G0ODWILL ADDRESS BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS DEVELOPMENT, DR. OLADELE ALAKE, FNGE, AT THE ALL NIGERIA EDITORS CONFERENCE IN UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2023

PROTOCOLS

Dear colleagues in the Fraternity of the Pen,

It gives me great pleasure to join brother fellows, (since we are all gentlemen of the Press), on this auspicious occasion.

We can remember our days as reporters on the beat during the toxic politics of the Second Republic; chroniclers of our country’s fate in the hands of the jackboots during the military interregnums or activists, columnists and strategic political communicators in the democratic dispensation that we have witnessed since 1999.

The first lesson of such a review is that the Press has never been indifferent in determining and navigating the fate of the Nigerian State. We have been indefatigably unapologetic in executing our mandate as the Fourth Estate of the Realm that believes that Nigeria is a gift to the Black race and we must do everything to use information and communication to mobilise our people so that Nigeria can realise the potentials that inspired our founding fathers to develop the African giant with the values of unity in diversity.

The second lesson is that we have sacrificed more than any other institution of government to build the good governance and democracy that we cherish today.
Our media houses have been shut, our members imprisoned, detained and killed. The memories of our matyrs are etched on our psyche: Dele Giwa, the relentless and irrepressible editor and Bagauda Kaltho, the investigative journalist par excellence, among others, represent the blood shed by the Press in the service of Nigeria.

Today, the Nigerian Press continues to perform its traditional functions of information, education and entertainment. It continues to hold the three arms of government – executive, legislative and judicial- accountable to the people. From the local, state to the federal, no tier of government can escape its penetrating surveillance and critical observation.

If we all agree that the freedom of the press is a reliable index of the democratic temper and civilised conduct of the elected representatives, the democratically elected administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should continue to take the credit for sustaining the tempo of enlightened discourse and unfettered exercise of the freedom of the Press.

President Tinubu’s choice of fellows of the Guild, including my humble self, Bayo Onanuga, among other journalists, as key players in his administration is a tacit recognition of the prodigious intellect and prolific capacity of members of the Guild for disseminating truthful information, providing objective and people-oriented counsel in the pursuit of national development.

It is a clarion call on managers of the media to engage and participate in the evolution of responsive governance that puts the man on the street at the centre of public policy.
Perhaps there is no better way to validate this argument that President Tinubu respects the humongous human resource that the Guild possesses than the decision to give the task of making the solid minerals sector the next highest revenue earner to a Fellow of the Guild.

And it is not a mere coincidence that the first step I took as the Honourable Minister of Solid Minerals Development was to apply the agenda setting theory by declaring the Seven Point Agenda that has become the roadmap for the transformation of the sector.
The Agenda, initially adopted by the Federal Executive Council as Draft Policy and now codified as the deliverables of the Administration include the establishment of the Nigerian Solid Minerals Company; Big Data acquisition to derisk investment; formalization of artisanal miners into co-operatives, Security of mines and environment through Mines Police; Socio-economic development of mining communities, Campaign against illegal mining and Compulsory Value Addition to replace export of raw minerals.

I wish to thank fellow editors, news managers and journalists in general for the tremendous support I have received in carrying out this assignment so far.
Like Oliver Twist, I hope to continue to rely on your calls, comments and contributions. I hope to continue to open the newspapers to read your in-depth reports and insightful editorials.
I hope to watch your analysis as you improve your focus on the sector and inform Nigerians of the immense opportunities that it offers.
As we gather here today, I wish happy deliberations and journey mercies home.
Thank you for listening.

DR. OLADELE ALAKE
HONOURABLE MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS DEVELOPMENT