Vice President Urges Broadcasters To Make ‘Inclusivity’ And ‘Unity’ Their Priority

Vice President Kashim Shettima urged broadcast media organizations in the country to focus on national unity and inclusivity while addressing challenges in Northern Nigeria.

During a courtesy visit by the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, Shettima pointed out that poverty, insecurity, and inclusivity require attention from media houses alongside drug abuse and maternal mortality.

"These are more germane issues," Shettima said, as per the statement shared by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, on official X handle (formerly Twitter).

"The nation is gradually being bifurcated into a prosperous south and a north that is in the news for the wrong reasons," he added.

Shettima noted that there is an urgent need to unite people and address common challenges.

Considering the rise in insecurity in Northern Nigeria, the vice president quoted Martin Luther King Jr. and said, "The North must either learn to live together as brothers, or we are going to die together as fools."

Abdullahi Umar Yelwa, Chairman of the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum, said that there is an immediate requirement for collaboration between government and citizens to ensure democracy.

Yelwa highlighted the significance of "synergy in the collective efforts to move the country forward" and the vast reach of the region's broadcasters, transmitting in various local languages like Hausa, Fulfulde, Nupe, Pidgin, and Kanuri.

He also pointed out the post-pandemic struggles the media forum is going through, noting that there is a shortfall in advertising.

"The current state of the broadcast industry portends danger. Since COVID-19, many stations have not recovered from the shortfall in advertisements," he said, adding that the broadcast industry is the most important one as it manages the citizen's perception of the government.

Yelwa went on to explain that the bridge between the government and the people can be filled with the help of broadcasters.

Aside from Yelwa, the delegation also consists of Abba Abdulkadir Kaka, Medina Dauda Nadabo, Mohammed Mustapha, Ben Adam Shemang, and Professor Ladi Adamu.