15th National Waves’ annual lectures: Runsewe, Ajulo, Isiguzo, others speak on deepening Nigeria’s tourism, democracy
By Nsikak Ekpenyong
The Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, renowned lawyer, arbitrator, tutor, orator and civil rights activist, Kayode Abraham Ajulo, National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Christopher Isiguzo and other stakeholders have advocated for the sustenance of Nigeria’s democracy and sustaining the tourism sector.
Speaking Thursday in Abuja, during the 15th Annual Lectures of National Waves, the Publisher/Editor-in-chief of National Waves Newspaper and Magazine, Jimmy Enyeh, said that, in spite of the seeming gloam over the harsh economic conditions, there’s a glimmer of hope in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to put Nigeria’s economy on the right footing, heal the wounds engendered by the election fallouts and restore hope.
He said: “The 15th Annual Lectures of National Waves comes at a time of great national reawakening, cataclysmic changes in our political developments, which among other features have witnessed political transition of governance from one set of political actors to another.
“It’s also a period of social and economic pressures on the marginalized, voiceless, and economically dis-empowered majority of Nigerians as a result of economic meltdown.
“In spite of the seeming gloam over the harsh economic conditions, and highly contested elections which have in the past months, widened the geopolitical fault lines, security challenges and sundry national setbacks, there’s a glimmer of hope in the current administration to do the right thing, put the economy on the right footing, heal the wounds engendered by the election fallouts, and restore hope.”
He added: “It’s in light and context of this that National Waves has decided to use the occasion of its annual lectures to thaw the national tensions by deciding to honour outstanding Nigerians from different walks of life who have done well in private and national life, and have enriched the unending national conversations on the way forward.
The magazine is proud to be associated with the awardees for outstanding contributions they have made to national development.
“The media have been a credible partner in the quest for national development, and for us at National Waves, we are confident that the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will deepen this robust partnership, encourage the media to continue to act as guardians of democracy and national development through friendly body language disposition at all levels of government in form of patronage from ministries, departments and agencies of government through adverts and special projects to showcase their activities and milestones.”
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Also speaking, the Director General, National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, said that Nigeria must do its best to grow the tourism sector as the tourism sector contributes a great deal to our international image and national development.
On his part, the National President of NUJ, Comrade Christopher Isiguzo, said that, though it is the duty of journalists to hold government accountable, as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, journalists must practice the profession responsibly as they are not immune from prosecution, especially when they spread fake news or run foul of the Cyber Crime Act, 2015.
Similarly, renowned lawyer, arbitrator, tutor, orator and civil rights activist, Kayode Abraham Ajulo, said that the judiciary has a lot of rules to play in sustaining Nigeria’s democracy, especially in upholding the rule of law, safeguarding human rights, fighting corruption, handling electoral disputes, ensuring power balance, among others, hence “it should be allowed to breathe and not unduly criticised on social media.”
Highlight of the event was the presentation of awards to different participants who distinguished themselves in different areas in the promotion of democracy and encouragement of the tourism sector.
