MEDIA CREATIVITY IS CRITICAL TO MAKING LAGOS A 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY – COMMISSIONER
The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso has revealed that the creativity of the media sector is critical to the actualisation of Lagos State 21st Century Economy.
Addressing participants at the 7th edition of annual Ngozi Agbo Media Summit with the theme ‘The Nexus: Eye-Opener to the Power of the Media in the 21st Century Entrepreneurship Drive’, held at the University of Lagos, the Commissioner disclosed that making Lagos as a 21st Century Economy requires strategic media initiatives that will unleash the potentials of the State.
Speaking on media relevance to the entrepreneurship drive, Omotoso stated that the media plays an important role in influencing the entrepreneurship phenomenon by creating a discourse that transmits values and images ascribed to entrepreneurship, by providing a career promoting entrepreneurial practices and by encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit in the society.
According to him, even though the mutual affinity between media and entrepreneurship is unique and significant, no study has been made to research such a reciprocal relationship. Hence, the summit’s choice of looking into the nexus between media and entrepreneurial drive is necessary and meaningful.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Sina Thorpe, affirmed that the alarming unemployment rate in the country can be addressed by all social structures, pointing out that the media, in particular, can offer the ultimate solution to this challenge.
“It is a sad commentary to note that most students after graduation await government employment thereby wasting their time and resources on passive job-seeking without a quest to seek soft skills and attitude that will make them secure and retain employment over time”, he said.
He maintained that successive administrations in Lagos State have always come up with an employment trust fund for people with business ideas and skills, noting that the State’s recent empowerment scheme targeting 5,000 to 10,000 women underscores the commitment of the government to improving the standard of living of citizens.
While asserting that the mass media plays the mediatory role of bringing government’s plans to the knowledge of prospective beneficiaries, he implored students to build an attractive personal brand and embrace competence with consistency to ensure they have contributed meaningfully to the development of the State and the country as a whole.
