A group of journalists, in collaboration with other concerned Nigerians, have come together to advocate against corruption and violence in the country.
To achieve these twin objectives, the group has floated a Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) called Media Anti-Corruption Initiative (MACI), a vehicle through which it intends to drive the advocacy.
According to the press statement signed by Mr. Funso Olojo, the Secretary of the Board of the NGO, the Chairman of the Board, Captain Adamu Mshelia, said the body, which was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC), is purely an advocacy group which intends to use media platform to drive its vision and objectives.
“We have come together to use media as a vehicle to promote the consciousness in Nigerians that will make them shun any acts of corruption and violence. We want to promote the culture of transparency and accountability in the conduct of businesses in the private and public sectors of the economy.”
“We want to propagate the value of peaceful coexistence among all the ethnic groups in the country that we think, if fully imbibed by all, will reduce, if not eradicate, the amount of violence and bloodshed that is currently ravaging the country”
Captain Mshelia stated that the NGO was not out to rival the existing organisations such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) which have the statutory duties to fight corruption.
“We are not out to rival these government agencies, rather we are poised to complement their efforts through the use of the instrumentality of media. As professional journalists, we believe we can use our media platform to complement the efforts of the government to rid the country of corruption and violence and create a peaceful and egalitarian society,” the Chairman of MACI group explained.
He said the group does not have the power to arrest nor prosecute but only to advocate for a better society.
“We need to make this clarification so that the aims and objectives of this group will not be misconstrued by Nigerians”, Captain Mshelia stated.
He stressed that the group shall hold people in the positions of authority both in the public and private sectors accountable to their actions and inaction, adding that this is in tandem with the sacred duties of the media which the group represents.
Mshelia, therefore, solicited for the support, cooperation, and encouragement of all the stakeholders in the Nigerian project to enable the advocacy group to succeed in its task of creating a conscionable and peaceful society.
