World Press Freedom Day 2021: Buhari urges media professionals to use press freedom responsibly

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By Abba Gwale

As world celebrates the World Press Freedom Day, tomorrow 3rd May 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari urged media professionals to wield freedom responsibly, and without licentiousness.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, he said freedom of the press is an irreducible minimum in a democracy that would flourish, adding that freedom must, however, be used responsibly.

The President said, “That everything is permitted does not mean that there are no rules of correctness, particularly in a polity seriously challenged as ours now. The media must be sensitive to what we are going through as a country, and anything that would exacerbate the situation, and further inflame passions and emotions, should be avoided.

The media needs to ensure that while informing, educating, entertaining and setting agenda for public discourse, it does not encourage incendiary words and actions that could further hurt our unity in diversity.”

He added that, “licentious freedom is different from freedom with responsibility, and charges the Nigerian media to embrace the latter, rather than the former.

Buhari pledged greater cooperation with the media to discharge its duties, in line with the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, ‘Information as a Public Good.’

He also charged those who manage information for government to do everything in public interest, while also encouraging the media to use the Freedom of Information Act available to make its jobs easier.

Buhari further said it is very vital to have access to reliable information in an era of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, all to cause discord in society.

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