The media will not be gagged under President Bola Ahmed Tunubu, the Federal Government said yesterday.
But the government advised the citizens to use the social media with a high sense of decency and fairness.
Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris said this after a meeting with President Tinubu at the State House yesterday in Abuja.
The minister assured the media that they would enjoy better freedom under the current administration.
He urged practitioners to practise responsible journalism, stressing that the President has given him the responsibility of renewing the confidence of Nigerians in their country.
Idris announced that the government would soon initiate a national dialogue on orientation and reorientation with the goal of re-establishing Nigerians’ trust in their fatherland.
Addressing reporters on how to manage the excesses of social media, the minister noted that responsible journalism is the way to go.
“While government and Mr. President and all of us in that sector are committed to ensuring that there’s press freedom, that freedom, like I said, comes with responsibilities. A lot of things that some of these people in the social media are doing are also not very patriotic.
“Sometimes, you’ll say news that is not factual. But I don’t want a situation where it will be seen that government is trying to gag the press. I want that to be underscored. There is no attempt by government to gag the press. We’re going to do whatever it takes that is responsible, that is also accountable. Responsible journalism is the way to go.
“You know that Mr. President believes in press freedom; he believes in the freedom of expression, and he’s not going to gag the press in any way, shape or form. He’s going to work assiduously to ensure that the Nigerian press that has been free is even freer.
“But, like I say all the time, this freedom also comes with enormous responsibility. You can’t just say what is not right because you say you’re enjoying press freedom. There’ll be freedom, but it has to be responsible freedom,” he said.
Commenting on the need for renewed patriotism among Nigerians, Idris said the Tinubu administration was trying to rebuild patriotism and discipline in the minds of the citizenry.
The minister said the current administration was working to reintroduce the values of discipline, patriotism, and a belief in the nation’s ideals that were instilled by the founding fathers.
He noted that this would herald a fresh perspective in the roles of the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and place national orientation at its core.
Explaining why he visited President Tinubu, the minister said;
“I have come to tell the President my experience at the new Ministry of Information and National Orientation. He has given me a mandate of what to do.
“I went, saw the sectional heads of the ministry. I went round all the eight agencies under the Ministry of Information and National Orientation and I went to charge them with the responsibility that Mr. President has given us – to reset that sector, to make it more functional, so that once again we will have a very vibrant Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
“You know that the belief in the concept of nationhood and patriotism has broken down in this country. This is not in doubt. We’re trying to rebuild that and Mr. President has given me a marching order to see that Nigerians believe in this country once again. We’re coming up with a national discourse on orientation and reorientation so that Nigerians can believe in their country.
“You know that people don’t believe even leaders, those they themselves have elected. Flags are not flying anymore. You go to government offices, you don’t even see the symbols of our collective existence flying in public buildings. We’re bringing that about.
“We’re bringing back this concept of discipline, that Nigerians should have patriotism, believe in the nationhood that our founding fathers have told us. So, it’s going to be a new Ministry of Information and National Orientation, and national orientation is going to be at the centre of it,” he said.
