Rivers State Quintessential Information Manager

Posted by African Examiner Articles/Opinion Thursday, December 26th, 2013

By Odimegwu Onwumere

There is a rapid growth in the business of information management in Rivers State. The modern days technologies are really helping in no small ways for easy transmission and dissemination of information. But without a capable hand to handle how, what and where information is intended to reach, the idea of inventing the technologies is defeated. And it would cause social, economic and political ruinations to a given society. The proficient management of information in the Rivers State Government has shown that Ibim Semenitari (Mrs.) stands out.

There are overwhelming advantages to how she captures the rapidly changing business of politics in Rivers State. Pinpointing this, her methodology portends the concept of a business environment, where there are competitions and the best brains add innovations to their business ideas for a competitive advantage, which do not hamper profit – the expectation of every meaningful entrepreneur.

It behooves people to know that a government with a weak or hypocritical information mercenary does not really do well and does not develop adequately in all ramifications of its enterprise. This is not the idea with the Commissioner for Information Rivers State. With Semenitari, the uncertain social, political and economic atmosphere in Rivers State, have not been thrown into undue pressure, which wasn’t the traditional management style of operating and organising information strategy.

How she came to reach this kind of integration policy and investing on it is known to her. One would say that with the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) that anyone can be as competent as Semenitari. The truth is that while the ICTs are the devices to making available resourceful communications of business information among organizations, Semenitari’s knowledge-based professionalism has been improved upon with adequate methodologies.

The methodologies have brought Rivers State closer than any divergent view might think the state is in disarray. Any perceived disarray in the political landscape of the state could have been heated up more than the flames of bigotry rending the air, if the information commissioner and communications of Rivers State is loquacious and takes side in the call of her professional duty. But she remains in business, streamlining its operatives in cohesive functionality.

A keen observer would attest to the fact that this woman of substance serves to enhance the state’s communications and to reduce human tension, but support the wellbeing of all in and outside of Rivers State that are either connected to the state by blood or by visitation. Semenitari has not only brought the people closer to the government and together (don’t mind the minute political fighters), but has also allowed the state to become an independent thinking system, by bringing down barriers of linguistic.

Rivers State can therefore be said to have a good Information Governance approach, with Semenitari using powerful discovery tools that are not only useful to the state, but also to all individuals and groups that are in the information management affairs. Semenitari has been able to adopt internal regulations enforcement process, which implements a quiet environment, and doesn’t seem to portray what demagogues and traducers expect the world to imbibe as the case in Rivers State.

The masses of Rivers State are not propelled into recognising the government out of deceitful information, which does not give room for total freedom. Rather, the people are allowed to see the state through their own periscope, which allows room for constructive criticism and for change to be enhanced. In some cases, there are communications Czars, who misapply information or use incomplete information, for the sole aim of creating endless possibilities to duty, not minding that it would not be exciting sensation if the people found out at last that such information was only meant to deceive.

Semenitari is not cheaper, quicker in handling information, but more efficient. She does not exalt herself like her exalted office. Those who know her have said that she is one government appointees, who communicates with anyone around the state and beyond through text messaging, emails, on any discourses that has to do with on-the-spot response about the government of the Rivers State. It is not easy that Semenitari is flourishing with information governance in the midst of political quagmires in the state, without losing self-consciousness or become mingled with opposing views or becoming the government’s attack dog. She is straightforward, without losing focus in these times of hard challenge.

Semenitari, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Rivers State, who was 46, on May 27, 2013, shares the same birthday with the creation of Rivers State in 1967. On June 10 2011, she was among the six new-Commissioners that were being sworn in by the Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi. Having shown her mettle in the position before, this was after the dissolution of the state executive in which she was prior appointed on October 7, 2009.

Inter alia, her media excellence bagged her ‘‘Most Outstanding Government Spokesman 2012’’ by Andy Briggs Report Award, at the Le Meridian Hotel, Port Harcourt. She is also an award-winning investigative journalist (CNN African Journalist Award in 1997). She has been a writer and editor and publisher of over 22 years, with some of Nigeria’s and America’s media platforms, which amongst them were the Daily Times newspaper, Newswatch Magazine, Sunray Group of newspapers, Broad Street Journal , and the Tell group.

Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, as once Journalism Trainer/Editor with the BBC World Service Trust and a hardworking woman, has to continue with her work in covering areas of being, belief, citizenship, collectivism, culture, democracy, development, equality, freedom, government, human, humanity, ideology, information, mass, motherland, nobility, noble, patriotism, peace, people, person, philosophy, politics, rights, socialism, society, state, statehood, and amongst others.

Odimegwu Onwumere, a Poet/Writer, writes from Rivers State.

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