The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has called on Nigerian media practitioners to use their platforms to promote positive stories that reflect the nation’s history, values, and aspirations.
Issa-Onilu made this call while speaking at the 2025 News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)/Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Week held in Abuja, themed “The Place of the Media in Shaping and Sustaining National Values.”
He said the Nigerian media plays a defining role in shaping the country’s moral fabric and national identity by choosing narratives that promote truth, peace, and unity.
“When the media chooses truth over rumor, context over conjecture, and the public interest over private gain, it sustains the values that hold our society together,” Issa-Onilu said.
“The media is not only a recorder of events but also a preserver of our nation’s moral conscience.”
Commending the News Agency of Nigeria for its professionalism and consistency, Issa-Onilu described NAN as one of the “quiet yet formidable pillars of truth” in Nigerian journalism.
“Though the organization often operates in the background, it has proven to be the silent engine of credibility—ensuring that facts, balance, and context remain central to our national discourse,” he added.
He further urged journalists to always remember the lasting power of their words and reports.
“Every story, headline, and image helps shape how Nigeria is remembered. We are writing history with every word we publish,” he said.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of NAN, Mallam Ali M. Ali, said the agency is repositioning itself to compete with international media giants such as Reuters and the Associated Press.
“It may seem a tall ambition, but we are not daunted,” Ali stated. “As Muhammad Ali said, ‘If your dream doesn’t scare you, you’re not dreaming big enough.’ We’re determined to match global standards.”
While acknowledging challenges of limited funding and infrastructure, Ali praised NAN’s reporters for their resilience, noting that many have won national awards in recent years.
“Despite the odds, our spirit is high. We remain a force of credibility and leadership within the NUJ family,” he said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ikeh, stressed that the media’s power lies not only in informing and educating the public but also in shaping the values that unite the nation.
“We must amplify voices that inspire hope, celebrate resilience, and uphold integrity, fairness, and professionalism,” she said.
Similarly, the Chairman of the NUJ NAN Headquarters Chapel, Comrade Collins Yakubu-Hammer, described the media as a “mirror of society and builder of national identity.”
He emphasized the need for journalists to promote honesty, patriotism, unity, hard work, justice, and respect for human dignity in their reporting.
“In an age where misinformation travels faster than truth, our duty is to enlighten rather than divide, to strengthen public trust rather than erode it,” he said.
Yakubu-Hammer added that the annual Press Week provides a vital opportunity for journalists to reflect and recommit to ethical practices that uphold national values and serve the public good.