanya Awosan; and his counterpart in charge of Media, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi.

While Nwanya spoke on appropriate use of the new media in public communication, Awosan and Adebiyi spoke on the need for information managers to understand the importance of public opinion in formulating government programmes, as well as the need for better strategies and funding for government information organs.

Source

 


Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Abdulkadir Remi Hawawu     Assayomo     Aisha Ahman-Pategi     Haliru Yahaya     AbdulRazaq Abubakar Jiddah     Babatunde Ajeigbe     Abdulrauf Yusuf     Abdulbaqi Jimoh     Hydro-electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission     ASUU     Abdullahi Biffo     Abdulrahman Abdullahi Kayode     Kayode Issa     Bolaji Abdullahi     Iyabo Adisa Ibiyeye     Mope Dasuki Belgore     Ope Saraki     Salihu Yahaya     Baba Adini Of Kwara State     Code Of Conduct     Eleja Taiwo Banu     Apaola     New Model Police Station     Basic Education Certificate Examination     Bisi Oyeleke     Muritala Awodun     Monkey Pox     Sayomi     Saka Saadu     Laduba     A.G.F Abdulrasaq     Abatemi-Usman     Nagode     Yakubu Gobir     Adedayo Yusuf Abdulkareem     Okanlawon Taiwo     Okin High School     Awwal Jawondo     Mohammed Danjuma     Basit Olatunji     NFAI     Akeem Olatunji     Academic Staff Union Of Universities     Awodun     Wahab Olasupo Egbewole     Aro Yahaya     CACOVID Palliatives     AbdulRazaq Jiddah     Kumbi Titiloye     Maja     Sambo Murtala     Saheed Popoola     Muhammed Danjuma     Babaita     Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore     Sa\'adu Salahu     CCB     Lafiagi     Suleiman Abubakar     Folaranmi Aro     AGILE Programme     Standard Organization Of Nigeria     Fatai Garuba Labaka     Abdullahi Adisa Akodudu     Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund     Olanrewju Okanlawon Musa     Muyideen Ajani Bello     Simeon Ajibola     Ado Ibrahim     Gabriel Fashanu     Abdulwahab Olarewaju Issa     Islamic Development Bank     Saliu Tunde Bello     IF-K     Abubakar Olusola Saraki     ASMAU PLAZA     Iyeru Grammar School    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Afolabi-Oshatimehin Adenike Harriet     Alfa Yahaya Road     Olanrewju Okanlawon Musa     Kayode Oyin Zubair     Amuda Bembe     Aliyu Muhammed     Democracy Day     Olatunji Abdulmumeen     Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa     Split Diamond Interchange     Sanusi Abubakar     Nupe     Ibrahim Mashood     Kwabes     Salihu Ajia     Abdulquowiyu Olododo     Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board     Yusuf Abdulwahab     Adamu Ibrahim Sabi     Ministry Of Women Affairs And Social Development     Yemi Sanni     Ayo Salami     Special Adviser On Digital Innovation     Rebecca Bake     Erin-ile     Babajide Ajayi     Ibraheem Adeola Katibi     Federal Road Maintenance Agency     Sidikat Uthman Ajibola     Olayinka Oladapo Jogunola     Ahmed Bolaji Nagode     Sidikat Akaje     Habeeb Abdullahi Al-Ilory     Suleiman Ajadi     Lithium     Musa Aibinu     Aisha Gobir     Omoniyi M. Ayinla     KWTV     Vasolar Consortium     Anilelerin     Suraj Tunji Oyewale     Olateju Lukman     CT Ayeni     Azeez Bello     Ajibola Ademola Julius     Alabere     Illyasu Abdullahi     Freshvine Nigeria Limited     Isiaka AbdulRazaq     Florence Saraki     Council Of The Wise     COEASU     Olubukola Kifayat Adedeji     Sarah Jubril     John Dara     Oba Abdulrahim     Afolayan     Yahaya Dumoye     Raymond Olaitan     SAPZ Project     Busari Alabi Alausa     General Tunde Idiagbon International Airport Ilorin     Farouk Salim     Monkey Pox     Oba Mogaji Abdulkadir     Moji Makanjuola     Benin Republic     IQRA College     Baaziki Sulaiman     Tafida Of Kaiama     CELF     Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike     Razaq Atunwa     Just Event Online     Bankole Omisore     Henry Makinwa