Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Governor Peter Mbah has advocated strong synergy between the media and the government for greater development of the country.
He said this at the 2025 Biennial Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Enugu, with the theme: “Building a Secure and Cohesive Nigeria: The Role of Dialogue, Inclusion, and the Media.”
He said that a strong synergy between the government and the media was important to build a society where progress is protected, justice is pursued, and every citizen feels seen and heard.
”We know that the relationship of trust has sometimes frayed between the press and government.
“Too often, our engagements are shaped by suspicion or cynicism.
“Let us change that and return to a shared recognition that we are co-authors of Nigeria’s future.
“Democratic governance cannot succeed without the participation, and interrogation of an informed public, and that the public relies on a press that is fair and fearless.
“Let us replace the distance with dialogue and see intelligent critique as public service instead of hostility,” he said.
Mbah urged the guild to ensure that journalism remains “a space where truth is not compromised for sensation or political ends, where rigorous reporting triumphs.”
“We need a media that is inclusive, that gives voice to the margins, that reflects the diversity of Nigeria’s people,” he said.
In their separate remarks some elders and doyens of the media in Nigeria, including the Chairman and Chief Executive of Channels Television, Dr John Momoh; former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba and former Managing Director and Editor-In-Chief of Daily Times of Nigeria, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, described Nigerian Editors as some of the best in the world despite debilitating circumstances under which they operate.
The veterans also called for integration of South-East in the scheme of things in Nigeria as a way of bringing closure to the Nigeria-Biafra civil war.
Chairman of the convention and Chairman of Channels Television, Dr Momoh, noted that the South-East, particularly Enugu, carries the scars of history.
According to Momoh, the scars relates to the Biafra story which he noted is still being carried down because of exclusion and pain.
“We must bring them to inclusion as a national healing,” Momoh charged.
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Building a Secure and Cohesive Nigeria: The role of Dialogue, Inclusion and the Media,” Momoh said that there can be no security without justice.
“So what is our role as media officers? We shape opinions and it’s a power that comes with responsibility. Let us not only report conflicts, but let’s be bridge builders of national conscience,” he said.
In a remark, former Ogun State Governor and veteran journalist, Osoba, emphasised that Nigerian editors were rated as some of the best in the world.
He noted that they have been able to move with the information and technology transition making it possible for the National Dailies in the country, for instance, to be read online from midnight everyday.
He said: “Editors in Nigeria are the best despite our challenges and I urge you to keep the flag flying.”
Osoba decried the worsening insecurity in the country and called for establishment of neighbourhood police and state police as part of security architecture in the country.
“As a young man living in Lagos, people don’t wait for police or other security agents to handle issues of theft as they resolve such themselves.
“I therefore recommend neighbourhood police and state police in order to decentralize the security system in the country,” he said.
On his part, former MD of Daily Times of Nigeria and former Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, asked journalists to stick to their two primary functions of speaking for the voiceless and holding government accountable.
He said: “Journalism is a very difficult profession and I want to thank journalists for weathering the storm.”
President of NGE and Editor of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Eze Anaba, noted that insecurity with high cases of insurgency and kidnapping had regrettably become subjects of discourse everywhere in Nigeria.
He stressed that with such cases, it was time for introspection by the media.
“Will the media have done more or are we guilty of amplifying fear, how can we contribute.
“Can we rise to the responsibility of inclusion, how can we contribute to a safer Nigeria,” Anaba said.
