Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Jibrin Baba Ndace, has encouraged youths to serve as innovative problem solvers in addressing the challenges confronting Nigeria and the global community through their engagement on social media platforms.
The Director General of VON extended this invitation upon the visit of the Public Relations Young Communication Fellows to his office in Abuja, Nigeria.
Ndace, while responding to the group underscores information management as key towards national development.
‘As young professionals, you have the responsibility to know the power that young people have both on the traditional and the social media, but that power also comes with responsibility because being a journalist provides you with the network, contacts and the desired knowledge to understand the work.
‘You also need to understand that you have a responsibility not only to yourself but to your community and the country.
‘It is very important to understand that social media comes with a lot of opportuni
ties but also with a lot of challenges. I would like to urge you to use social media responsibly.
‘You should serve as a guiding light to others,’ he urged.
He restated VON’s dedication to delivering and advancing accurate accounts of Nigeria, Africa, and the world.
‘Information management is an instrument of national power. To this, the responsibility of Voice of Nigeria is even more critical now, we are in the age of social media, in the age of noise, misinformation and disinformation. As a leading public media institution, we have a responsibility to provide timely, truthful and believable narratives about our country.
‘We are also committed to building an inclusive organisation as well create content that young Nigerians can connect with. I also offer Voice of Nigeria’s platform to all of you to participate in all our programmes as vibrant youth,’ he said.
Earlier, the Coordinator of PR Nigeria Young Communication Fellowship, Zachari Idako, said the visit is aimed at tapping from the wealth of experi
ence of Voice of Nigeria’s team.
‘PR Nigeria Young Communication Fellowship is a program put together to educate and equip young youths in the area of the basic tenets of development journalism, fact-checking and social media.
‘Part of our training is this facility tour, and we couldn’t think of any other place than Voice of Nigeria, one of the largest broadcast media industries, not only in Nigeria but across Africa.
‘We feel there are a lot of facilities here that these young fellows can understudy and gain first-hand experience from the Director General himself and the whole team. We are also here to gain first-hand experience on how the news gathering is done, from start to finish. We are happy the Director General granted our request.
‘I believe most of the fellows have started gaining quite a lot from both the DG and members of staff,’ he noted
The Young Fellows were urged to prioritise mentorship as a way of professional progress.
Source: Voice of Nigeria