Bauchi state governor, Isa Yuguda, has accused a section of the media for adding to the challenge of insecurity in the country, via inaccurate reporting of events.
He said this yesterday during the 58th General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria, BON, at the Yankari Resort and Safari in Bauchi.
According to him, most news stories were overly sensational, adding that such were not only overheating the polity, but encouraging hatred among the citizens.
He said: “Everything about development is hinged around security, so it cannot be pushed under the carpet. If there is no security in a state, there can never be capital generation and where there is no capital generation, the crime rate will increase and security thereby threatened.
“This is the area where I feel the media have messed up because most of them are not adequately enlightened about what is causing insecurity. Many of them are ignorant of most cultures or tribes of a particular region they are reporting, hence they use derogatory statements like, Islamic terrorists, which is wrong because there is nowhere in the Quran, where Islam is associated with terrorism.”
Yuguda further lamented that some reports cause fear and bring about state of unease among Nigerians.
Continuing, “I can vividly recall when there was this rumour that the NYSC camp was attacked in Bauchi State, and that over 50 corps members died.
“On the internet, the story was everywhere and it was a horrible experience for the state because the state was just recovering from a major crisis which was a fallout of the 2011 general elections, where some corps members lost their lives.
“The media tarnished the image of the state and heightened tension in such a way that the news was all over the country within 30 minutes. With this kind of scenario, how can we address insecurity?” Yuguda asked.
He recalled that it was during his administration, that the long awaited chiefdom was granted to the Sawaya ethnic group in Tafawa Balewa local council, after hundreds were killed, adding that it was not a religious crisis as insinuated by the media, but a land dispute.
Yuguda appealed to media organizations, especially those in broadcasting, to change its mode of reportage of events so as to foster the bonds of unity among the people.
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