Former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati, has harped on the need for spokespersons to be good managers of information. He called on journalists in the country to acquire more skills to investigate and analyse economic policies in order to help in reviving Nigeria’s ailing economy.
He also urged them to engage more in critical and developmental journalism to contribute immensely to the diversification of the nation’s economy to avoid imminent recession.
Abati who made the call at a lecture organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ogun State council, to mark its 2015 Press Week, said journalists in the country need to be “economically knowledgeable”.
Abati said he was aware that journalists, including those who covered the State House in Abuja, complained that he sometimes did not take their calls whenever they wanted to get his reaction.
Explaining his position, Abati stated: “Once you are in government, you are no more a journalist. It’s just like a royal court; the king does not go out there, he sends someone to deliver his message to the people. You are an agent to a principal.
Abati said that journalists as the watchdogs of the society must up their game and participate fully in understanding and disseminating of economic policies to promote societal good.
