The Chairman, House Committee on Culture & Tourism, Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Saleh Mohammed Banga, has made a passionate appeal to the Executive Secretary, the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, to give his state, Borno State, the opportunity of hosting an edition of the institute’s national media workshop, arguing that it was a veritable platform for stakeholders in the sector, especially from the zone, to be properly repositioned for effective service delivery.
Banga, who made the appeal at the just concluded 3-day national media workshop, added that his appeal was not unconnected with how young arts writers, veteran arts writers and journalists, including stakeholders in the culture sector across the country have made very good use of the opportunity created by the media workshop to rub minds, offering useful suggestions on how Nigerian cultures could be packaged for national and international consumption.
Also, as the first participant who received the certificate of participation, at the end of the workshop, Banga expressed his gratitude for the honour done him by the institute, advising that more effort should be put in to get across to other arts writers and cultural communicators in the country.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, who also presented a paper, titled, “The place of media relations in repositioning cultural agencies: Towards a practical approach,” a paper that generated active involvement of participants because of its unique format, called on state governments to respond positively to the institute’s request for hosting of the media workshop, as it would be invaluable in sensitising the masses on the strategic importance of culture in national development.
Ayakoroma further appealed to state governors that not only would the hosting of the programme serve as a platform to awaken cultural pride in stakeholders and reposition culture and arts reporting among journalists across the country, but it will contribute towards promoting the peoples’ culture to have positive impact on the Nigerian economy.
Naseer Saeed Ategba
NICO NCZ