According to Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris, a large percentage of Nigerians no longer have faith in their government. He therefore advocates for public communication to be trusted. This was said by the minister in an exclusive Abuja interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
“What we want is to let Nigerians know the truth from those that should tell the truth. I think it is imperative that trust in public communication should be returned.
“This is because we have seen gradually erosion in the belief and trust of government communication in this country. We have reached a level where most Nigerians don’t even believe what their leaders are telling them and these are leaders the people elected by themselves.
“So, there is a need for us, seeing where we are coming from and seeing that deficit in trust, to begin to, at least maintain the truth at all times, no matter what it costs, so that people can then trust their leaders and the information coming from them,” he said.
The minister believes that telling the truth is the first step and that once the public is aware that the government is telling the truth, those who are providing information must do the same.
He claimed that everyone concerned will be encouraged by the government to always speak the truth.
“We are going to campaign against conveyors of bad news because bad news can lead to destruction, anarchy and disunity. It is absolutely important that we tell the truth at all times, and we are going to encourage all media practitioners to adhere to the values and truth; the values that this profession had taught us,” the minister said.
