By
Grace Nwafor, Esther Iyiowo
Temitope Hope
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG Abiodun Sylvester Alabi has charged media practitioners to always consider national interest in their reportage that will bring national peace and security.
DIG Alabi made this known while delivering a public lecture on the theme, ” The Role of Media in Promoting National Peace and Security” organized by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ekiti State Council on Saturday.
He called on government to take necessary step towards establishing bilateral commission with neighbouring countries to intensify diplomacy.
In his detailed lecture, Alabi identified the media as a pivotal tool in any democracy, especially in a country like Nigeria which has diverse culture and belief system.
The DIG highlighted information dissemination, advocacy and awareness creation, promotion of security reforms, countering misinformation/fake news and many others to be some of the formidable roles media play in promoting National Peace and Security.
Speaking on the challenges confronting the media, Alabi notified that poor infrastructure, financial constraint, security threat, Government interference are some hindrance faced by the media in the executing it’s duties.
In his words, “There is nothing like peace, peace is not negotiable, we are all Nigerians first and we will continue to be Nigerians irrespective of our agitation and grievances.
“We must put Nigeria first. In all our broadcasts and Publications, we must ask ourselves questions about whether it will promote peace or bring about crisis”.