A former president of the Nigerian Guild Of Editors, Garba Shehu, has advised Nigerians to support democracy, saying that democracy as a system of government has no alternative.

Mr Shehu, who was also the senior special assistant on media and publicity to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, said this in an interview with journalists in Lagos.

He spoke on the sideline of the Punch Nigeria Ltd 50th Anniversary Lecture titled “Recovering the Narrative at Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

“Nigerians should continue to support democracy in the country because there is no alternative to it,” Mr Shehu told journalists.

Commending Punch for the 50th anniversary, Mr Shehu said that private media had done a lot for the good of the country.

“The important thing about this ceremony is that it marks the point at which newspaper publishing became diversified in the country.

“At the time Punch came, we had a predominance of the government press. Get me right, the private press was the first in the country, but it died.

“Punch came back and reinvented the private press and today we are living, and around to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

“Our wish and prayer is that the organisation will continue to live on and on, and the private press will continue to thrive,” he said.

He urged Nigerian journalists to equip themselves and acquire skills to cope with the current challenges in the profession and in the country.

“This will help journalists any day. You don’t just confine yourself to the desk as a reporter; learn how to edit, learn how to do photography, learn how to do videos and a lot more.

“With this, in one person, we will have all the skills required for professional journalism.

“In this case, you are employable, you are useful, and even if your organisation has a problem, you can find yourself useful elsewhere,” he added.

Also speaking, Rep. Lovette Idisi, a former House of Representatives member, who represented Ethiope Federal Constituency, said problems facing the country were multi-faceted.

Ms Idisi said: “What we can see is that the present administration is determined to do whatever it will take to ensure that we have a prosperous nation and prosperity for our people.”

He said that the President had been preaching prosperity and had instituted several reforms to achieve this, urging Nigerians to keep hope alive.

Speaking on the anniversary, the former lawmaker said that the Punch newspaper had helped in promoting the vision and aspirations of Delta.

Commending the Punch for the work done in the last 50 years, Mr Idisi encouraged the organisation to keep doing more.

He underscored the need for freedom of speech and expression to deepen democracy.

“Media houses must continue to do their good work and should not be gagged. Media must keep the spirit of liberation flying through the media space,” he said.

The lecture in memory of James Aboderin, the founding chairman, Punch Nigeria Ltd, titled “Recovering the Narrative” was delivered by Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.

The event had in attendance media executives, captains of industries, academics, leaders of thought, and security chiefs, among others.

(NAN)