PATRICK ABANG, Calabar –
The Chairman, Cross River State Correspondents Chapel, Mrs Eme Offiong has called on media practitioners as well as employers, and the general public to always speak out for journalist during bad days, insisting that journalism is a service to the society.
Mrs. Offiong stated this during a broadcast programme: “The dialogue with Agba Jalingo”, on HitFm Calabar which was monitored by our correspondent.
She enumerated some bad times journalists have had, regretting that sometimes when journalistic works tend to affect those in power, the journalists are left on their own and at the mercy of such very powerful politicians.
Mrs. Offiong, who is the Bureau Chief of Voice of Nigeria, advised practicing journalists in the state to embrace self preservation, task evaluation and resources availability to ensure safety in the discharge of their duties.
“As journalists, is serving the people, serving the government, serving the security agents wrong”.
It brings this question to mind. And so, both ways , men women, we all face this threats and we don’t want it, we don’t like it because we are providing a service”.
“it is not only when it is fairable to the powers that be or the politicians that they should say okay you are doing good, there should also know that as public servants, journalist owe the society a responsibility. It is our duty, it’s our responsibility, we took it up, we knew that there are going to be some bad days, we know it is our responsibility to provide information to the people and we cannot allow whatever it is they do, to deter us from delivering on our jobs.” The chairman emphasized.
“I know that the society expects so much from journalists, they see us as the umpire between them and the government. People should speak up for us. And also, where we work, we should also look inwards, to ensure that protection is there from the media organization itself.
“There are times you fall into difficult times and your organization does not stand in for you, you are just left alone. So besides the laws that are made, our media organizations should speak for us.” She advised.
Also speaking, the Director of Investigations, Civic Media Lab, Mr. Habib Oladipo, gave reasons why perpetrators of crimes against journalists walk free, with special emphasis on the UNESCO Observatory Committee For Killed Journalist’s Latest report which states that killers of journalists work freely in every 9 out of 10 cases.
“The reason for this is because usually those attacks are sponsored by the powers that be. Usually people who have been touched by what the journalists is doing. These people are often very powerful, but they can never be more powerful than the people.
“We now need to find a way of protecting ourselves. We need to protect ourselves while offering a very important service to Nigeria and to humanity.
“The citizens are the only ones that can save the journalists, because when journalists speak truth to power, it is for the benefits of the entire citizenry. And other citizen officials can also come in to ensure that such individuals summit to the people.” Mr Habib said.
The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is a day set aside by the United Nations to call for an end to attacks, assassination, unlawful arrests and detentions, traumas among others to journalists and media professionals across the globe.
First commemorated on November 2, 2013 after the assassination of two French journalists in Mali. Since then, the United Nations and UNESCO marks the day every year to call for an end to all forms of impunity to men of the Fourth Estate of the realm.
In Nigeria, like every other country across the world, journalists who serves as the watch dog of the society are often given a hostile environment to operate. The past three years has seen over 160 journalists attacked in Nigeria and between 2006 and 2021, over 1,200 journalists have been killed for reporting news and bringing information to the public.
While killings are the most extreme form of media censorship, journalists are also subjected to countless threats – ranging from kidnapping, torture and other physical attacks to harassment, particularly in the digital sphere.
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