It is "urgent" to pool synergies between African states to create real media groups in Africa in order to "reclaim" the African voice, which had been taken over by foreign media blocs, the head of the Dakar Press House, Bara Ndiaye, stressed, speaking at a forum organized by Radio Ifrikya FM under the theme "The African information agenda: strategies for repositioning the continent's media."
According to Ndiaye, the establishment of African media capable of carrying the African voice "is linked to the sovereignty and stability of the continent.
"In the absence of these media, the opinions of Africans are shaped by foreign media whose content is subject to the agendas and goodwill of their leaders and those who finance them," he said, noting that "most of the programs and broadcasts of these media convey only negative information and are in total contradiction with the interests and image of Africa."
Referring to a study carried out by the French Audiovisual Institute, the head of the Dakar Press House stated that "70% of the programs broadcast by the French media on the African continent are based on conflicts or geopolitical issues".
"It is almost impossible to find programs that evoke investment or achievements in this continent," he noted, saying that this trend is "dangerous because it promotes destabilization and a neocolonial culture."
According to Ndiaye, Algeria is in a position to meet this challenge, given its leadership in the region and its experience in this field.
"Algeria must teach Africa. It is a country forged in pain and suffering. It is capable of defending the true African personality," he said.
Algerian professor and researcher Ahmed Bansaada agreed, affirming that the creation of powerful media groups in Africa will contribute to "immunizing the continent against the dangers and projects of the promoters of instability in Africa".
He stressed that the content and information conveyed and disseminated by foreign media is an integral part of the 4th generation war that foreign powers are resorting to in order to concretize their agendas.
Citing examples of state- and NGO-funded African media, Bensaada called on African leaders to "ban foreign funding, improve the content of African media, and promote partnerships."
A correspondent of Radio Ifrikya FM in Niger, Abdelkrim Amadou, for his part, recalled his own experience with foreign media and testified that "all the media for which he worked required him to focus on issues such as famine, conflict, disease and natural disasters.