That Award To Mrs Semenitari

The award to the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and  Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, as the most outstanding government spokesperson in the year 2012  may have come and gone but the significance of that award should not be lost so soon.
For all we know, a quiet history may just have been made and a  very positive one  at that. Such developments need to be properly understood and encouraged, if our society must  arrive at the place where ideas and dedicated service must pave the way for honour.
At  a time when people  in the mass media hardly see anything  good  in their colleagues and at a time when the media look for governors to honour, a media outfit had found it necessary to honour a fellow journalist and information manager thus opening a new path”
While we congratulate Mrs  Semenitari for an award well deserved, we cannot  fail to note the sense of responsibility of the Andy Briggs report, a media  outfit, for the inward look that  will go a long way in promoting professionalism  and  hardwork in the media.
It is even more compelling because in Nigeria, if one fails to blow his trumpet, very few persons can actually say such a person exists. Unfortunately, the media has a culture of being quiet  on its good at a very great cost.
Before taking on some of the issues this un-common award  has thrown  up, we need to state  why  we said   the honour  was well deserved. The words  and actions of the commissioner  in the last few years have brought  hitherto un-charted fields to focus  and re-enforced the pride of the average Rivers Persons on the  state.
Under her watch, Rivers State has taken the path of branding and re-branding, a subject hardly thought about for a state. Similarly, as a way of building  a stronger synergy for the information machinery of the state, a media  village  has been taken to the drawing board, a development that is unique.
The mass media  industry  and indeed the Nigeria Union  of  Journalists cannot  also forget roles  played by Mrs  Semenitari in finding  alternative accommodation for the union’s offices when their   Press Centre was destroyed by storm. But  even more, the  roles she  played in convincing government to finance the new multi-million naira  Press Centre in Rivers State.
For the first time in the history of Rivers State, this Commissioner hosts annual retreat for managers  of the information sector, where they train, strategise and collaborate. This is not to mention the ready assistance for training even for members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in the State.
While many will be quick to raise questions about the state of the State-owned media, this Commissioner has ensured the procurement of a new rotary machine for The Tide and needed facilities for the Radio Rivers and the Rivers State Television.
On her speaking ability, Mrs Semenitari is a delight to listen to anyday. Interestingly, her approach to issues is very coherent, timely and properly guided. Added to a believable voice and sophisticated diction, the choice is justified. Indeed, the recent political conflict in the State has had to bring out the best in her. Fired by the crisis, her golden qualities became too glaring to be hidden by her modesty.
That said, we think Nigeria will continue to shoot herself in the foot if she continues to treat the mass media with levity. In many cases, the failure to assist in developing the sector has made it an all comers  job and made even the best  professionals look pitiable.
At a time some professionals are being granted special salary scale, workers in the media are about the least paid. In fact, some media owners refuse to pay even the meagre salary and shamelessly   say they had given the journalists identity cards to fend for themselves.
At a time when those in the academia are granted an extension of years  for retirement ostensibly to leverage  on  experience, the public  sector media aborts her bright minds just before the finest can be seen or before they could impart  their experience  to the younger ones.
Perhaps, the leadership of the country needs to be reminded of the Biblical saying that a man who speaks  well can save his soul. In this case,  a nation  that speaks well through the mass media can avoid conflicts and violence.