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IPI Global Journalism Congress kicks off in grand style in Abuja
President Buhari espouses benefits of good journalism
BY SHOLA OSHUNKEYE
Hundreds of media leaders, including proprietors, publishers, chief executives, editors of news organisations, as well as top journalists from across the world, have converged on the Nigerian capital city of Abuja for the 2018 edition of the annual world congress of the International Press Institute, IPI.
The conference, which kicked off in a grand style on Thursday, has the theme: Why Good Journalism Matters, with the sub-theme: Quality Media for Strong Societies. This is the first time Nigeria is hosting the global conference in IPI’s 70 years history.
The congress rolled off at the Banquet Hall of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa where President Muhammadu Buhari urged the about 300 media executives to constantly promote good journalism as a veritable instrument for good governance.
“In a world where the borderline between hate speech and free speech has become blurred, Good Journalism Matters,” the President said, waxing poetic. “In an environment where fake news dwarfs investigative reporting, Good Journalism Matters. For survival in an increasingly competitive field, Good Journalism Matters. Good journalism promotes good governance. I, therefore, urge participants to give depth to the topic in your discussions and conclusions.”
The President was not done. He did a little chest-thumbing, declaring:
“One of the reform initiatives of this administration is the introduction of visa on arrival policy. The policy is designed to aid ease of doing business in Nigeria. I am glad that international delegates to this conference are beneficiaries of this policy.
“The Nigerian government has provided necessary support for a successful hosting right from the time our delegation presented its hosting bid in Qatar to the granting of that right in Germany last year.”
Earlier, in his speech, President Buhari who flew in from Bauchi where he had gone to console the people of the state over the fire disaster that ravaged the main market in the capital, as well as the storm that wrecked havoc earlier in the week, expressed happiness at the opportunity given to Nigeria to host the global journalism conference.
The President who recalled that Nigeria has a “rich history of robust relationship with the IPI,” told the august gathering that “prominent Nigerian journalists and media operators were and continue to be in the leadership of the international body.
“But perhaps the most significant symbol of this special relationship is the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, established by IPI in 1963. It is our pride that your vision of a professional journalism training institution in Nigeria has taken firm root.”
President Buhari observed that the IPI world congress was holding in Nigeria at a period of global terrorism, and the fact that the epochal journalism event was taking at this time bore an eloquent testimony to the success the country had recorded in amputating and degrading the evil phenomenon.
“Nigeria experiences that scourge (of terrorism) through Boko Haram, which has been technically degraded and has no territorial hold anywhere, anymore, in its northeast operational base,” the President said. “The Internally Displaced Persons are gradually returning to their communities in reasonable safety and security.
“It is a reflection of your assessment of Nigeria as a safe country that you gave the country the hosting right for this conference. As you have seen since your arrival, you made a wise and right choice.
“The changing media landscape, the explosion of the social media and the rapidly evolving new technology have had a profound impact on media business and media practice. It is satisfying, therefore, that you have chosen an appropriate theme for your conference: Good Journalism Matters: Quality Media for Strong Societies.”
President Buhari, then, declared the congress open.
Earlier, IPI chair, John Yearwood, had expressed gratitude to the Local Organising Committee, headed by ThisDay Publisher and President of the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), for a job well done.
He spoke on the need for practitioners to display best practices at all times and remain unwavering in their commitment to the promotion of unfettered flow of information, guarding the basic freedoms that democracy guarantees and protecting human rights, no matter the odds stacked against them.
Yearwood, who announced that the Abuja congress would be his last as IPI Chair, never ended his speech without special mention of the General Secretary of the LOC, Mr. Raheem Adedoyin, a former Commissioner of Information in Kwara State, who, he said, did a yeoman’s job in flawlessly coordinating the organisation of the summit, liaising effectively with the international headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
Obaigbena, in his remarks, welcome the media executives, assuring them of a great time in the country. He alluded to the fact that though Nigeria may have its peculiar challenges, the country had a way of resolving its disputes.
Before the President’s arrival from Bauchi, the congress had held a session tagged: Conversation with the Government of Nigeria. It was a panel discussion on the activities and achievements of the Buhari Administration.
On the panel were: Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance; Lt. General Abdulraham Dambazau, Minister of Interior; Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information; and Okey Enelamah, Minister of Trade and Investment. The session was moderated by Mr. John Momoh, CEO, Channels Television, and President, Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, BON.
Established 67 years ago, precisely in October, 1950, the IPI dedicates itself to “the furtherance and safeguarding of press freedom, the protection of freedom of opinion and expression, the promotion of the free flow of news and information, and the improvement of the practices of journalism.”
The organisation’s activities include monitoring press freedom violations and media developments; advocacy to stop or prevent press freedom violations; networking with journalists and civil society actors to identify press freedom concerns and fight them. Others include liaising with government and state actors to address press freedom concerns; advising legislators about necessary legislative changes; networking with journalists to identify concerns in journalistic practices and develop self-regulatory mechanisms.
The 2017 edition of the global congress was held in Hamburg, Germany, between May 18 and 20. That edition attracted more than 300 leading editors and journalists from across the globe.
Day 1 of the ongoing congress ended with a cocktail, also at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.
