By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Kwara state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has charged the media to always promote cohesion and security of the country through their reportage.
He gave the advice on Wednesday at the ground finale of the Press Week of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
Abdulrazaq who was represented at the occasion by the commissioner for communications, Harriet Afolabi-Oshatimehin, said media practitioners should continue to uphold ethics of the profession of balance, fairness and truth.
The governor also urged the media to fight spreading of fake news as he noted that the news have been threatening security and stability of the country.
‘My take, would be to further encourage the media to continue to uphold the ethics of the profession which include balance, fairness, and truth. I also urge you to remain committed to national cohesion and security.
“This adherence to the ethics of the noble profession is what sets you apart from ‘emergency journalists’ on the social media who have no regard for truth or balance.
“Also, I urge the media to vigorously fight fake news. The events of the past few weeks have shown us the danger of fake news and unverified or one-sided accounts of events. We saw how fake news almost brought down our country as mobs descended on various public and private facilities.
“That the media was not spared in the melee underscores the fact that fake news and its purveyors constitute existential threats to everyone. There is therefore a need for all of us to face down this threat before it is too late.
“Equally important is for the media to rise against the ‘cancel culture’ now spreading across the social media space. Suddenly, we are having an army of people who regard their own opinion as final on any issue. Anyone who disagrees with their opinion must be mobbed or taken down at all cost.
“This is akin to fascism and must be stopped before it is too late. Democracy recognises multiplicity of opinions and the right of every citizen to hold a contrary view without being haunted for it. I urge the media to join the campaign.”
Earlier, chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Abdulahkeem Garba called on publishers, media owners and leaders of union to expedite action on the need to sponsor a bill against the owing of salaries by employers.
“The passage of this bill when it eventually sails through we believe, will go a long way in reducing the sufferings of media practitioners to a barest minimum,” he said.
Garba explained tha the choice of theme for the press week which is ‘Effectiveness of Party Supremacy in Strengthening Democratic Principles and Promoting National Development” is based on the union’s commitment to the principle of a free press.
He said that as the fourth estate of the realm and watchdog in a democracy, journalists are duty bound, to ensure strict adherence to the fundamental principles of democratic governance under the searchlight of public discourse.
The NUJ leader said these principles which include fundamental human rights, the rule of law, political parties of likeminded citizens, a vibrant civil society could not be achieved without a free press.