Following the caution by the Nigerian Guild of Editors to politicians and their aides against utterances capable of heating up the polity, an analyst has blamed the Nigerian media for the publication of the negative utterances.
The analyst, who prefers anonymity, says instead of cautioning politicians, the editors who determine what is published should weigh their roles in the publication of such comments.
“If they (editors) perhaps agree under their association to restrict from publication of such utterances from whoever it is, the polity would not be heated up as we observe presently,” he says.
Nigerian editors of various media houses under their association Nigerian Guild of Editors last week issued a communiqué after their last quarter meeting in 2014, warning politicians and their agents against utterances that were inciting or could jeopardise the interest of the nation.
Deeply concerned as players within the politics circle and outside heat up the polity, the Guild of Editors demanded for fair play in next month’s general elections in the country.
In the communiqué, signed by its president, Femi Adesina, the Guild believes that good conduct in the elections by all parties would guarantee the reputation of the country.
It also called on INEC to redeem the shoddy arrangement in the issuance of Permanent Voters Cards by ensuring that eligible voters were not disenfranchised.
The editors also advised the political class, security agents and the populace to be cautious in their utterances, abide by the rules of campaigning and exhibit tolerance before and during the elections to avoid over-heating the polity. “Security agencies, particularly, should be non-partisan,” they said.
They lamented over the insurgency in the Northern part of the country, which has lasted for too long, with its attendant huge death toll and massive number of internally displaced persons. It said the crisis called for harmonisation of efforts, change of tactics, and a review of the country’s security system, to win the war.
On the sudden sharp fall in global oil prices, the Guild said it was a wake-up call on the Nigerian government to urgently go beyond rhetorics by developing economic policies and measures to diversify the economy. “Federal and other arms of government must take drastic actions to reduce the huge cost of governance, particularly in the face of recently announced austerity measures,” it said.
They also lamented the high failure rate in the just released November/December results of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), believing it was symptomatic of the decay in the education sector. It therefore called for increased allocation to the education sector, and training and retraining of teachers.
The Guild appreciated the unifying role of Sports globally, and lamented that “as the Nations Cup kicks off on January 15, 2015, the Super Eagles and defending champions will be conspicuously absent at the AFCON tournament.” It therefore called on football authorities to resolve all issues bedevilling the nation’s sports sector with promptitude.
