ABEOKUTA – The Vice Chairman, Finance and Appropriation Committee of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Wahab Abiodun Egungbohun has charged Nigerian journalists to embrace responsible journalism practice to save the nation from total collapse.
The soft-spoken lawmaker urged Nigerian youths who are mostly students to become active citizens and use their freedom of speech to demand accountability and drive social change.
Hon. Egungbohun representing Yewa North State Constituency (II) gave the charge on Monday while speaking as a guest speaker at the 2024 week of the Association of Mass Communication Students (AMACOS) in Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, the state capital.
Hon. Egungbohun who spoke on the theme of the week: “Freedom of Information: Connecting Lawmaking and Communication” through his legislative aide, Mr. Ahmed Oluseye, encouraged students to think critically and act responsibly, urging them to use their voices to speak truth to power and demand justice.
The lawmaker also encouraged the students on the impact of the internet on freedom of speech, including the benefits of increased accessibility and the risks of misinformation and hate speech.
He also called for responsible communication practices and the importance of protecting privacy and freedom of speech in the digital age.
His words “The future of our country lies in your hands. Use your voice to speak truth to power and demand justice. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but it comes with great responsibility, use it to promote positive change and social justice”.
On his part, the Chairman, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ogun State chapter, Comrade Michael-Azeez Ogunsiji appealed to graduates of Mass communication to take their profession seriously and not allow experts from other discipline to encroach on journalism.
According to him “Do not give room for professionals from other fields to take over journalism, you must take your profession seriously and strive for excellence in all you do.
“The future of journalism depends on you, do not compromise your values and ethics. Stay true to the principles of journalism and always seek to tell the stories that need to be told, Ogunsiji concluded.
He called on the National and State Assemblies to enact a law that compulsory only graduates of Mass communication to practice the journalism in Nigeria.
He said, “However, as journalists in discharging our duties, we are under obligation “Under Chapter Two of Nigeria Constitution and Section 22, you have the journalistic obligation which empowers you to monitor my government and make them accountable to the people.
“So, it’s a unique, iconic obligation for the journalist how we go about beyond inverted pyramid, substructure? It then means that we should serve not only as agenda setters or gatekeepers but we must bark and necessarily be able to bite when we are supposed to bite.
“But which way for Nigerian journalists as we go into this system, my idea is that we should continue to do what practice, journalism of conscience, journalism of peace, journalism of development, journalism that we serve and give highly worthy signals to the contemporary issues going on in this country, like cases of kidnapping, banditry, cyber, crime and many more.
“We should play the role of mediator. We should be able to call the government to action. We should also support the move to create an enabling environment by trying to elevate this national security problem.
“Therefore, I challenge our policymakers, our governors, President and National and State Assemblies to help us in enacting a law that makes only graduates of journalism to practice the profession. Money bags have taken over with the social media bloggers who have bastardized the ethics of the profession. That is how it’s done in other democracies, and ours cannot be the same, except we are practising adulterated democracy.
“But which way for Nigerian journalists as we go into this system, my idea is that we should continue to do what practice, journalism of conscience, journalism of peace, journalism of development, journalism that we serve and give highly worthy signals to the contemporary issues going on in this country, like cases of kidnapping, banditry, cyber, crime and many more.
“We should play the role of mediator. We should be able to call the government to action. We should also support the move to create an enabling environment by trying to elevate this national security problem.
“In doing so, we must understand the role of the press as a matter of fact, the other name for democracy is a free press. President, please don’t take the press for granted. It is very difficult to take the press for granted. We are partners in progress.
“Please don’t leave the press alone. They will assist you to get sustainable development. Sometimes they will worry you. Yes, that’s part of the training with the newsroom, but you can understand them.”
“You will need them more than they need you, in many cases. They can assist you to stop the excesses of the so-called social media, which in many times has turned to social disaster in our system.
“Our policymakers should ensure they give journalists the right information at the appropriate time to avoid sensational journalism.”
In his remarks, the HOD of the department Mr. Lekan Togunwa urged the students to remember that communication is key to social change, therefore charged them to use their skills to inspire, educate, and empower others.
