Besides, he said the success of media organisations in the country depend largely on the principle of non-interference adopted by the proprietors of the media outfits.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, commended the resourcefulness of the writer while the guest speaker, Mrs. Folorunso Alakija, challenged Nigerians to bravely confront the problems of the country because continued pretence would do the nation no good.
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Governor of Delta State Emmanuel C has said constructive criticism by newspapers’ columnists and media organisations in the country are useful tools for re-appraisal for positive change by public office holders.
He made this statement on Thursday, at the public presentation of ‘Conversations With My Country’ – a book written by Mrs. Funke Egbemode, an editor with The Sun Newspapers, yesterday in Lagos, noting that rather than anger or antagonism of those in authority, such constructive criticisms can be very useful.
“These are challenging times in our country Nigeria and the essence of criticisms as contained in ‘Conversations With My Country’ is to draw our attention to these challenges. It’s for us in position of authority to get the lessons from these criticisms and use them to effect the necessary changes as much as possible,” he stated.
According to him, contrary to some perceptions, public office holders are conversant with these columnists and often look forward to such critical articles even before they were published.
He particularly noted that media organisations with little or no interference from their proprietors tended to be more efficient with higher rate of success.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the book was a continuation of the constant research for the country’s search for inner voice of reason for a better country.
He urged every Nigerian and particularly the media to key into the collective effort to make the nation work better as “no nation progresses in the absence common commitment to our dreams.”
