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The Federal Government in Nigeria has been advised to fully utilize the Media in re-orientating the society on patriotism, discipline, good neighbourliness, peaceful coexistence and adherence to the rule of law.
Governments at all levels as well as the organized private sector (OPS) operators who own media houses have also been told to continue to fund their services, provide adequate working materials and remunerate the workers adequately.
The National Assembly, on its part, has been urged to hasten the passage of the “Journalism Enhancement Bill’ that proposes minimum entry point for editorial staff, conditions of service to commensurate with what obtains at the Federal Civil Service and the payment of hazard allowance to journalists, among others.
These calls were made by participants at a two-day seminar on Media and Society sponsored by the Kano State Government at the NUJ Press Centre in Kano. The seminar which was coordinated by a Kano-based Media Consultancy firm, TEECEE Media Services, and facilitated by the Kano State Ministry of Information, Youth and Culture, was attended by 25 Senior journalists (Editors, Producers, Presenters, Correspondents and Reporters) from media houses in Kano, Ministry of Information and representatives of Kano State council and the Correspondents chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ.
It featured lecture presentations and discussions on various topics by scholars, veterans and working journalists aimed at sensitizing the participants on how best to meet the challenges of the media in a democratic society, discharge their constitutional obligations and operate according to the code of conduct and ethics of the profession.
The Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum represented by his deputy, Hon. Engineer Hamisu Ibrahim Chigari, was the Guest of Honor who declared the seminar open while Kano State Commissioner of Information, Youth and Culture, Comrade Muhammad Garba was the Chief Host. Veteran Journalist, Ace Broadcaster and Media Development Consultant, Alhaji Ahmed Aminu served as Chairman of the occasion while the Director General of Centre for Management Development, CMD, Dr Kabir Kabo Usman, represented by the Director of Learning and Development of the Centre, Mr. Okeniyi Michael Ayobami, was the Guest Speaker.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the seminar and jointly signed by Maje T. Sunusi, Deputy Director of Information, Ministry of Information, Youth and Culture, Kano State; Abdulkadir Ahmed Ibrahim, fnge, Media Consultan/CEO, TeeCee Media Services, Organisers of the Seminar, as well as a representative of the participants, journalists and other workers in the media industry were advised to, among others:
“Perform their duties in accordance with the rule and regulations, code of conduct and ethics, legislations, the guidelines of regulatory and professional bodies and be decent and aboveboard at all times.
“Be conscious of the laws of libel and slander, accurate and fair in reporting events and respect the privacy of individuals, the rights and privileges of children and minors and avoid discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, ethnicity, political affiliation, physical handicap or mental illness.
“Uphold the obligations of the mass media as provided in section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended while complying with section 39 of the Constitution. It is settled that Freedom has to be accompanied by responsibility.
“Be emotionally intelligent at all times, think constructively, act wisely, seek and report the truth and promote public good and national unity.
“Constantly update their knowledge through training and re-training, seminars and refresher courses while employers should ensure regular professional and technical training of their staff to meet the challenges of insufficient and unprofessional manpower.
“Be wary of unaccredited media training institutions that abound in the country while employers, trade unions and professional associations in the media should prioritise the professional and technical trainings of their employees and members at the NTA College, the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) and the National Broadcasting Academy (former Radio Nigeria Staff Training School).”
The National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC) was also called upon to sit up and live up to its responsibilities and put the necessary mechanism in place to check the excesses of some public and private Radio and TV stations in the country for sanity to prevail in the industry and for public good, unity and tranquility.
“The NBC should enforce compliance of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code by owners of broadcast stations and operators of media “training” institutions particularly with regards to recruitment of personnel and the curriculums of broadcast training.
“The Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria should ensure the implementation of the eligibility criteria for entry into and practice of journalism in Nigeria, as contained in the Nigerian Press Council Decree No 85 of 1992:
“All professional and trade unions of media workers and owners notably the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) should partner the Nigerian Press Council and make it mandatory for all potential journalists to register with the relevant professional and regulatory bodies after fulfilling a basic requirement and be accredited to practice. They must also sign to uphold the code of conduct and ethics for Nigerian Journalists,” the communiqué also stated.
While commending Kano State Government for its commitment to resuscitate the Triumph Publishing Company, funding the digitization of its two electronic media outfits in addition to the constant free supply of diesel and the provision of electricity generators, it recommended that the government should do more to bail out Radio Kano with financial support and other logistics.
Moreover, the Seminar unanimously commended the organizers, TeeCee Media Services, Kano State Ministry of Information, Youth and Culture and particularly the Commissioner, Comrade Muhammad Garba, for the facilitation and Kano State Government for funding the event. It was further recommended that a similar seminar, workshop or training be conducted by the organizers for other categories of media workers in the state particularly, Junior Reporters, Producers and Presenters of Political, Current Affairs, Discussion and Variety and Light Entertainment programmes at both Public and Private Radio Stations in the State.
