Shettima spoke in Abuja on Monday during the public presentation of the book “My Life and Journalists Hangout” and the 60th birthday celebration of Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, a veteran journalist and director of news at TVC News.

Shettima urged media practitioners to act as partners in progress with the government by using their platforms to promote informed discourse and national development.

He stressed that the strength of any society lies not merely in the availability of ideas, but in the willingness of citizens and institutions to question and interrogate those ideas.

“A society is destroyed not by the absence of ideas but by the absence of men and women with the courage to interrogate ideas, to test them against reason, and to ask the difficult questions that save a people from the seduction of easy answers,” the vice-president said.

He noted that the media has a crucial role to play in fostering accountability, encouraging critical thinking, and deepening democratic values in the country.

The vice-president also commended Kolade-Otitoju for his contributions to journalism, particularly through his television programme, “Journalists Hangout,” which he said has helped nurture a culture of critical engagement in Nigeria.

Shettima described the programme as a platform that has consistently encouraged robust debate and informed public discourse.

The event drew media professionals, public officials, and other stakeholders who gathered to celebrate Kolade-Otitoju’s career and contributions to the journalism profession.

The post Shettima to media: Be partners in progress, strengthen democracy through constructive journalism first appeared on The Times of Abuja.