The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Zone B, has eulogized journalists all over the world, particularly Nigerian journalists in appreciation of their painstaking efforts toward ensuring that the public is properly and broadly informed.
Vice President of the Zone, Comrade Ronke Samo in a release on Tuesday lauded journalists all over the world for remaining resolute, hard-working, and undaunted in the face of myriads of challenges confronting the profession which according to her, included hostile government policies, maltreatment, and assassination of journalists and poor remuneration all over the world.
She particularly identified with the plight of reporters in Nigeria given the fact that findings by reliable monitoring bodies that Nigeria ranked among nations that present a hostile environment for reporting.
Comrade Samo in her release to herald the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD), urged journalists not to relent in their efforts geared toward ensuring that our society is properly, truthfully, and broadly informed in a most professional way in spite of the hostility and threatening environment.
She added that such an undaunting gesture will not only free our society but also defeat the enemies of progress in the shortest possible time.
Noting that today’s celebration of the WPFD has been tagged: “Journalism under digital siege,” she identifies with reporters in this age of digital hostility against the profession, urging them not to lose focus but continue to be resolutely professional.
“Today marks the celebration of our struggle for the freedom of the press and we must rejoice, even in the face of daunting challenges, this is because we have actually been winning the war against several attempts and actions by the hostile stakeholders to gag the press. The freedom of the press ensures justice, fairness, and true freedom of any society and scares away evildoers.
This is the reason we must remain resolutely professional in performing our duty as the fourth estate of the realm.
According to agency reports, the theme of this year’s WPFD spotlights the multiple ways in which journalism is endangered by surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all these on public trust in digital communications.”
“The foregoing shows that our common enemy as Journalists today is the challenge we are facing with being under a digital siege.
While we urge our colleagues to be discreet and professional in performing their duties so as to avoid possible pitfalls and banana peels, we equally urge the state to urgently formulate policies and put in place frameworks that would protect the Press from this emerging threat from advancement in digital technology. This should be done in a most patriotic manner because of the fact that a truly free press will bring progress, fairness, justice, and true freedom to our society.
“On this note, l salute the courage and resilience of our colleagues in performing their duties and also appreciate efforts by all stakeholders, especially friendly and supportive government agencies, non -governmental organizations, and activists, among others in ensuring true freedom for the press.
PR/Morenike Esan
