By: Ade Adeleke
NUJ seeks streamlining of online media
Don’t be an Oxygen for terrorists, bandits —Experts, NPC tell media
The Nigerian Press Council, NPC, in collaboration with Forte & Henz Limited has commenced training of journalists in the Southwest on the roles of the media in combating Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Nigeria.
The two day workshop holding in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, has participants drawn from the states in the geopolitical zone.
The theme of the Capacity Building Programme is ”THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN COMBATING VIOLENT EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM IN NIGERIA”.
Addressing participants, the Executive Secretary of the NPC, Mr Francis Nwosu said the workshop was aimed at boosting capacity of the media professionals in reporting and farming of terrorism-related happenings.
Nwosu noted that such workshop would still be held in other zones of the country as the first leg of the workshop had taken place in Umuahia, Abia state, for journalists in the Southeast geopolitical Zone.
The NPC Executive Secretary explained that “It shows the premium Council places on capacity building programmes for journalists and media professionals, especially at this time when extremism and terrorism are testing the collective resolve of the nation.
“While it is a function of media to inform, and the right of the people to know, the Council has observed that a section of the media has gone over-board in their reportage by engaging in sensationalism and other unethical and unprofessional conducts in order to attract more audience and patronage.
“This is unfortunate since the Press, as the fourth estate of the realm, should be socially responsible by playing a vital role in nation-building.
“This gathering is to sensitize and remind media professionals on the best approach and ways of covering and reporting terrorism and activities of extremists.
“I assure you that our resource persons will do justice to various topics during their presentations as we have assembled some of the bests in the field whose presentations and deliberations will add value to today’s event.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Oyo State Council, Comrade Ademola Babalola described the capacity building by the NPC as timely, saying peace journalism is the in-thing now.
Babalola urged the national leadership of NUJ and his colleagues to use the opportunity of the ongoing NUJ constitution review to grant opportunity to the new media practitioners in order to streamline their activities to be in tandem with the best media practice especially on how to report terrorism matters in the country.
Some of the media experts at the workshop who trained the journalists including a former NPC Executive Secretary, Mr Bayo Atoyebi who delivered lecture on “Code of Ethics and Social Responsibility as parameter for Reporting Terrorism”, urging media professionals not to use their reports to give bandits and terrorists oxygen to perpetrate more evils against the society.
Other experts are Dr Segun Arike who treated “the Role of Media in Maintaining Balance Between Public Right to Know and National Interest”; Dr Olugbenga Abimbola of Mass Comm department, AAUA, Ondo State, who will be lecturing on “The Role of the Media in Countering Terrorism” as well as former Lagos NUJ Chairman, Mrs Olufunke Fadugba who will speak on “Challenges of the Media in Reporting Terrorism”.
The NPC Director, Research and Documentation, Mrs Stella Jibrin enjoined participants to make full use of what they had been taught at the workshop for a better society.
