IBADAN – Media owners and governments have been called upon to review upward the salary of media practitioners in the country to enhance better performance.
The Olu of Lisa kingdom, Oba Oladele Odugbemi made the call at the weekend after being decorated as Grand Patron of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Southwest at the union Secretariat in Iyanganku, Ibadan, Oyo state.
Oba Odugbemi said that for media practitioners to carry out their responsibilities effectively, they must be paid well as the fourth estate of the realm since they are crucial in the socio-economic development of a nation.
The monarch urged other stakeholders in the media industry to ensure that developmental journalism should be upheld in their daily reportage for the harmony and coexistence of the country.
Oba Odugbemi, the NUJ South West Grand Patron assured that he would continue to contribute his quota to the growth and development of journalism in the southwest and Nigeria in general.
The Governor of Ogun state, Prince Dapo Abiodun, who bagged the best Governor in infrastructural development in the southwest thanked the leadership of the union for the honour, saying he is ever committed to providing a good road network across the state.
Prince Dapo Abiodun stressed that in less than three years since he assumed the mantle of leadership in the state, he has been able to construct, reconstruct and rehabilitate over 600km roads across the state assuring not to develop a district at the detriment or exclusion of others.
While thanking the NUJ leadership for the award for noticing and appreciating the good works of his administration in the state, Governor Abiodun promised more developmental projects that would be of immense benefit to the people of the state calling on development partners and well-meaning Nigerians to continue to support his administration.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor ( DVC) Administration, Federal University of Oye Ekiti, Prof. Shola Omotola in his lecture titled “2023 general elections and general issues in Nigeria: The media perspective”, said the media must set agenda, provide adequate information, and platform for all candidates to reach the people and also track the campaign promises of various candidates to bring out salient points in their manifesto to guide the electorate when making their choice.
Prof. Omotola speaking on the role of media to guarantee the success of the 2023 general elections, pointed out that media must be careful in the way they analyze and report news stories to avoid promoting hate speeches and fake news as the nation moves into a crucial moment in the nation to avoid heating the polity.
Speaking earlier, the Vice President, NUJ B zone, Comrade Ronke Samo said the media owes society, the duty to properly educate, enlighten and orientate them, stressing that this would help the people to be able to make informed decisions, especially on the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
