President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Kaduna cautioned media organisations against rushing to press when they had not fully established the truth about the information they wished to publish.

He said it was better to ensure accuracy and the truthfulness of any information to be circulated to the public and earn their respect than to publish something that would be discovered to be an outright lie or half truth eventually.

Buhari spoke through his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Malam Garaba Shehu, at the opening of a three day capacity building retreat for State House correspondents.

He said: “In today’s Nigeria, there is no shortage of information via phones, radio, TV, the Internet, newspapers, magazines… This is a remarkable development.


“It shows how far our country has grown in terms of access to technology and freedom of expression.

“However, there is a down side to these advancements.

“Sadly, not all of this free-flowing information is accurate. In fact, a good deal of it is outrightly false.

“As the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, I and my colleague, Femi Adesina have spent a good deal of our time over the past few months countering false information that has been published by one news medium or the other and presented to the public as fact.

“The freedom that Nigeria’s press enjoys today did not come easy. It was won at high cost, sometimes paid for by the blood of journalists. However, freedom must come with responsibility. “Renowned British journalist, C. P. Scott, once said, “Comment is free but fact is sacred”.

“This quote should be the ultimate statement of values for a free press.” The Presidential spokesman continued: “The Nigerian press has a responsibility to provide the Nigerian public with information that is factual and verified.

“Accuracy in journalism is essential. Accuracy must come ahead of speed. “If you are not sure, hold fire. “A journalist, rather than misinform the public, should hold fire. “Being first to publish is not as important as being reliable.”

Expressing the grattitude of President Buhari to the Nigerian press for supporting the “change agenda,” Shehu noted that the electoral triumph of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential poll was only the beginning, noting that
the agenda was continuing.

Accordingly, he said, the present government still required the assistance of the media to continue that process of change.

“President Buhari has embarked on the building of a new Nigeria, and we need all hands on deck.

“We cannot do it without the media.The government needs you, the press, to keep the public informed on its many activities and policies that are geared towards improving the lives of the Nigerian people according to the change agenda.

“The government needs the press to remain impartial and eschew spurious invectives when reporting and carrying out your responsibilities, the government needs you to avoid partnerships with enemies of progress, who are bent on bringing down the government, not minding if the entire country collapses while they are at it,” Shehu emphasized.

On the fight against corruption, the Presidential Aide noted that Buhari had embarked on an anti-corruption campaign that was bound to offend many, adding that big toes would be stepped on.

He described the anti-corruption fight as a war, urgint the media ro help President Muhammadu Buhari to win the war.

“You are one of the government’s most lethal weapons in this battle against the forces that aim to pull down Nigeria.

“The power of the media, if they have any power at all lies in their ability to expose wrong-doing. This power of exposure is a far more effective deterrent in many countries, including our own, than the court systems that deliver judgement and not necessarily Justice.

“If they know that that they will be exposed, many crimes will not happen and herein lies the challenge of the media under Buhari administration.

“Use your power to expose wrong-doing, the days of impunity are gone. This is the best way to help the change, now that we have a government with the will and capacity to right all wrongs. But ensure accuracy and the sanctity of the truth,” he submitted.

Declaring the retreat open, Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el Rufai noted that Apc inherited the country at the tip of failure.

He said journalists had a role to play in the change agenda, noting that its success or otherwise wholly depended on them.

According to him, though APC had succeeded in routing PDP out of power, the struggle to bring back the ccountry on its feet again had just started.

“Be on the side of the Nigerian people,” the governor urged.


http://dailytimes.com.ng/uphold-accuracy-sanctity-truth-buhari-admonishes-journalists/

Cc: lalasticlala

karma will suck on his(Buhari) anus