Kebbi is not invisible: A Rejoinder to Abba Anwar’s media visibility theorem
There is a curious contradiction in Abba Anwar’s article, “Kebbi: The Performing State Nobody Sees.” It begins by acknowledging Governor Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu, as a performing governor, proceeds to accuse his media aides of failing to communicate his achievements, and concludes that Kebbi’s development story is buried beneath a national media blackout. Yet, in […]
Abba Anwar's article "Kebbi: The Performing State Nobody Sees" challenges Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, criticizing his administration's media visibility. Anwar claims Kebbi ranks 31st in media visibility out of Nigeria's states and the Federal Capital Territory, representing less than 1% of national media coverage. He asserts that six out of 1,000 stories about state governments concern Kebbi, with 42% tied to insecurity and only 5% to agriculture.
However, Anwar does not provide sufficient information on how he obtained these statistics or the methodology behind his research. The article appears to be a media audit, yet it lacks the evidence and methodology necessary to support its claims. Anwar conflates media prominence with governmental performance and public value, implying that a governor's visibility in the media directly correlates with effective governance.
However, the proper measures of governance include education, healthcare, infrastructure, agricultural productivity, employment, security, accountability, and the responsible management of public resources. Anwar's article fails to provide the necessary information to verify his findings, turning it into an opinion piece rather than a credible report.
Despite this, the Kebbi State media team remains committed to improving the state's media visibility. The team has engaged major media organisations to highlight the governor's achievements and ongoing development initiatives, demonstrating a deliberate effort to project Kebbi positively through credible media engagement. The team recognises that modern government communication requires a combination of traditional journalism, digital distribution, multimedia storytelling, and strategic media engagement.
While there may be opportunities for further improvement, Anwar's assertion that Kebbi's media visibility is largely due to the incompetence of its media team is unfounded. Various factors, such as population, commercial activity, and political competition, influence media coverage, and Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory have advantages in this regard.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Trust's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
