From Ndubuisi Orji
The National Assembly is worried about its image, particularly as the impression over time has been that it is a cesspool of corruption. For many people, the mere mention of the federal legislature in Nigeria, invokes some negative stories like the ‘Toronto certificate scandal’, ‘banana peel’, ‘money-for-budget,’ ‘Ghana-must-Go’, ‘budget padding’, ‘Lawangate’ ‘Dogaragate’ and ‘Sarakigate’, among others.
The foregoing may have a few years ago given rise to the establishment of The Legislative Digest magazine by the National Assembly management, to serve as a voice of the institution.
The initiators had envisaged a one-stop publication that would not only speak for the legislature, but also serve as a repository of well-researched articles on legislative best practices globally.
Unfortunately, the publication, Daily Sun gathered, could not live up to its billing due to poor funding and the usual public sector malaise in Nigeria.
Now, all that seems to be over as the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, last week said the management was determined to reposition the magazine to play a critical role in the legislature. This, he said, would not be possible without continuous training and retraining of the editorial staff of the publication.
Declaring open a capacity building workshop for reporters of the magazine, the Clerk, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Olaide Adelani, explained that “the Legislative Digest magazine is necessitated by the need to educate Nigerians on the workings of the National Assembly.”
“One of the basic objectives of resuscitating it is to tell the National Assembly’s stories from our perspective and to also build the capacity of our staff in speech writing, reporting and other things,” he said.
Aware that many of the reporters did not have journalism backgrounds, he enjoined them to take the training seriously, adding that it would be a routine programme because “we want to make good journalists out of you.”
He used the opportunity to charge journalists in the country to always ensure professionalism in the discharge of their duties, as their role was crucial in democracy.
Adelani harped on the need for Nigerian journalists to be objective, fair and balanced in their reportage, pointing out that it was the only way the media could live up to its role as the watchdog of the society and the fourth estate of the realm.
Editor of the magazine, Dr. Jerry Uhuo, told newsmen that the magazine was designed to give the National Assembly a voice.
According to him, it would serve as a platform to bridge the information gap between the federal legislature and the public.
Uhuo said: “The peculiar nature of the National Assembly is that it has its own style and not many people out there know the workings of this arm of government.
“Some people look at the NASS as an executive arm of government. In this circumstance, the Legislative Digest is a platform that should inform and educate people properly, in order to differentiate between the executive and the legislature.”
He disclosed that the magazine would treat any issue under the sun in a very professional manner, given the array of human capital at its disposal.
To the editor, the repositioned publication would be a new vista in information dissemination on the activities of lawmakers, the National Assembly as an institution and contemporary issues in national and international discourse as they pertain to the legislature.