State Of National Polity Angers NUJ

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) is miffed with the current trend in the fabric of the national polity, which is seeking to divide the country, and has urged the media to brace up in the quest to unite the country.
The National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chief Chris Isiguzo, stated this while addressing a press conference at the union’s National Secretariat, in Abuja, yesterday, on the Third Media Conference scheduled for Port Harcourt between June 6 and 9, 2021.
The union also derided the spate of terrorism and banditry, urging the Federal Government to live up to its responsibilities of providing peace and security for all the citizenry.
Isiguzo said the media should be an ally in the fight against all these i against these evils.
According to him, “The responsibility of government is primarily to protect lives and property of its citizens, and therefore, it will be disastrous to allow citizens to lose confidence in its ability to deal with the situation.
“Nigeria’s ranking as one of the members of club of 10 top kidnapping countries in the world and a leading one in Africa is a source of concern for the union, especially as violence in the country has affected millions of Nigerians.”
“Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have so far crossed into neighboring West African countries as refugees and the situation is daily being aggravated by lack of adequate response from Government’’, he disclosed.
Continuing, Isiguzo said the economic well-being of millions of Nigerians have been affected as agricultural activities have been suspended because of inadequate security, and there is a clear and obvious risk of acute food insecurity in the country.
The union has scheduled the 3rd National Media Conference with the: ‘The Media, Insecurity and National Unity’, which has become timely due to the pivotal role of the media as an effective tool for addressing Issues of national unity and insecurity.
‘’While we concede the fact that, the fight against terrorism and banditry are extremely difficult, we believe however that the media can contribute immensely in this regard. There is therefore the need to come together as professionals to look for how government can be properly guided in creating an enabling environment for free press to thrive and serve as catalyst in influencing the right attitude by all Nigerians. This can minimize or even help in defeating terrorism and banditry in the country’’.
He said Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State will officially declare the conference open while Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu will deliver the keynote address.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed will speak on ‘Media against Insecurity: Upholding Ethical Standards’, among other notable speakers.