Consider media as critical partners in fight against coronavirus, Oladejo urges Nigerian government

Segun Showunmi in Ibadan

The Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Broadcasting Service (MBS), owners of Impact Business Radio (IBR 92.5Fm Ibadan), and Impact Africa Television (IATV), Deacon Owolabi Oladejo has called on government at all levels to considered media as a critical partners in fight against coronavirus pandemic.

Penpushing reports that Oladejo made this call on Wednesday in an exclusive interview, stressing that media should be considered as one of the frontliners in fight against the ravaging virus, emphasisng the importance of media in reportage of the pandemic to keep public abreast.

The Chief Executive Officer of the notable broadcasting corporation pointed out that the citizens need media to know what is going on, and government also needs the media to tell the people what they are doing to curtail the pandemic.

Penpushing further reports that, the media owner  maintained that coronavirus is not just affecting Nigeria alone, nor Africa, but rather affects the whole world, saying that the pandemic came unaware which means Nigeria do not have a ready-made solution,hence, has no option than turning to copy and paste nation.

The founder of the two media stations advised that government should think about ways to assist the private media houses to survive during and after this pandemic period, by giving grants that beneficiaries wont have to pay back, arrange loans for private media houses and make it easy for them to access, among others.

“Over 90% of privates media houses were affected by unfriendly situation they found themselves, each organization has its own employee, and unemployment rate in Nigeria is alarming, so government should ensure that they do whatever they can do to ensure that these private media houses don’t pack off.”

“Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria BON, knows those private media houses that it registered, and Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation, NBC has numbers of broadcasting licenses they have issued, so its easier for them to know media houses that needs assistance.”

Penpushing also reports that Oladejo expressed  his displeasure over handling of coronavirus pandemic by the Federal and State government, saying that government not doing enough to curtailed the effect of the virus among it citizenry.

The Chief Executive  lamented challenges been faced by private media house as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, noting that the pandemic has caused a negative effects on the operations of privates media houses.

“Generally, Media is part of the society, so we are also affected by the pandemic, private media houses were struggling even before this crisis, most of them were not operating at economic level, they were subsiding, unfortunately, we are not even considered as one of the front liners’, Oladejo said

“Private media houses depend on adverts and patronage, but now that the economic has been pulled down, where will the adverts and patronage comes from? Because most of companies bringing adverts have been shut down.”

“Many private media houses are struggling to pay salary of its staff, many of them run on diesels, and the little they are gotten from advert and other stuff is no longer there again, so its crisis upon crisis and we have to do our job.”

Penpushing reports that while answering question on how his media houses have been coping in paying salary of  staff, Oladejo boasted that though he can’t say the actual numbers of private media houses that pays salary or don’t pays, ‘but IBR and IATV is noted as one of the notable private media houses in Nigeria particularly, Oyo State that doesn’t owe its staff’.