From Our Correspondent
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has charged Nigerian broadcasters to prioritise national unity in addressing the critical challenges facing the country.
Shettima gave the advice when the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.
He identified poverty, insecurity and inclusivity as the major concerns demanding attention. “These are more germane issues.”
According to him, there are other issues bordering on drug abuse and maternal mortality.
“The nation is gradually being bifurcated into a prosperous south and a north that is in the news for the wrong reasons.
“We need to unite as a people and address our common challenges,” The VP said.
He called for fairness and a deeper understanding of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s contributions to the north.
Shettima cited the Pulako initiative, a programme designed to address most of the challenges in the region as an example.
Quoting Martin Luther King, the VP said “The North must either learn to live together as brothers, or we are going to die together as fools”.
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Earlier, the Chairman of the Forum, Abdullahi Yelwa, stressed the need for collaboration between government and citizens to engender participatory democracy.
He underscored the importance of synergy in collective efforts to move the country forward.
Yelwa highlighted the vast reach of the region’s broadcasters, transmitting in various local languages. Such languages include Hausa, Fulfulde, Nupe, Pidgin and Kanuri.
He, however, expressed concern about the industry’s post-pandemic struggles.
“The current state of the broadcast industry portends danger. Since COVID-19, many stations have not recovered from the shortfall in advertisements,” Yelwa lamented.
According to him, the broadcast industry is the largest and most important industry in managing the citizen’s perception of the government.
He pointed out that the trust deficit between the government and the governed could only be bridged through partnerships with Broadcasters.
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