The Federal Government, Monday raised the alarm that wrong perception about Nigeria to other countries of the world and the international community was stopping the country from nipping in the bud the insecurity challenges currently facing it.
The government also argued that the issue was making it difficult for it to acquire the equipment necessary to deal with the problem of insecurity.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who raised the alarm when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, said the negative image was seriously hindering the support Nigeria ought to get from outside to solve the problems of kidnapping, armed banditry, herdsmen/ farmers clashes and other menace in the country.
Fileding questions from the committee, led by Senator Rochas Okorocha, APC, Imo West, Mohammed said the negative portrayal of Nigeria was being exploited by those creating the wrong perception.
He said: “Some people have been trying to exploit our fault lines on matters of insecurity, such as thefarmers herdsmen clashes. They make it look as if it is Christians against Muslims, Northerns against Southerners and vice versa, creating wrong perceptions for the country in their sentiments-driven narratives.
“It has militated against our attempt to get foreign assistance to tackle insecurity. The country has in different instances, been denied equipment from outside to fight insecurity based on this perception.”
Lai Mohammed, who noted that the Federal Government was working hard to address the problem as well as rewrite the narratives through media engagements at home and abroad, added: “We have been fighting against the wrong perception and shall continue to do so through foreign lobbies and media engagements because it has hampered our development and growth.”
Earlier in his presentation of the 2020 Budget, the Minister submitted that the sum of N105million was proposed for the image laundering which, according to him, is small.
He also lamented gross under-funding of his Ministry by government.
“We are the face of government. The amount of money that was released last year was small, it was actually our creativity and resourcefulness that took us to where we are. The ministry needs sufficient funds to drive its responsibilities,” the minister said.
In his remarks, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Chairman of the Committee, noted that what was proposed for the Ministry in the 2020 budget was small.
He, however, urged the Ministry to think out of the box to make things happen, particularly in the area of tourism and culture.
Okorocha said: “You need to think out of the box to control this image of hopelessness. Think of a programme to showcase our movie stars and you will see the positive multiplier effects it will give to the country.”
