Mohammed Seeks Telecoms Operators, Artistes’ Support On Campaigns Against Insecurity, Corruption

Posted by African Examiner Uncategorized Monday, January 25th, 2016

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has solicited the support of the nation’s telecommunications operators for promoting various campaigns of the Federal Government (FG).

Alhaji Mohammed made the request Monday in Lagos while meeting with members of the Association of licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

The Information Minister who informed the telecommunication operators that FG had launched the campaigns to tackle insecurity and corruption as well as for national re-orientation, specified that the government “have kick-started the National Security Awareness Campaign, which is aimed at rallying Nigerians to support the war against terrorism and to ensure that they own the war, as well as the National Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption, which is dedicated to alerting Nigerians to the evils of corruption, with a view to rallying their support for the government’s anti-corruption battle”.

The Minister added: ”There is also the soon-to-be launched National Re-orientation Campaign, called CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME, which is designed to achieve a paradigm shift in the way we do things. It is a bigger and deeper version of the old War Against Indiscipline (WAI), and it is aimed at solidifying our CHANGE mantra.

”For all these campaigns, which are people centred, to succeed, there must be enhanced communication between the government and the people. In other words, the various designed messages through which the campaigns are to be propagated must reach the people and, ladies and gentlemen, this is where you come in”.

Alhaji Mohammed said since communication, which is at the core of their operations, is also at the very heart of these campaigns, his Ministry believes it can work with the operators by leveraging on their umbrella platform to reach more Nigerians.

”Through your members, we believe we can pass our messages to millions of Nigeria, either through the Short Message Service (SMS) or other available means,” he said, adding that a peaceful Nigeria, where workers are more punctual, dedicated and disciplined, would be to the benefit of the operators, as employers of labour, and indeed all Nigerians.

The Chairman of ALTON, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo in his remarks, assured the Information Minister of the operators’ willingness to cooperate with the present administration, especially in ensuring the success of the campaigns.

He stated the operators had suffered from various interferences, especially multiple taxation and vandalization of their installations, urging FG to designate telecommunications facilities as national security and economic installations as a means of protecting them.

In a related development, Alhaji Mohammed, has called for the support of the entertainment industry to boost the FG’s soon-to-be launched national re-orientation campaign, tagged “Change Begins With Me”.

While speaking at a meeting in Lagos Sunday with top musicians from the country’s six geo-political zones, Alhaji Mohammed said the campaign, which is anchored on value re-orientation and attitudinal change among Nigerians, would solidify the Change Mantra of the Buhari Administration.

He said the campaign would arouse national consciousness against the negative attitudes among Nigerians, such as indiscipline, loss of values, lateness and other unscrupulous attitudes that have retarded the development and progress of the nation.

“This campaign, which is a bigger and deeper version of the old War Against Indiscipline, will seek to make Nigerians realize that the change they so much desire begins with them, hence the title of the campaign ‘Change Begins With Me.’ This campaign is aimed at solidifying the Change Mantra of the present government,” he said.

The Minister urged the invited musicians to cooperate with the ministry in ensuring the success of the campaign, which is due to kick off in March.

“We will appreciate if you will come together and develop a theme song that will help propagate the ideas embedded in the campaign and make it attractive to the young and the old, men and women and indeed people from all walks of life,” he said.

Top musicians who attended the meeting included King Sunny Ade, Don Jazzy, P-Square, Tiwa Savage, Kwam 1, Rarara, Baban Chinedu, Joel and MI.