— Urge Journalists to stay out of any form of sentiments.
Emmanuel Awari-Jalingo
A veteran Journalist, Media consultant and reporter with Al – Jazeera Newspaper, Ben Adaji has narrated his experiences in the Journalism profession.
In an exclusive Interwie with our Correspondent in Jalingo, said that the NUJ has come of age.
“It has been a very pumpy road for NUJ in Nigeria within this 70 years, for it has been full of ups and downs.
“Like you know, in the 70ths, 80ths and 90ths, there is record of so many Journalists going through vigorous situations in an attempt to do their jobs as Journalists.
“As I am talking to you, between 1997 and 2023, I have gone in and out of prison and police stations Twenty One times. The Police has taken me to Court about Fourteen times and they have not been able to win any of the case against me.
“I won all the cases because I was practicing and writing the truth Journalism of telling the people the truth and holding the government accountable to the masses.
According to him, the essence of Journalism is to serve as the watch dog of the society and most importantly to hold public officers accountable to the masses.
“It is the Journalists that can tell the world weather you have or have not done well on weather the money giving to you was judiciously utilize or diverted.
“In an attempt to do this, many Journalists have gone to prison and many lost their lives trying to hold government accountable to the masses.
“In 1998, I was declared wanted, I ran away from Taraba State for almost three months. When I came back, I was arrested and sent to Karim Lamido Local Government on detention for another three months. I was alone in detention in Police cell for complete three months, until my lawyer have to go to Federal High Court in Yola to seek for my release on account of unlawful detention. That was how Journalism was practice in those days.
“In 1996, about Twenty Seven of us from the NEWS Magazine were all in prison, including the MD, Bayo Onanuga who is the Spokesperson for President Ahmed BolaTinubu, Chief Sunday Dare and others, we were all in prison with them. Some of them were call different names such as “Coup Plotters.” Some of them serves years in prisonment, some convicted to death and some to live imprisonment on the cause of carrying out their official duties.
He pointed out that Journalism Profession have gone down the ground, adding that the essence of Journalism have been thrown on the dustbin.
“People no longer practice what it suppose to be, for they are just after money and money, this is very unfortunate.
“If you are able to do this job well, money will look for you. You don’t need to go after money, but money will look for you.
“You don’t go to assignments and be waiting for money to be given to you. You allow money to come naturally when you do your job well.
He disclose that with the advent of the Social Media, everybody has become a Journalist, making the Profession become all comers game and encourage the incoming Journalists to stand firm.
He urge Journalists to stay out of any form of sentiments.
“This has come into the practice of Journalism now adays inform of Tribal or Religious, that is not what Journalism suppose to be.
“Journalism is for you to hold people accountable no matter who he or she is. You must stand firm at all times without any influence, so that you can be able to do your job well.
“We should be able to come back and think of how to reposition Journalism in Nigeria.
The Veteran Journalist urge Journalists to always go for investigative journalism to uproot what is hidden and also look at human angel stories and sectors attached to governance.
“I am very sceptical on the type of Journalists now, and if we allowe it to continue, the future of Journalism will be at stake, for everybody will become a Journalist and when everybody become, the Profession will be at stake.
On challenges faced by Journalists while carrying out their official duties, he said:
“In those days when I was working with TEMPO Magazine, they pay me well, if I am going for an assignment, before I take off, I will be given money for transportation, accomodation and logistics, but now it is no longer obtainable in this days.
“Journalists are giving Introductory letters only to serve as meal tickets. Your introductory letter to NUJ, Government and Chapel, is now a meal ticket which is not supposed to be so.
He blame Media Organizations for not taking care of their staff in the areas of payment of Salaries, welfare and other logistics.
“A very serious minded Media Organization should be able to take care of its staff.
He pointed out that Social Media as another challenge.
“Everyone is now a Journalist. Before you go for assignments, you will meet hundreds and thousands of social media handlers and they call themselves Journalists, so we should be able to separate who is a Journalist and who is not.
“The NUJ should set up a regulatory body to identify such situation so as to remedy it.
He disclose that lack of insensitive and welfare is another major challenge that Journalists faced.
“Governments should see Journalists as integral part of governance. Though it is not a right for Government Organizations to see to the welfare of Journalists, because it is the responsibility of the Media Organization, but Government should consider Journalists as partners in progress and development.
“Government should also be able to liberate on some welfare to Journalists so as to make their stay comfortable.
“The danger in another way is that, when Government make provision for welfare, they will be expecting Journalists to dance to their music.
Adaji call on Journalists to restrain themselves from the brown envelope syndrome.
“I know that things are hard, but we should restrain ourselves from the brown envelope syndrome. As I earlier said, if you do your job well money will look for you.
“You should respect yourselves and any other things attached to Journalism will come to you. Our people should desist from going from one office to another to beg.
“Journalism is not a begging arena. We should practice the profession deligently – he advised.