UNIMAID seeks stronger media collaboration

From Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri

The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has called for stronger collaboration with the media to improve public communication on the institution’s academic achievements, challenges and prospects.

Acting Director of Information and Media, Malam Abubakar Biye, made the call yesterday in Maiduguri during a familiarisation visit by the university’s communication team to correspondents of media organisations under the aegis of the Borno Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Biye said the university remained grateful to the media for presenting its activities in a manner that sustained public confidence in the institution despite the prolonged security challenges in Borno State.

He said media reports had helped prevent the security situation from discouraging prospective students from other parts of the country from seeking admission to UNIMAID.

“We recognise your contributions even when our institution became a target of attacks by insurgents. Your reports were not presented in ways that could scare students from the southern states and other parts of the northern region from applying to UNIMAID,” he said.

Biye disclosed that the university was reorganising its information arm and upgrading it to a directorate as part of efforts to strengthen its communication structure.

He said the restructuring had led to the appointment of a new Public Relations Officer (PRO), Hajiya Amina Abdullahi.

The new PRO assured journalists of the readiness of the university’s media team to respond promptly to enquiries and provide clarification on its activities.

Abdullahi, a former Adamawa State correspondent of Daily Trust, also appealed to media organisations to sustain the positive public perception of the university through accurate and balanced reporting.