AfriChat

26/05/2024

𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮

Across the ages, communication has evolved as a crucial component of human development. The centrality of communication is evident when we consider the need for human empowerment aimed at a clear understanding of issues, discussion of ideas, negotiations, and engagement in public debates at the grassroots and national levels. Evidence exists that there is a steady flow of communication between the government, its agencies, and the citizens of Nigeria. On a regular basis, we see articles written in "Queens" English in our daily newspapers for the general public to consume; we observe government officials, politicians, and influential figures on television expressing their views and ambitious plans for transforming Nigeria's current state. Views and perspectives, if implemented at the local level and carried out in collaboration with the citizens at the grassroots, will foster growth and development.

However, feedback received from people, and especially those at the grassroots, reveals a significant degree of dissonance, characterised by criminalities, agitations, and a heightened trust deficit. This tends to affirm that where we were decades ago is not significantly different (might be worse) from where we are today as a nation. The question that arises is: what are the underlying causes for this dissonance? Is it that the government and its agencies are not communicating well, or that the citizens have refused to understand? What role do language, the medium of communication and the frequency of communicative acts between the government and the citizens play in this instance? These and more are what I intend to interrogate in a new project on generating insights towards “Optimising Communication Strategies for Cascading Government’s Developmental Initiatives to Local Communities in Nigeria." I would therefore appreciate it if you could take the time to complete the survey by clicking the link below. I promise you, it won’t take more than 2 minutes.

Many thanks.

This study seeks to interrogate the communication gap that exists between the government and the citizens at the grassroots. Evidence exists that the government and its agencies always communicate with the citizens. However, a cursory check reveals that these communicative acts get lost or lose mean...

28/02/2024

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
Balance in the media means giving all views, perspectives, and opinions a fair chance of being heard. This simply means that as responsible citizens, we are expected to share the positives in addition to the negatives.

It also means giving two opposing parties an equal chance of being heard, as we experience during seasons of elections and politics. If you give a 30-minute audience to Party A, it is expected that you also give a 30-minute audience to Party B.

To what then should we attribute this unwholesome practice of asking for a fee to broadcast positives while all negative news is shared free of charge? To tell the world about the kidnapping of scores of travellers on a road trip by bandits costs nothing in monetary terms. But sadly, private sector operators must pay for their social responsibility initiatives to be shared across virtually all media platforms. This is more prevalent in the media of television and brings to the fore the challenge of revenue generation in the media ecosystem.

The question then is, what is responsible for this disturbing trend? What factors do you think fuel this act that veers away from the social responsibility function of the media? Are there other ethically sound approaches to revenue generation open to the media houses if they fail to charge fees to disseminate positive news?

Please share your views.

06/05/2023

Elon Musk's idea of the hyperloop has been given life in China, with the country set to build the world's first hyperloop train between Shanghai and Hangzhou by 2035.

While Musk's companies never ventured into actually building the system, China has heavily invested in high-speed rail networks and gained expertise, which can now be applied to the development of hyperloop technology.

16/04/2023

Canton Fair Official Website

24/12/2022

Seasons' Greetings to you all. May the festivities usher in a New Year filled with grand opportunities.

20/10/2022

12/09/2022

22/07/2022

The big question is whether the benefits of this relationship is mutual.

African countries are indebted to China to the tune of $140 billion and most of them are the verge of default, according to reports released recently by IMF.

25/06/2022

09/06/2022

Working for a new company educates employees on the overall uncertainty of a workforce in flux.

27/05/2022

Far too often, we're led to believe at a young age that there's a limit to how much we can earn … and it's high time to shake that idea.