ABUJA – Mr Usman Leman, the National Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists has described the working conditions of Journalists in Nigeria as pitiable.
Leman said this on Tuesday in Abuja during a workshop organised by the Korad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German Foundation, in Collaboration with the German Embassy in Nigeria.
The theme of the workshop was “Free Media in a Free society – Reality or illusion in Nigeria’’?
Leman attributed the poor working conditions of Journalists in the country to many factors ranging from poor remuneration to the absence of insurance cover.
He further noted that media practitioners were not provided with the necessary equipment to help protect themselves in times of conflicts or civil unrest.
He, therefore, urged the government and media house owners to address these lapses in addition to building the capacity of journalists through training programmes as well as investing in their safety.
The secretary-general said that if all these issues were properly addressed, journalists would have the enabling environment to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
He futher urged owners of media houses to fulfil their obligation to their employees by paying them living wages, to ensure that they do not compromise ethics of the profession.
He also charged media practitioners to be professional and ethical because “if a journalist is immoral, there will be no need talking about ethics. [eap_ad_1] “It is very important for journalists to know that these moral and ethical belief systems will come under attack from interest groups but a journalist must come to terms with the right thing to do.’’
Leman also advised that the media should never abandon their role as watchdogs of society as they owe it both to the government and the people.
Also speaking, Mr Faruk Dalhatu of Freedom Radio, Kano, said that until Nigerian journalists began to consider themselves as custodians of public trust, and behave as such, professionalism and ethics would always be compromised.
He, however, observed that there were many journalists who had managed to overcome the challenges of the profession, thereby overcoming negativities.
Dalhatu added that media stakeholders had a role to play in ensuring that the industry thrived, in spite of all the challenges.
“To succeed, all stakeholders must make efforts to encourage the willing participation of newspaper readers, radio listeners, and television viewers in a constructive way,’’ Dalhatu said. (NAN)
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