The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the China Radio International (CRI) have agreed to work together for the development of the media industry in their respective countries.
Speaking at the headquarters of China Radio International (CRI) during a meeting between the leadership of CRI and delegation of NGE in Beijing, China, the two organisations said establishing such relationship would be mutually beneficial to media practitioners in both countries and would foster better understanding of their operations.
The Deputy Editor-in-Chief of CRI, Ms. Li Ping, said it was delightful to welcome members of NGE to her country. “A Chinese proverb says: All friends come to visit us from afar. It makes us very happy. I’m able to welcome you to Beijing, China, because I was in Abuja for just two days last year. What a shame! I hope to come back to spend more days. The city left a very big impression on me.
“As the capital of Nigeria, Abuja is a big city, but may not be compared with Beijing and the City of New York. But it in terms of its people, Abuja has nice, loving and friendly people whose memories I would not let go.
“I went to a market in Abuja and met a young boy with beautiful paintings and he told me that he would like to be an artist. I was very impressed with the quality of his work and knew that if given the right exposure he would go places.
“The story behind this is that children have aspirations for the future. As media practitioners, it is our duty to promote such aspirations and make sure it sees the light of the day; that is the only way we can guarantee their future and the future of our nations.
“CRI is a media organisation, which started as a radio station, but today as we progress we broadcast in 55 languages and Hausa, a major language in Nigeria is one of the languages of our broadcast.
“In the last five years, we have had a great partnership with the media in Nigeria. Since August 2010, Kano Freedom Radio has provided us with media practitioners for our Hausa service. These journalists help us with our high quality programmes.
“We also invited photo journalists from Nigeria to CRI. We wanted them to come and experience our rich culture and see for themselves how we run our businesses. They went back to tell the stories in pictures in their country.
“CRI has also translated some television dramas in Nigerian language and are quite popular in the country. We also have to our credit a 20-minute documentary in Nigeria. It was mainly about Hausa speaking people in Nigeria.
“This partnership would help in cooperation between Nigeria and China. We hope your visit will help to ensure closer ties with your organisation in particular and Nigeria as a whole.”
While thanking the leadership of CRI for extending the invitation to the NGE, the President, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, said the memories of the visit would remain evergreen in the minds of the visiting members of the organisation.
Mrs. Egbemode informed the Editorial leadership of CRI that NGE was the elite body for media practitioners who have attained the exalted position of editors in the journalism profession, established in 1961 to preserve the traditions and standards of practice of journalism.
She described the reception accorded her team as plush, saying it would foster better understanding of the two countries.
“We have felt the warmth of the Chinese since our arrival. We have beautiful memories of our visit and we shall take them back and share with our colleagues.
“The stories about CRI are inspiring especially your investment in training and retraining of your staff to learn other people’s languages. That is worthy of emulation. The primary objectives of the media are to inform, educate and entertain their various audiences in languages they would understand. To us, you have achieved a lot in this area and we commend your foresight.
“CRI has done well in broadcasting in 55 languages across the world and picking the Hausa language in Nigeria as one of the languages of broadcast is quite inspiring.
“Working with CRI will impact positively on the already established relationship. It will also widen the scope of your operations in Nigeria as we will render assistance in providing materials for your correspondents in Nigeria to broaden their scope. Therefore, your partnership with us offers you a bigger platform for your operations.
“This is a very important visit. It’s the first time, it will not be the last. It will foster understanding and better our relationship,” the President said.
