House of Representatives Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu has tasked the new media to be innovative and come up with reportorials in local languages in order to engage readers on a larger scale, noting that the 21st century technology has made the job of journalism easy.
He said the form of communicating news was no longer restricted to English, particularly in multilingual society like Nigeria, emphasising that the learned and the unlearned were interested in what is happening across the globe.
The lawmaker stated this while hosting the new media forum at the National Assembly, Abuja.
“Work on yourselves. If you want to write in any language, you must be proficient in the language so that the speakers of that language will understand you when you communicate. That you are online does not restrict you to only English language.
“You could be online in Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Urhobo, Ijaw, Ibibio or any of our indigenous languages.
“In fact, we are looking for how to engage the public in their own language or pidgin English. But anyone you want to use, it must be the one you are proficient in for better communication.
The National Assembly is a big institution, to report about it requires that you must be very good in what you do.
“The idea is very good, the innovation of the New Media is very welcome, but the packaging, the delivery what we are worried about.
“Tradition and convention must give room for innovation. If we are going to achieve, the kind of information management, public engagement that the speaker of the House of Representatives in this 9th Assembly, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila desires, if we are going to achieve the objectives of the legislative agenda of this 9th Assembly as it concerns public engagement, bringing the parliament closer to the people.
“As it involves using the media to educate the people, showcase transparency and accountability, in good governance, using the media to tell our story that will change the narratives that commercial journalism, commercial dissemination of information had before now bastardised the perception of the public image of the National Assembly.
The Spokesman tasked online media men on changing the narrative of the National Assembly through good report on activities of the legislature, noting that people are yet to appreciate what the lawmakers are doing, hence the bashing on all fronts by Nigerians.
“The National Assembly has a very fragile image and that has been fueled by wrong narratives pushed through mediums that ordinarily suppose to be telling the stories the way they are.
