By Adeleye Kunle
Kayode Adeyipo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Radio Kwara, has urged media practitioners in the country to focus on issues that will unite the nation rather than divide it ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“I want to further advise that as the 2023 general elections approach, the media should generally focus on issues and factors that unite us rather than issues that divide us based on ethnic, religious, and cultural inclinations,” Adeyipo said.
He praised the administration of Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for intervening in time to save the state-owned media outlets, particularly Radio Kwara and Kwara Television, from total collapse.
It will be remembered that the state-owned media outlets were on the verge of collapsing due to poor and outdated equipment, a strike, and unpaid staff salaries and allowances until Governor AbdulRazaq assumed leadership in 2019.
Adeyipo, a veteran journalist, made the remark during a Q&A with journalists in Ilorin, the state capital.
He added that the media houses have received adequate attention under the current administration, which has propelled the stations to function and perform at an optimal level.
Adeyipo cited the recent procurement of two brand new 100-KVA generators for the two electronic media outfits to cater for the stations’ epileptic power supply despite the country’s diesel crisis as proof of the Governor’s determination to put the two stations in a state where they could perform optimally.
“Never in Kwara state’s history has so much resources been devoted to the development and modernization of public media houses,” he said, “which was a sign of Governor AbdulRazaq’s firm belief in free flow of information, which is a necessary and vital ingredient in a democracy.”
The chairman also praised the governor for his approval of the establishment of two additional radio stations in the state, calling it a significant step in the right direction and evidence of the AbdulRazaq administration’s emphasis on effective communication.
As a result, he urged the entire workforce at government-owned media outlets to reciprocate the governor’s gesture by being completely dedicated to duty, allowing their stations to serve as an effective link and feedback mechanism between the government and the governed.
