Media expert tasks stakeholders on securing Nigeria
By Matthew Denis, Abuja
A versatile media expert and General Editor of Daily Trust Newspaper, Mr. Hamza Idris has appealed to stakeholders to focus on securing the entire country noting that schools donot operate in isolation.
He emphasised that if the entire Nigeria is effectively secured then all schools will be safe from attacks by miscreants.
Mr. Hamza who spokes as one of the key planelists on the topic ‘ Community Participation and Protection of Schools in Nigeria’ at the National Stakeholders Engagement on Financing Safe Schools programme held in Abuja on Monday.
He said “the Media role is hold every stakeholder accountable while giving voices to everyone to identify the problems and possible solutions to the end the insecurity.
“I want to tasked all stakeholders here to concentrate on securing the entire Nigeria because when the country is secured schools will be safe for teaching and learning. These schools don’t operate in isolations but they are located within our communities.”
The General Editor narrated to the participants on how the media has been constantly reporting the insecurity situations which started in the Northeast and gradually penetrated into the corridors of the entire geopolitical zones of the country.
He said “the idea is that these menace started in the Northeast but had gradually penetrated into the other geopolitical zones in the country, meaning that all the six zones including Abuja are not safe because schools have been closed.
“You can see today the level of insecurity in Zamfara, kebbi, Kaduna and Niger. Hundreds of students have been taken away.”
According to him, during the 8th years anniversary of the Chibok girls attacked UNICEF released a statement in April this year that over 11,000 schools have been closed and over 1,400 students have been adopted in Nigeria.
The expert stressed that the media must continue to monitor and ensure execution of projects by Government officials to ensure accountability to the society.
He said “from 2014 to 2022 billions of Naira have been raised so where is the money and how safe are the schools? These are the questions that media should asked.
“Similarly, we should also give you voices to communities and our traditional rulers here can testify that we had visited Kakara in Kastina state and interviewed the monarch, community members and the victims of the attacks by giving them platform.
“It’s only when you report happenings that those in authority will know something is happening which is basically media responsibility.”
He summoned that the media has continued to follow-up the schools attacks in Chibok, Dapchi, Kakara among other places through daily records.
“In fact we have a permanent strip in Daily Trust for publishing the countdown on the happenings in these areas. Because, if we don’t keep the narrative we’ll not get it right.”
He also enjoined stakeholders and media practitioners to always follow up the budget in ensuring that when money is released it’s judiciously used for such purpose.
