The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has prevailed on the Federal government to urgently intervene and rescue media organizations in Nigeria from imminent collapse.
The editors also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to make the intervention through tariff waiver instruments on all imported consumables required in the media production process.
They specifically asked for custom duty waivers on production materials such as newsprint, printing inks and plates and broadcasting equipment, to keep the media operations afloat and help protect jobs of its workers.
In a communiqué signed by the National President of the NGE, Mustapha Isah and General-Secretary, Mary Atolagbe, which was issued in Enugu after a meeting of the NGE’s Standing Committee, the editors said the sacrifices being made by media practitioners and their employers in ensuring the sustenance of the information business in the country in the face of the challenging economic environment, is downright unbearable and unsustainable.
The NGE, however, argued that their demand in this regard is minimal and normal, as according to them, governments had made similar interventions in the past to save media organisations going through difficult times after major global downturns, particularly in this pandemic period of Coronavirus.
The editor’s group however enjoined government to realise that the media is providing essential services critical for national development, and therefore should to be given adequate consideration like other sectors of the nation’s economy offering essential services on the frontline of the anti-corona virus war.
It recalled that the Nigerian government had offered a lifeline support with public funds at various times in the past, particularly at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to intervention in other sectors of the economy, including the private sector establishments like the aviation industry.
The Guild however argued that the media in Nigeria seem to have been chucked out in all the government’s intervention support to critical sectors through some of its agencies like the Central Bank and the Bank of Industry (BOI).
The NGE also aligned with the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) in their positions regarding their separate previous appeals to the federal government for prompt financial intervention to save the media industry in the discharge of its constitutional duty, saying that such intervention would go a long way in sustaining and deepening democracy in the country.
The editors also reminded the government at all levels in Nigeria, that the media is a partner in national development and therefore pleaded for such understanding. It said there was need for both government and the media to build mutual trust and confidence, in the interest of that understanding and partnership.
The NGE pointed out that the media has been given legitimate empowerment by the extant Constitution of Nigeria to hold the government and its public office holders accountable to the people at all times, adding that there was need for state actors to realise this basic aspect.
On the harassment and continued detention of some journalists, contrary to freedom of the press and allied rights and privileges conferred on the media, the NGE condemned in severe terms, such strong arm practices and urged the government, to, at all times, be free to uphold the fundamental objectives of freedom of expression as contained in the Constitution of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
“The body of editors also points out that using public funds to finance private sector operations to save them from bankruptcy and collapse is not new and had been adopted in other countries, including the United States of America”.
On the issue of insecurity observed in some parts of the country, the editors called on the government and its security agencies to intensify actions and devise new and workable strategies to overwhelm the worrisome situation.
“The guild warns all individuals and groups fanning the embers of war, hate and divisions to desist from such acts, as they serve no good but do incalculable damage to the fabric of our national existence and cohesion,” the NGE declared.
It however congratulated the new Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on his appointment, urging him to take into account the challenging task before him and ensure that the incidences of social crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery and other terrorist activities are nipped in the bud.