The Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Garba Abari has called on all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government to evolve an information dissemination policy that prioritizes the use of NOA in communicating their programmes and policies to the grassroots as provided for in the NOA statue.
Abari made the call when he paid a working visit to the Director General, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu to strategize on corporate synergy between the two government information organs towards delivering on their respective mandates. The NOA boss said his Agency intends to specifically reach the grassroot and youth populations, two segments he described as critical information targets of government among the Nigerian population.
He said “More than ever before, Nigerians are in need of information on the programmes and policies of government”, adding that VON was a veritable partner of NOA in achieving government’s objective of adequately informing Nigerians, including those in the Diaspora.
In his response, the VON Director General proposed a joint committee comprising NOA, VON and the Foreign Affairs Ministry to hold weekly briefing for the diplomatic community, especially Nigerian diplomats, on government policies and programmes. This, he said, would enable Nigerian missions communicate government policies better to Nigerians in the Diaspora as well as to the world.
He said many Nigerians abroad misconstrue the Change Agenda of government to be all about recovery of looted funds, noting that Change transcends funds recovery, but entails attitudinal change on both personal and organizational levels. He therefore promised that VON will expand its platforms to utilize social media for enlisting the support of Nigerians abroad with clear information on the Change Agenda as the President alone cannot drive the change process.
Okechukwu further observed that over 60% of Nigeria’s population were youths, an advantage he said only three of the ten most populous nations of the world enjoyed, adding that Nigeria must harness that potential in building a better nation by carrying the youth population along on government’s development programmes.