Former Director of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Prof. Tonnie Iredia has called for a more conducive environment for the practice of journalism in the country.
Iredia made the call while delivering the 4th convocation lecture titled Fake News: Rethinking the Role of Mainstream and Social Media in National Development by the Edo State University, Uzairue, Edo on Thursday.
Iredia said the Nigeria media should be allowed to function as the watchdog of the society and the nation’s agenda setter as done in order parts of the country.
“To ensure good governance and accountability in Nigeria, the media must be allowed to do their work freely without government interferance and the freedom of Information Act must be properly enforced.
“The attack on media at each junction for its role as a change agent in society shows the resilience of the Nigerian Media fails to achieve their goal.
“Nigeria cannot give a mandate to the media in Section 22 of its constitution to make government accountable to the people while the same government proceeds to make law to restrain the legal watchdog.
“Nigeria cannot continue to insist that the freedom of speech is one and the same as the freedom of the press when it is only the latter that has the onerous legal duty.
“Except the media is allowed to play it assigned role, the lofty development initiatives articulated in the non-justiciable fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy in chapter 2 of our constitution will only be experimented upon to the detriment of posterity.
“The media should be allowed to compel our political class to desist from spending the period on electioneering and focus more on strong societal institutions in the country,” he said.
The former DG of NTA said the mainstream media rely on social media to get their news adding that such news needs to be verified before usage.
“Our elite should realise that they cannot reject the latest social media platforms as well as new trends in the mainstream media processes simply because we do not want journalists to curtail our anti democratic nuances.
“Development has proven to be best when it is balanced and not when only one area-politics grows while good governance is left in abeyance,” he said.
According to him, fake news has proliferated the Nigeria media space as a result of the social media where every citizens has become a journalist, adding that the highest ethical value in the media is truth which is not considered by fake news carriers.
He added that the only way to end fake news is by allowing professional journalists operate both the conventional and social media.
Iredia, however, supported the the unbondling of mass communication to give room for competency in journalism profession in the country.
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