Bishop The Bishop of Ekiti, Most Rev. Felix Femi Ajakaye has admonished Nigerians to stop presenting the country as “good- for nothing “.
Ajakaye, who is the keynote speaker at the 2025 Media Summit organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),Ekiti State Council argued that ” whoever disparages his or her country is indirectly disparaging his or herself.”
Speaking on the theme : ‘Surmounting the Challenges to the Role of Media as Real Catalyst for Positive and Concrete Change in Nigeria’ the Bishop, who acknowledged the multifarious challenges confronting Nigera ,as a country urged that the media have to be used responsibly towards promoting justice, peace, stability, dialogue, harmony and mutual understanding.
The clergy also urged the media to stand up now more than ever and be more responsive to its role of responsible and investigative journalism instead of joining the political class, some elite, some political leaders, to promote mediocrity, indiscipline, corruption, injustice, insecurity’ and civil unrest in Nigeria.
While charging the media to spearhead the critical war against indiscipline and corruption in all their ramifications , he equally enjoined the media to expose the culprits instead of giving them awards.
“Let all sincere and purposeful stakeholders of good governance in Nigeria harness their talents and strive to promote honesty.
“In the present political dispensation, the media needs to help in the scrutiny of the political aspirants and candidates and to organise political debates among them. People would like to know who these candidates are, their families, their antecedents, their proposed programmes, plans, for the electorate, and other needed useful hints as well.
“Nigeria is our country, let us arise and answer the clarion call to work together as a formidable people with a sincerity of purpose and new orientation in order to make our Nigeria better and stronger and make the country habitable for all and sundry. Let us promote politics of inclusion, while we put an end to politics of exclusion, intimidation and destruction.
Let us inculcate the habit of doing things the right ways for things to be right with us. Notably, it is always BEST to do things the BEST ways for us to have the BEST results. In other words, let us learn to do things right for things to be right with us.
“Concerning our beloved country, Nigeria, let us put an end to the habit of disparaging her, seeing and presenting her in negative ways as if she is good-for-nothing. I tell you here that if one disparages one’s country, one is equally disparaging oneself, because Nigeria is Nigerians, Nigerians are Nigeria. Let us change our negative attitude towards our country.
Like the Americans of the United States of America, no matter who the incumbent President is or the Ruling Political Party, they (the people) will ALWAYS pray for their country thus; God bless America. Let us start doing it. Daily, we need to work and walk our prayer and talk, and give God a chance in our lives. Never be a perpetual complainer. ‘The time you want to use to explain your failure, use that time to succeed.’ (Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, a late Brig-Gen. of the Nigerian Army)
“Think positively and positive things will come your way. Wherever we are, we need to be the change and make the change both in words and deeds. Now, we are to be more united in working and walking together to make our Nigeria better. Unity is strength. Oneness is strength. In unity, in oneness, we are stronger and happier.
“As an ardent believer and promoter of UBUNTU Philosophy, I would like to share it with you here, my brothers, sisters and friends. You know what? I can never be tired of preaching it.
“An anthropologist (an expert in the development of the human person) proposed a game to children of an African Tribe. He put a basket of fruits near a tree and told the kids that the first one to reach the fruits would win them all. When he told them to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying the fruits.
“When asked why they ran like that, as one could have taken all the fruits for oneself, they said, “Ubuntu, how can one of us be happy if all the others are sad?” ‘UBUNTU’ is a philosophy of African tribes that can be summed up as, “I am because we are.”
Really, I am because the other person is. The other person is because I am. That is, I am because you are. You are because I am. No person is an island. We are ALL relational people. God is the SOURCE of our being and we should help one another in our sojourn here on earth since we are all sojourners. This is in line with Aristotle’s words. ‘The unfortunate need people who will be kind to them, the prosperous need people to be kind to them.’ (Aristotle)
Conclusion.
“Since the role of the communicating media transcends the issue of religion, tribal or political inclinations, it behoves the practitioners of this noble profession to discharge their duties with all-purpose intent of promoting love and protecting the integrity of humanity for the glory of God. In this era of globalization where information technology plays a leading role, it becomes more imperative for media practitioners to focus positively on the family because; ‘the power of the media to shape human relationships and influence political and social life both for good and for ill has enormously increased’. (Pope John Paul II in his 2003 World Communications Day Message).”