A One- Day Media Advocacy Meeting :Hon. Comm. Of Information Cum Coordinating Director Speeches

A One- Day Media Advocacy Meeting :Hon. Comm. Of Information  Cum Coordinating Director Speeches 

A SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER FOR INFORMATION AND STRATEGY, ALHAJI ABDULWAHEED ODUSILE DELIVERED ATA ONE-DAY MEDIA ADV ONCOVID-19 VACCINATION UPTAKE ON FEBRUARY 22,2022 AT ROLAK HOTEL AND SUITES, IMOWO, IJEBU-ODE. 

Protocols, 

It gives me great pleasure to address you today at this important meeting of media practitioners in the State. As you know, this meeting was convened to appraise ongoing efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 in our State, particularly the mass immunization campaign launched in the last quarter of 2021.  Without a doubt, roughly two years after the first case of COVID-19 was announced in Nigeria, life seems to be returning to normal with the stringent restrictions imposed at the height of the pandemic now almost totally removed. 

But behind this air of normalcy is the fact that the scourge is far from gone as COVID-19 is still alive and kicking, and spreading in our community, potentially killing people who have not been vaccinated and with a compromised immunity. The battle is yet to be won.     

Part of the goals set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in May, 2021 to stop the spread of the virus reveals the expectation that 10% of the population of every country would have been vaccinated by September, 2021. With this mind-set, several nations of the world including our country, Nigeria, set in motion machineries to actualise the target. 

Unfortunately, as of November, 2021, only 2.81% of the Nigeria’s population of over 200 million had received at least one dose, which was a far cry from set goal. This is irrespective of the fact that COVAX, which comprises a coalition of the WHO and its partners for global equitable access to vaccines, had supplied enough vaccines to the country. Besides, government has continuously publicised the availability, effectiveness, and safeness of the vaccines across the country.  

Furthermore, to scale up demand for the vaccines and make them more accessible, the Nigeria National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), flagged of Covid 19 Mass Vaccination Campaign in most states of the federation, with Ogun as one of the pilot states for the programme. Despite all these, it was quite disturbing that many Nigerians, especially those in the sub-urban and rural areas have not shown sufficient motivation to voluntarily get vaccinated against the virus.

The question to ask is why. Why is this apathy among our people to get vaccinated in spite of government best efforts through making the vaccines accessible? There is no quick or one answer to this, but one area that needs to be looked into is sensitization of the populace to get them sufficiently interested in the vaccines. And there is no better vehicle to use to achieve this than the media, hence this workshop.    

Dear colleagues, we cannot hide from the need for collaborative efforts between government and its partners, one of which is the media, towards further sensitization of our people at the grassroots about the reality of Covid-19. More importantly, we need to jointly formulate practical strategies aimed at communicating the correct messages about the vaccines to our people. 

Given this reality, our government, in partnership with UNICEF, has decided to bring together media practitioners from all corners of the State, particularly those closest to residents from the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, to discuss how to share genuine and correct information about the ongoing mass vaccination exercise. 

I am confident that the array of media practitioners selected for this workshop, will come up with viable strategies to help boost the people’s confidence in the Covax vaccination. On our part as government, we will continue to strengthen our bond with development partners, while ensuring that the well-being of residents is prioritized at all times. 

I want to call on you all to use this opportunity as a springboard for effecting positive behavioural change in our people’s disposition to the covid-19 vaccines. The media, as we all know, is a potent agent capable of collectively achieving this alongside government.  

On this note, I hereby declare the workshop open in the service of humanity and to the glory of Almighty Allah (S.A.W). 

Happy deliberations. 

A WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE COORDINATING DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND STRATEGY, MR. LANRE OGUNYINKA AT A ONE-DAY MEDIA ADVOCACY MEETING ON COVID-19 VACCINATION UPTAKE ON FEBRUARY 22, 2022 AT ROLAK HOTEL AND SUITES, IMOWO, IJEBU-ODE. 

Protocols, 

I welcome you all to this very important meeting, which is aimed at keeping media practitioners in our dear State, abreast of the length that government and its development partners have gone to protect residents from Covid-19 through the ongoing mass vaccination across the State. 

It should be noted, you and I have come a long way in entrenching and upholding the social values, ethos and moral standards of our society, thus ensuring that the public are well-informed about the activities of those that govern them. 

Of course, we have continued to play our part from the time that the global pandemic broke out till date. Meanwhile, until the situation returns to normalcy, the onus is on us to not relent, but consistently remain proactive at dishing out to the public, appropriate information, situation reports and renewed hope, just as government continues to work hard for complete normalcy to return. Gentlemen of the Press, the ongoing mass vaccination exercise, which started last year, is our hope to beat the virus for good. 

Despite the disposition of some of our people to the virus and its consequences for individuals and society alike, the fact remains that the virus is real. As such, we must, as professionals, saddle ourselves with the responsibility of informing the public about the development impetus that would impact positively on their well-being, through awareness campaigns in the form of news reports, articles, features, interviews, documentaries, and other vital means of informing to provoke the right attitudinal change and such that will convince a majority of our people in Nigeria on the reality of the Covid 19 pandemic. More importantly, we have a duty to sensitize our people on the need to get vaccinated in order to survive the various variants of Covid-19. 

Dear members of the fourth estate of the realm, it is pertinent to recognise and duly appreciate a standing partner at all times with our dear state, particular on issues relating to mother and child health care and survival—the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF). The relationship of this renowned world donor agency with Ogun State is purely a partnership that works. 

Consequently, we must also commend our generous media stations that have continued to give us free access, time and continued broadcast of our Facts for Life information to the people of the state as a mark of their corporate social responsibility. We thank you as a responsible government. However, to those that are yet to, we plead “come over to our Macedonia” and help us. 

Here is a clarion call to the media and other stakeholders here and out there that for us to have a peaceful, hygienic, and developed society, it is our collective responsibility. The more reason we are also all here today.    

I hope that you will find this workshop educative and enlightening enough to make you an ambassador of the “Reduce the spread of the Covid 19 campaign”.

Gentlemen of the Press, you are welcome. 

Thank you.