Tinubu: Adesina, Garba will have challenges

Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state, believes that Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity and Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on the same portfolio, will “have real challenges” in the discharge of their duties, but he wants editors of media houses to help them make their jobs easier.

Tinubu was speaking in Abuja at a reception organised by the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) for its two members appointed in June as president’s media aides. He was represented by Adams Oshiomhole, governor of Edo state.

“I can already see that Femi and Garba are going to have real challenges but the men and women in this hall have all what it takes to help you to make the job less difficult,” he said.

Tinubu urged editors to keep fighting corruption and other vices undermining the growth and development of the country.

“For me, the media are the best fighters. If you don’t fight, the society will not grow. Today, there are debates about poor governance. Nothing is going to change if we don’t fight.

“It is important to fight the war until we get the country of our dream; for me, let us fight a cause that is necessary in order to deliver prosperity to our people.”

He implored editors to keep fighting until the war against corruption is won and Nigeria is free from insurgency, while an economy that is not totally dependent on oil is created.

Tinubu expressed happiness over the president’s political will to fight war against corruption in the country, and he congratulated the NGE for having two members of its own in the president’s cabinet.

“I believe it is a reflection of the role of the media in the democracy. No matter what anyone will say, the Nigerian media remain a powerful pillar and force in the struggle for democracy,” he said.

“In history, you are on record as having been convicted for allegedly plotting a coup only with the power of your pen without a gun and you paid your prize. People went to prisons because you wrote pro-democracy stories that you thought that would prevent military government,.

“Nobody understands the benefit of freedom more than the media because when the society is free, the media can operate. If we are celebrating democracy today, we are celebrating what Nigerian media has helped to build over the years.”

In his address of welcome,Garba Muhammad, acting president of NGE, described the president’s media aides as exceptional professionals who had never engaged in fighting their colleagues in the course of exercising professionalism.

Alhaji Ismail Issa-Funtua, publisher of the defunct Democrat Newspapers, urged NGE to come up with ideas that would improve the capacity of students produced by the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in Lagos.

Adesina, who thanked the guild for the grand reception, urged the media to be fair in its reportage of the president’s activities.

Present at the occasion were Mr Ima Niboro, managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Shola Omale, director-general of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).