A former senator representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi and an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Ilorin, Lambe Mustapha, have stressed on the need for journalists to be projected in the course of doing their jobs.
They stated this while speaking with Journalists as part of activities to the International day to end impunity for crime against journalists, on the popular Yoruba current affairs programme on Unilorin FM radio 89.3 titled ‘Oro to n lo’ anchored by the General Manager of the radio, Mr. Ibrahim Idris Alooma.
Sen. Adeyemi said that Journalists are like soldiers going to the war front everyday without guns and arms, so, they need laws to protect them and also should be able to get justce when being harrashed or assulted in the course of doing their jobs.
He stressed further that journalists must perform their duities with fear of God, truth and open mind.
The versatile and eloquent journalist cum politician also opined that media practitioners would be rewarded here and at the here after if they dilligenly discharged their duities.
Also speaking, Dr. Mustapha Lambe said that the journalists are indespensible in our society because who ever go against journalists are enemies of God. Whoever comit crime against journalists must not go unpunished.
The media guru further that journalists must be balanced, fair and factual in their reportage to avoid being biased adding that, “a society without journalists is not only incomplete but cannot progress.”
The erudite scholar said journalists are the agenda setters ,who bridge gaps between the governors and the governed adding that laws must be upheld to protect journalists in Nigeria and periodic training and retrainining must be given to them.
“Objectivity must not be jetitioned by Journalists because the profession and the professionals are properly guided and guarded by established rules and laws” he said.
