The Nigerian Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris has said that it’s important for BBC World Service to balance its reporting on Nigeria by highlighting the progress and successes of the country and adopting deliberate content that inspires hope for a brighter future.
The Minister who made this known at a meeting with BBC’s top management in London, headed by Mr Jonathan Munro, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of BBC News, Director of BBC World Service, canvassed for fostering understanding as a key element in driving development.
The Minister’s visit to the British Broadcasting Corporation was part of a bridge-building and cooperation efforts between Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and foreign and local media houses.
He said this is to deepen of mutual understanding between Nigeria and the BBC World Service is critical to a more informed society while underscoring the vital role the BBC plays as a longstanding narrator of the Nigerian political journey.
According to him, “The media plays an indispensable role in shaping the right narratives, fostering understanding, and driving development.
“And as such, it is incumbent on media houses with global reach to deepen their understanding of socio-political, economic, and cultural characteristics of the societies they report on”, he added.
Idris posited that, “Nigeria has a flourishing youth population with uncommon zeal to seize positive opportunities even in the face of immense challenges, a situation that warrants more emphasis on positive outcomes in Nigeria”.
One of the key challenges amongst youth in Nigeria and the world over, the Minister explained, is rapid spread of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news, which he said hinders progress and erodes trust between government and the people.
He called on the BBC to further strengthen mechanisms for addressing aforementioned challenges by also working in concert with its foreign partners to combat these threats and ensure the media ecosystems remain credible and responsible.
The Minister who praised the BBC’s expanding their operational reach in Nigeria by creating more language options in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Pidgin, said it has helped in the cascading of information and the employment and training of many more Nigerians.
