“It was fantastic.”
– Professor Jibril Aminu, Senator, former Minister , Ambassador, and Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission
“I think it has come at a very opportune and auspicious time. The whole country is worried about hate speeches, they are worried about fake news but more importantly they are worried about the stability of the nation. And what
this conference is all about is to situate free speech in the context of mass communication and in the context of national development. It is a pity I will not be around for the next two days but from the programme I have seen they
are addressing core issues that have to do with the development of the communication industry.”
– Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, Culture &Tourism, Nigeria
“With respect to this conference, I think that it is ground-breaking given its theme ‘Communication, Governance and Development’. Coming from my background, I have been working with sustainable development goals and as I
noted in my goodwill message, the three aspects of the theme are interconnected. More importantly, communication empowers governance even as it empowers development. So in trying to look at the totality of the 17 SDGs
that the UN has adopted, one has to look at how communication runs through all these in as far as implementation is concerned. I think that the role of communication scholarship and practice cannot be overemphasized, so I think
that this comes at an opportune moment when scholars in Nigeria can interact with communication practitioners to look at how they can play a role in enhancing sustainable development not only in Nigeria but also continentally.”
– Prof Fackson Banda – Programme Specialist, Journalism Education & Media Development – UNESCO, Paris.
“It is a very great conference especially as it combines a number of things together. This conference has brought together scholars and professionals of the highest order. I think that there is nobody that can detract or derogate from all the benefits that this conference can bring. So to that extent I think that this conference is a wonderful one. You can see now even from the preliminaries and the opening ceremony, emphasis of hate speeches have been the order of the day and once you begin to project an issue which you want resolved, that issue is most likely to be resolved. I think you look at all the sides to hate speeches. You heard I think as I mentioned in my presentation, that the government needs to be more forthcoming with information so that people don’t speculate, sensationalise or just manufacture stories for want of information. On the other hand, we need to be patriots who want this nation to
grow and avoid hate speeches in order to build the nation; any other thing is contrary to the progress of the nation.”
– Dr Tonnie Iredia, former Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority
“Actually, it has been a very successful opening ceremony. We support the effort being made by ACSPN and the management of Bayero University, Kano. Our presence here as ACCE is to symbolize our unity of purpose; because we belong to the same communication community, whether we are advertisers, press, radio and TV journalists. It has been a very great opening ceremony.
Based on what we have seen, we envisage a fruitful and active participation form scholars and professionals. The conference has international visibility considering the calibre of people it was able to attract from outside the
country. We are part of it but we wish the organisers well..”
Prof. Danjuma Gambo (National coordinator, African Council for Communication Education, Nigeria Chapter.
“Good planning was evident. Welcoming, hostesses were helpful and pleasant. Good space for plenary- well laid out and good flow. Registration corner could have had more space yet its location was appropriate. Evidently, the
organisers were ready to start promptly but for the delay by the dignitaries. Consider having music or better still video to engage the audience as they wait. Perhaps you could consider student productions to raise the profile of the school or better still a documentary or cultural tour of Kano city that would be a guide for visiting participants.”
– Dr Oluyinka Esan, Winchester University, UK
“The opening ceremony is of standard especially the master of ceremony Dr Bala Mohammed. His presentations captivated all in attendance and he was never insulting or boring. Also interesting were the presentations by other
presenters like the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Prof. Aminu Kano’s lecture, which exposed the system Nigeria is practicing and encouraged participants to forge ahead for better governance as the present
administration is also working hard at it. Another intriguing thing is the vote of thanks from some of the participants encouraging all to sit up for better results in the profession. I commend all that planned the opening ceremony.
Kudos.”
– Mrs Andrea Ezeanoikwa, Nassarawa State University, Keffi.
“The confab was successful but a bigger venue should be considered next time. The papers seem to be relevant to communication challenges of the governance and development in Nigeria and to some extent the African continent. It is hoped also that papers presented will be sent online to all participants.”
– Anonymous
“Classic, Well organised and amazing! Very hard work rewarded. Thank you.”
– Dr. Majority Oji
“I come away with a very positive impression about the events. My sense of the theme was with its relevance to issues not only in Nigeria but in other parts of the world. When I was giving my goodwill message, I pointed out the fact that the theme points to SDGs and that the role of communication cannot be underestimated or overestimated with respect to issues of governance and development. It is important that communication scholarship tries to unravel the link between communicative practices and processes of governance in Africa because more often than not policy makers think of communication as an afterthought when they develop policies in these issues. But the central argument of the conference was that in fact communication is pivotal. It enables citizens to participate in decision making, it helps to hold the powerful to account, so I feel that the theme was very relevant and that some of the presentations that were made captured that essence. I was happy to see the breath of the presentations – some looking at the role of the ICTs in communication, others looking at political processes in the country. All of this
seems to me to be very apt and so I was very impressed with that.”
– Fackson Banda – Programme Specialist, Journalism Education & Media Development – UNESCO Paris.
“Wonderful concept – both at the level of the Association/Conference. The body should reflect a more national outlook. It seems it had more of Northerners. They should spread it. .”
– Solomon Chung, Voice of Nigeria
“Considering the calibre of members of this association, I make bold to say that this is an all-important group. The association should work harder to expand its scope”.
– Rotimi Ijikanmi, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
“The programme is fully packed and well attended. All the important personalities’ were able to make it and lots of first hand and fresh insights were given. The organisation or the event is flawless and so captivating that one
cannot ask for more. The venue though relatively small, was well managed by the organisers. I am glad I attended.”
– Dr Abdullahi S. Bashir, MAUTECH, Yola
“The conference is well articulated and sustainable to well established faculty in the field of communication. Consequent upon this, there should be a moderate financial entry to our young fresh graduates into the association, as well as to low income earners in the profession. In the same vein, prompt publicity of the activities of the association should be strictly adhered to regularly and to all the media outlets across the nation. Well done, keep it up in the long run. ”
– Kabiru Haruna, Assistant Chief Information Officer, Federal Ministry of Information (Federal Information Centre, Kano)
“As far as I am concerned the conference should continue to be conducted regularly and every year. This is a very important platform for the review of the role and function of mass media and society. I believe the various problems
confronting us daily in this country can be solved by paying attention to the role which the mass media can play. The media in whatever form has a role of educating and informing the people about the affairs of the society. If this is
taken seriously, most of the problems of ignorance, illiteracy, poverty and general underdevelopment can be wiped out.”
– Aminu M’ohd, Lecturer & Communication Scholar, Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies (AKEILS), Kano
“This is a highly professional body that should demonstrate professionalism in all ramifications. The conference is quite commendable particularly judging from the topical issues like hate speech and fake news it dwelt on. However, it is important for the executive members or the organisers to look into a few issues.”
– Stanley Nwosu, FRCN Headquarters, Abuja
“It is timely and an opportunity for those in the academia to look at the policy of communication in Nigeria and going by the calibre of people who are at this conference, it is apparent that at the end of it, a very strong resolution will
enhance communication in Nigeria.”
– Mallam Garba Muhammad, Commissioner for Information, Kano State
“This is my second edition; I was at the conference in Abuja. And just as it happened in Abuja, I think there aren’t enough days given to the conference. I think there are so many things to talk about in one day of the conference and I know it is an attempt to cover as much ground as possible. I think it is fine because it allows for more participation and it allows people to move around the country and learn which is good for integration.”
– Awwalu Salihu, Lecturer, Nassarawa State University (Retired Director for Public Affairs, NBC)
“It is timely! To take one of the ideas discussed, the issues of governance continue to be at the heart of life today. When we evaluate our history of governance in my view stretching from independence till now, we have had a
patchy record. So, it is important that all the know-how, all it takes should be put towards looking at this issue of governance and the challenge that it poses to us. And not just coming up with solutions but also coming up with ways of getting acceptance by government. It is not enough to study the problem, it is also important to connect with those who will implement the solutions, so that we benefit from wisdom.”
– Dr. Victor Ayedun-Aluma, Department of Mass Communication, University of Jos
“This is the fourth one and I really commend them for doing a good job.”
– Prof Mohammed Gujibawu, University of Maiduguri
