The Northern Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council, Alhaji Saani Abdul-Razak, has urged journalists operating in the five regions in the northern part of Ghana to consider peace and unity among the people as their priority at all times.
Alhaji Saani said, considering the crucial role media professionals play in the development of the country, it is significant for them to equally ensure that the people in their respective communities live in peace.
Alhaji Saani noted that if journalists find persuading political, chieftaincy, religious, and ethnic issues in their line of work rather than holding on to their professional ethics and the interests of the country, it is problematic and must stop for the betterment of Ghana.
“Today, we have journalists who are pro-NPP, we have journalists who are pro-NDC, we have journalists who are pro-PNC. Not just that, but we have journalists who prefer to persuade tribal interests, to persuade chieftaincy interests, to persuade religious interests; all of these things do not promote peace. Please, let us not use the platforms we have to promote division. Conflicts are not good for our democracy,” he said.
The Northern Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council was speaking in Tamale when FactSpace West Africa, in partnership with USAID, organized a workshop for media professionals from the five northern regions on fact-checking, conflict, and violent extremism reporting.
Alhaji Saani further charged journalists not to countenance misinformation in their reportage, according to him, mis/disinformation can cause so many havocs in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, Mohammed Haruna commended FactSpace for the initiative, considering how fast misinformation can travel lately. Mr. Haruna also mentioned that, due to the government’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, the government, in its wisdom, has introduced the “See Something, Say Something” campaign to raise public awareness of the signs of terrorism and terrorism-related crimes.
Prior to the training, FactSpace, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ghana Health Service, trained journalists on how to combat misinformation surrounding public health emergencies and emerging issues relating to the Sahel spillover.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHz|David Azure|Tamale|
