BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Special Adviser to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Civic Engagement, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye has described journalism as a strong driver of community and grassroots development.
The governor’s aide noted that media practitioners remained the pivot in development engineering of every polity.
The former lawmaker took the position in his presentation as the guest speaker on the topic: “Journalism: a tool for Grassroots Development,” at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Press Week of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Local Government Chapel, at the NUJ State Secretariat, Osogbo.
Highlighting the function of the mass media in grassroots mobilisation, Oyintiloye likened it to the Civic Engagement initiative of Governor Oyetola, created with the intent of reaching out to the grassroots with a view to harnessing the opinions and yearnings of the masses into the policy formulation process thereby facilitating an inclusive and participatory governance which would bridge the government-people gap.
The Special Adviser then charged the media practitioners on developmental journalism which he described as one that looks beyond the conventional news and feature criteria, and develops the ability to offer news and feature stories that would be useful to readers, viewers and listeners in rural areas in a variety of ways.
“This would help in achieving a high level of consciousness reawakening, re-orientation as well as rebirth of sociopolitical culture among the people, as necessary for sustainable development.
“Development essentially is not a matter of gross national product but the growth of a new consciousness, the movement of human mind, the uplifting of the human spirit and the infusion of human confidence.
“Communication generally promotes development, but does not ensure development, and as such information in development can only be efficient when communication serves as an element of change in collaboration with all other key segments (sectors or services), such as health, education, among others to ensure development,” he noted.
