Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the media for their role to flatten the curve of Coronavirus pandemic in the country.
He said this in his message in commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day being celebrated today.
Buhari, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, applauded the good work the media have done, and are still doing, as the nation confronts the unseen enemy called COVID-19.
“We cannot overemphasize the role of the media in keeping people informed and educated on the pernicious virus, which has no friend or foe. It simply seeks to mow down anyone and everyone in its path, and public awareness is very important, lest we become like sitting ducks. The media are doing this quite effectively,” he said.
President also applauded the role the Nigerian media have played thus far, and charges that they continue, “till we get to safe harbour, when the world, and our country are finally free of this greatest health challenge in recent history.”
Reflecting on the theme of the World Press Freedom Day 2020, ‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation,’ President Buhari opined that Nigeria has a very unhealthy dose of disinformation, fake news, hate news, purveyed by people who use media platforms, particularly the digital variant.
According to him, “they don’t mean well for us, and no country can afford to close its eyes to the evil disinformation can cause. In a plural polity like ours, it has the potential to rupture relationships, sow seeds of discord, and set on the path of destabilisation. When fake and hate news are added unabashedly, it can only signpost doom. I urge the press to use the occasion of World Press Freedom Day to see how this can be vigorously tackled.”
On the part of the government, he pledged a recommitment to the ideals of freedom of the press, noting that democracy thrives better in an atmosphere of transparency, as opposed to opacity.