VON Boss Woos C-River, Other States On Content Creation
- Proposes robust partnership on publicity packages
BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – The Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Malam Jibrin Baba Ndace, has urged State governors to explore strategic engagement partnership with the media outfit on programme content creation and publicity.
He said as a Federal government-owned media outlet, VON is pivotally placed in terms of manpower and the professional skill to market investment opportunities of each state in the country through specific programme content creation and publicity of their people-oriented policies.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Cross River Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon Peter Odey, the VON boss said contrary to the current narratives painting that paint the country in bad light outside our shores as dishonest and fraudulent people, “there are other hidden treasures that nature has abundantly blessed us with as a nation”.
He said if such potentials are properly harnessed and highlighted, the world would indeed appreciate that Nigerians are not as bad as being painted by negative reports.
However, lamenting the challenges posed by negative image painted of the country, Malam Ndace said; “To worsen matters, the social media have compounded our image as a country as most of what the practitioners cascade online lack objectivity, professionalism, and ethical conduct”
According to him, VON is committed to confronting reports harming Nigeria’s good image with facts and figures to change the situation in the overall interest of the country and its citizens.
Mallam Ndache noted that available and verifiable reports show Cross River as abundantly blessed with vast acres of arable land mass with various agricultural attractions begging for investors to unlock, adding that all these must be explored and exploited to create employment opportunities for the teeming youths and socio-economic development of the State.
While expressing unhappiness that the social media has deliberately ignored such huge natural blessings, Ndache said VON is ready to collaborate with the State government to effectively market Cross River on the global stage.
He said VON’s international broadcast spectrum is anchored on the use of English, French, Arabic and Swahili, while within the country’s shores, the three major languages, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo, are deployed to create a sense of nationalistic consciousness.
In his remarks, the Deputy Governor, Rt Hon Peter Odey tasked the VON’s management to leave an impressive mark on Cross River by giving the State’s signature tourism programme, Calabar Carnival, the much needed international attention and exposure it deserves through massive publicity.
