The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Thursday, solicited the collaboration of the media in efficient disaster management in Plateau.
Mr Eugene Nyelong, the Zonal Coordinator of the agency in the North Central, made the call during a one-day training on disaster management for journalists in Plateau.
The training with the theme “The Role of the Media in Disaster Management”, was organised in collaboration with the Plateau Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ)
Nyelong, represented by Bintu Wana, the Chief of Accountant of NEMA, called for cordial relationship with the media industry in taking the right measures to avert disasters and also adopt effective management strategies in averting incidences such as fire, accident, flooding across the state.
”Because natural disasters are inevitable, the media plays key roles in sensitising and through their stories shape the thinking of people toward disaster management ad risk reduction.
“Disaster management is a continuous process of administering and coordinating prevention, preparedness, response and relief to victims is everybody’s business including partners like the media.
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“This, therefore underscores the need for a continuous workshop of this nature.
“The media wields so much power as to tell the story as it is or otherwise thereby shaping perspectives of millions of people leading to divergent reaction.
“This training, therefore, is to expose or share field experiences and chat an informed way forward for a professional management and reportage do disaster or emergencies as the case may be,”he said.
Also speaking, Mr Paul Jatau, Chiarman of the NUJ in Plateau, thanked NEMA for the training and described it as “apt”.
He added that the exercise would further sensitise members of the union to understand how best to report disaster issues.“This training is apt; it will help us know how best to report disaster issues.“It is my hope that by the time we leave here, our language, grammar and terminologies about disaster management will change,”he said. (NAN)