Lai Mohammed

Being the Address by the  Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, during his meeting with the Director-General of the National
Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Agency’s 37 State/FCT Directors at  the Radio House in Abuja on Friday, Nov. 20th 2015. He reveals a planned massive campaign to get Nigerians drive President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption and  Boko Haram wars.

As I have said at several fora since my assumption of duties as the Hon. Minister for Information and Culture, the Buhari Administration rode to office on the wings of the Change Mantra. With the President leading the way through personal examples, Nigerians are beginning to come to terms with the fact that indeed, change is here. Now, it is time for us to take a significant next step, and that next step is encapsulated in my vision as the Hon.Minister of Information and Culture, which is to leverage the unique power of information and culture to drive the change agenda of the Buhari Administration, with a view to ensuring that Nigerians take ownership of the agenda to bring about a paradigm shift in the way they do things.

I have therefore called this special meeting with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) because of the importance of the organization to the actualization of the Change Mantra of the Buhari Administration. Simply put, the NOA will shoulder the bulk of the responsibility of propagating the change agenda. Fortunately, the
agency seems to have prepared for this responsibility, going by its Mission Statement: To consistently raise awareness, provide timely and credible feedback; positively change attitudes, values and behaviours; accurately and adequately inform; and sufficiently mobilize citizens to act in ways that promote peace, harmony; and national development.

 Very soon, this Ministry will launch a massive national reorientation campaign that will be centred around the fact that the change that we all seek will begin with each and everyone of us. Not only must Nigerians buy into the change agenda, they must own it and propagate it. The campaign we plan to run will aim to change the way we behave and our attitudes. We will let Nigerians know that they cannot be doing things the same way and expect a different result, and  that the change they seek begins with them.That is the only way to achieve an enduring change, and the NOA will be required, in line with its mandate, to provide the content to be used by other platforms to drive the change agenda.

Let me elaborate more on the impending campaign. It will provide the missing link in the war against terrorism and the war on corruption. At the moment, only the military component of the war on terror is going on very well. The civilian component is missing. That component involves sensitizing Nigerians to realize that the Boko Haram war is their war, and that it is not just for the military. It
involves making our people to realize that Boko Haram is not about religion. Therefore, it requires the NOA to show uncommon resourcefulness, to create catchy slogans, as well as write imaginative scripts and copies that will motivate and energize Nigerians. I am sure most of your here remember one of the slogans
during the Nigerian Civil War: To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done!
This is the kind of catchy slogans we are talking about.

The same applies to the war against corruption. To Nigerians, this war is being fought only by the President, the Vice President and perhaps the Ministers. It is time to let Nigerians know that it is their war, and that it must be won. Like President Muhammadu Buhari often says, if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. The reality is that grim. Nigerians must take possession of the war against corruption, just like they must take possession of the
war against terrorism.

The impending campaign will task your ingenuity, resourcefulness, competence and capacity. Failure is not an option. We will be calling you again shortly as we finalize the details of the campaign.