Minister of Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili, has said Nigerians must, as a matter of urgency, learn to tell their story.

Speaking in Abuja at a dinner organized by the minister in honour of the newly elected President of the West African Journalists Association (WAJA), Alhaji Mohammed Garba, Akunyili who expressed deep regret at the manner in which the Nigerian press handled the elevation of Garba, said:

“The elevation of Garba is a vote of confidence by the media community in West Africa on Garba’s ability and leadership qualities. The elevation was also a confirmation of the leadership role of the vibrant Nigerian press in West Africa and the entire African continent.

“When Orji told me that we won in Senegal, I screamed and I said God is faithful; from tomorrow, we shall have good news all the way.

“This is a challenge for the press in this country. It never came out on the front page, it never appeared anywhere. And I want to tell you that if Alhaji Garba had stolen in Senegal, it would have been a front page story.

“You see, we should not laugh over this. We don’t like good news. Bad news will sell but if it is balanced with good news, we will still sell. It never appeared prominently in any newspaper until I highlighted it in Port-Harcourt. Even after that, it didn’t make front page. I beg you, let this make front page. It is about us, it is about you and me, it is about the image of Nigeria and it is about our success. Why can’t we tell the world that something good is happening?” Akunyili asked.

Continuing, Akunyili said: “I want to appeal to the media, to please ensure that as we are exposing criminals, we should also expose the good things, our success story. If you don’t blow your trumpet, nobody will blow it for you.

“Look at the good work we did in Liberia and Sierra Leone under the instrumentality of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). Nobody is talking about it.

On the internet, ECOMOG has been replaced with United Nations (UN). I am not against UN. We are a member but it was through ECOMOG that peace was restored. We lost precious lives and resources and now, you need to see how our people are being treated in those countries because we have not been telling our story and staying on the message.

“We are still fighting in Congo and Darfur. We were at the forefront of dismantling apartheid in South Africa.

“In those days, civil servants contributed a percentage of their salaries; student union movements contributed money as well. All these monies were sent to South Africa to help in the struggle. “But we have not been telling our story and staying on it positively and steadily, that we did this and did that. The average South African does not know what we did for them; the young people have no idea because we have not been telling our story.”