The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), has announced October 21 and 22 as the dates for its 17th Annual All Nigerian Editors’ Conference (ANEC) billed for Abuja.
The guild, in a statement jointly signed by the President, Mustapha Isah; and Secretary General, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, respectively, yesterday, said the conference has as its theme, “Media In Times Of Crisis: Resolving Conflict, Achieving Consensus”.
The guild said the scheduling of the annual conference was one of the decisions reached at a meeting of its Standing Committee during the week in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.
It added that the guild also took some positions on various issues at the meeting, after extensive deliberations.
The guild described the recent compromise of the security structure at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Afaka in Kaduna State, as a worrisome dimension to insecurity, calling on government at all levels to devise results-oriented strategies in tackling the phenomenon.
“The guild acknowledges efforts by the Federal Government to achieve the best results in tackling the nation’s security challenges, but sees the August 24 compromise of the Nigerian Defence Academy in Afaka, as a worrisome dimension to insecurity.
“We call on the government to be more proactive and creative in the fight against insecurity and in carrying out its constitutional duty of securing lives and property in the country,” it said.
The guild said banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other threats to the nation’s security could be addressed with the right actions.
Since the media had a constitutional role to play in holding public office holders accountable to the people, it noted, government also had a duty of providing an enabling environment for the media to perform its role devoid of intimidation.
It cautioned journalists to also be responsible by ensuring they operated within the ambit of the ethics of the profession.
“The guild restates that a free press remains one of the bedrocks of democracy and nothing must be done to shrink the space.
“It commends the intervention of the Nigeria Press Organisation in protecting the freedom of the press in the country,” the guild’s statement added.
The NGE expressed appreciation to the government and people of Jigawa State for the conducive environment provided for the Standing Committee meeting held in the state.
Meanwhile, the guild says the 2021 ANEC is aimed at achieving “consensus and compromise”, among media owners, managers and senior editors on what role the media could play in helping to resolve conflicts in the country.
“The strong argument by conflict management experts is that the mass media ever so often, plays a key role in conflicts.
“Their role may take two different and opposed forms: It is either the media takes an active part in the conflict with obligation for increased violence, or stays independent and out of the conflict, in that way contributing to the resolution of the conflict and mitigation of violence’’, the NGE noted.
ANEC is the largest gathering of Nigerian editors and owners of mass media: newspapers, magazines, radio/television stations and online newspapers in Nigeria.
The annual conference is expected to also attract NGE’s foreign partners: the World Editors’ Forum (WEF), West African Editors Forum (WAEF), African Editors Forum (AEF), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).
Other stakeholders expected at the two-day conference include, top security officers in the country, chief executive officers in the private sector, the academia and others.