Convener of the New Nigeria Group (NNG), Sam Ohuabunwa, has said the country has been in bad shape in the past seven years, and therefore needs a new crop of leaders who would take it out from the doldrums.
Ohuabunwa said the new crop of leaders, which Nigeria urgently needs, would be those that are competent, corruption-free and not sectional.
The former president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) who spoke in Umuahia, Abia State, as guest lecturer during activities marking the 5th anniversary of a radio station, Flo FM, lamented that the major problem facing the nation was leadership.
He said it was not a thing of joy that the present crop of leaders have made the country to become a laughing stock before the international community.
In his lecture focused on the theme: “Imperative of media activism in rescuing Nigeria from the throes of poor and retrogressive government,” Ohuabunwa said it had been established over the years that the traditional role of the media has been to inform, educate and entertain the people.
He said in doing so, journalists are supposed to be impartial, but regretted that at times media professionals deviated from this norm.
“In Nigeria, the independence of the media is not firmly assured because most of the media are owned by government and they dictate what should be news.
“Things have gone so bad in the country especially the killings in the North East that the media are tired of reporting them; but one thing is certain: the media cannot be intimidated into abandoning their course.
“For now, the media seem to be the only hope for the common man. The media may not solve all the problems facing the country, but can bring to the fore, the wrongs in the society.”
Abia State deputy governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, noted with delight that the establishment of the radio station had helped in reducing unemployment.
He commended the management and staff of the organisation for coming out with programmes that have helped in remoulding societal values.
Founder of the radio station, Raymond Nkemdirim, a retired Department of State Services (DSS) director said he established the station to give the people not only entertainment, but unfiltered access to information.
“We’ve been here for the past five years educating and entertaining the people through apolitical broadcasting.”
He promised that the station would continue to deliver on its core mandate.
Highlights of the event were the launch of book written by Nkemdirim and awards given to some personalities including the Abia Deputy Governor and Chief Ralph Egbu, a former SSG and columnist with The Sun Newspapers.
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