Niger NUJ mourns NTA’s Jemima Bassi
Niger NUJ mourns NTA’s Jemima Bassi
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Niger State Council, has expressed shock over the death of Mrs Jemima Sadiq Bassi of NTA Minna, describing her as a committed, hardworking and jovial journalist who devoted her life to the service of God and humanity.
In a condolence message issued by the state Secretary of NUJ, Comrade Usman Chiji, described Bassi’s death as a great loss not only to the bereaved family, but the entire practicing journalists in the state.
The statement stated that the union is pained by the demise of Mrs Bassi but it is consoled by the fact that she lived a life worthy of emulation as a mother, role model and above all, a respected journalist.
The union noted with satisfaction that she brought her wealth of experience and innovation to bear in all her reports.
“Jemima Sadiq Bassi was a simple, committed, hardworking and jovial journalist who devoted her life to the service of God and humanity. The union will continue to remember her for her steadfastness, sincerity, fear of God and love for her chosen career.
“The union on behalf of entire practising journalists in Niger state then prayed to Allah to grant Mrs Jemima Bassi aljanatu firdaus and the bereaved family, management and staff of NTA Minna the strength to bear the irreparable loss,” the statement said.
NIPR Summit: ACF, Afenifere, Ohaneze, others believe in Nigeria Unity- Sirajo
NIPR Summit: ACF, Afenifere, Ohaneze, others believe in Nigeria Unity- Sirajo
President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Malam Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, has said all the socio-cultural groups “believe in the existence of Nigeria as one indivisible entity.”
According to him, “the hot air that the leaders of these groups blow when they speak are products of anger and frustration at what ought to be that is not in place.”
Sirajo stated this Friday when he paid a courtesy call on the chairman/ publisher of Blueprint Newspapers, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi (FNIPR), at the paper’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
He said, “The socio-cultural groups, we know the role they play in terms of generating and sustaining narratives. No matter the agenda behind the narratives you cannot ignore them.
“As of today, we have had sit-downs with Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Middle Belt Forum, PANDEFF, Afenifere, Northern Elders Forum, and we are meeting with Ohaneze Ndigbo sometime next week in Enugu.
“The important and encouraging thing we have come out with in our engagements with these organisations is that in spite of what we read and what we see in the media it is their abiding faith in the country; despite the hot air that they blow when they are talking.
“So, our conclusion is that that hot air is a product of anger and frustration at what ought to be that is not in place. Of all people, Pa Adebanjo was telling us last week that nobody has more faith in Nigeria than him, which was quite at variance with the picture we have of him.
Sirajo, who lamented the lack of trust among the various ethnic and religious groups in Nigeria, attributed the same to lack of communication.
He, however, said the situation was redeemable through communication.
“The NIPR feels that the situation is not irredeemable. We can get the communication component correct; we would have laid the foundation for the return of sanity to the country. We must come together and discuss issues in a sincere and mature manner. There is no problem that communication cannot solve. Virtually all problems arise from either breakdown or lack of communication.”
He added it was against that backdrop that the NIPR was convening a citizens’ summit with the theme, National Integration, Peace and Security: A pan Nigerian Coalition, which aims at bringing Nigerians from different backgrounds.
Speaking further, he solicited the partnership of Blueprint Newspapers in making the summit a success.
Speaking, the publisher thanked NIPR for intervening in the situation in the country.
He said, “I want to thank you for this intervention you are doing to make sure that we have security in Nigeria. Every war, everything that ever happened in the world, good or bad, ends up in dialogue. Whether you like it or not you can fight all the fights, the only way to settle it is that you have to come to the table.
“Unfortunately, some will die, others will get maimed, and property will be lost. We don’t want that to continue to happen. But I think this a very good intervention by the Institute to ensure that people begin to communicate, because it is only through communication that conflicts can be resolved.”
He pledged the commitment of Blueprint towards the success of the national dialogue.
On the NIPR Security Summit for National Intergartion By Sharon Olatunde
On the NIPR Security Summit for National Intergartion
By Sharon Olatunde
Recently, the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) announces its plan to host a summit on national integration, peace and security in the country.
The President of NIPR, Malam Mukhtar Sirajo said the Institute’s decision to seek peace in the country went beyond using the front-line kinetic warfare.
He said the Summit would complement the efforts of security agencies, as there was now a pressing need to seek a people-to-people approach to restore public confidence.
He noted further that the efforts of the NIPR in the search for peace in the country were by no means an attempt to erode the efforts of the armed forces and security agencies, but a task that the Institute had set for itself. because of the patriotic citizens he paraded as members.
As a university student, I am aware that Nigeria currently faces security challenges on several fronts. In the northeast, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have killed tens of thousands of citizens over the past decade, displaced millions, and caused a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Likewise, in the northwest, conflict between herders and farmers have escalated amid a broader deterioration in security conditions involving cattle rustling, kidnapping, ethnic massacres, and emergent Islamist extremist activity.
In addition, farmer-herder violence also has surged in the north-central, where disputes over resource access coincide with ethno-religious cleavages between Christian and Muslim communities.
Concurrently, In the south, criminality and militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta have impeded development and contributed to insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea for decades.
Military measures aimed at ending the destructive onslaught of bandits, kidnappers, terrorist and attacks fueled by ethnic chauvinism seem to be taking long to achieve. This implies that peace and security will continue to elude the country’s development unless some other actions are pursued as alternative means of attaining sustainable tranquility in the country.
That is why we must commend the NIPR for the proposed summit because other methods of fostering peace and harmony could be put into account which may entail the use of public relations that involves establishing and maintaining relationship among the citizens through peace advocacies. This will subtly and surely revise the violent disposition of potential suspects to criminalities through the use of communication.
It gladdens my heart that the NIPR is organizing the summit because of the prevailing situation in the country.
As young person, I wonder sometimes if our elders are telling us the truth that they grew up in a country were peace and harmony reign. Where primordial considerations did blind the leaders in making decision. Where people of different faiths and tribes lived harmoniously peaceful; where cases of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism where non-existence….. A lot of such nostalgic narratives always fill my ears.
I believe as a student of Mass Communication that through effective Public Relations strategies, a campaign safety and security can go along way in reestablishing mutual relationship not only between the government but among the citizens towards a greater and prosperous nation.
The citizens, especially the youths should be educated on security consciousness and national unity. This can be achieved through awareness campaign for peaceful coexistence.
In addition, we should be patriotic and contribute towards building a safe united nation. We should be vigilant in the community by cooperating and providing useful information to the security agencies on strange movements and suspicious activities.
Sharon Olatunde
[email protected]
Mass Communication Department
Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti
Ekiti State
VACANCY/JOB: Marketing Communication Officer (Entry Level), Babymigo
VACANCY/JOB: Marketing Communication Officer (Entry Level), Babymigo
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Nigeria needs national integration, peace, security summit – NIPR
Nigeria needs national integration, peace, security summit – NIPR
The Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has announced plans to organise a Citizens Summit on National Integration, Peace and Security to help stem the tide of problems facing Nigeria. The NIPR said the Summit which is meant to address issues of marginalisation, agitations, among others; once completed, it will ensure its resolutions see the light of day. This was disclosed by Barr. Haroun Audu, Member NIPR Governing Council, during the inauguration of Plateau State Planning and Coordinating Committee and Sub Committees of the body’s Citizens’ Summit on National Integration, Peace and Security, in Jos, the State Capital. Haroun said, “The Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Governing Council has come to terms with the fact that the current conversation about mutual coexistence is been dictated by people who have narrow views, who will rather prefer that we disintegrate, and these are people who don’t represent the best of us. “And we find out that a lot of the conversation is being held in silos; people are living in their little corners and throwing invective, and exchanging all manners of words and phrases that do not aid the good of the country. “We have agreed as a Governing Council of the NIPR to stage what is call, a Citizens Summit on National Integration, Peace and Security. “The ideal thing being, we need the people to talk, as communication is an oil and if we deploy it rightly, we can have a sincere conversation about our different challenges. He maintained that, “As an Institute, we don’t pretend, Nigeria is faced with many problems, any of these problems are capable of being discussed and resolved, via non violent communication. “So the idea is to hold a Citizenship Summit in the 36 States of the federation, at the six geopolitical zones and eventually with the national summit that will hold between November/December”, he explained. He added that the participants will be drawn from over 34 sociocultural professional entities across the country. “We are consulting with all of them; and so far Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Arewa Consultative Forum, NUJ, BON, Afenifere, Leadership of the South-South, and just about everybody that you know has had a comment or the other to make. “The calls or agitations about marginalisation, distribution of offices, resource control and most importantly, about security provisions; we have to integrate them into this and all the security agencies have also been integrated as part of this. “And we are pleased to announce that in the last eight weeks, all our consultations with these broad sections of people have yielded positive outcomes; everybody has agreed to be on board, including the government as well”. Haroun assured that the NIPR will do its best to ensure that the outcome of the summit sees the light of the day. “The difference is that the NIPR by virtue of its professional standing, is a body that practices, trains and advocates for relationship building”, he explained. “We are going to insist that the outcome of this summit at the three levels is going to be carried through a specific mechanism for advocacy. He added that, “Post summit, we will engage stakeholders especially in the public sector because at the end of the day; government is central because they bear the primary responsibility of the welfare and security of the citizenry”. The Governing Council member assured that an advocacy platform will be activated at the end of the Summit to continue to make whether is the State House of Assembly or the State Command or whatever is not allowed to go to sleep; until they begin to engage and provide solution, that would be done at all the aforementioned levels. Also speaking, the Commissioner for Information, Plateau State, Hon. Dan Manjang, said, “National integration seeks for us to look at our diversities and still incorporate those diversities. “Most importantly, peace and security, there is nothing anybody can do without them in this country and the world at large. Manjang said the timing of the Summit is apt. “More so, for us in Plateau State, there can be no Summit more important than this one; because we pride ourselves as the ‘Home of Peace and Tourism’, and that we should cash in on, and we will throw our weight behind this Summit”, he stressed.Rivers NUJ suspends elections over unresolved controversies
Rivers NUJ suspends elections over unresolved controversies
The Rivers State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists has postponed its election.
A new date, however, is yet to be fixed for the exercise which is expected to produce new executives of the NUJ in Rivers state.
The exercise which was expected to hold on Thursday, 12th August was shifted after a controversy broke out during the 7th Triennial Delegate Conference in Port Harcourt.
It took the intervention of the Rivers state commissioner of police Friday Eboka to quell the controversy which led to the decision to shift the exercise to a new date.
According to a communique issued by the credential committee led by Victor Tew, the National leadership of the NUJ, has directed that “status quo ante” before the dissolution of the current exco led by Stanley Job be maintained.
The statement said the South south Zonal president of the NUJ, Edward Ogude who dissolved the exco ” was not mandated by the National President Chris Ishiguzo” and that all the actions taken by him during 7th Triennial Delegate Conference are ” null and void”.
The statement further disclosed that the credentials committee is expected to liaise with the National leadership to resolve all the contending issues in the state council before the election.
2023 Budget: Delta NUJ commends Okowa for Prioritizing Capital Projects
2023 Budget: Delta NUJ commends Okowa for Prioritizing Capital Projects
THE Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Delta State Council, Thursday, said the State Government’s decision to place capital projects over recurrent expenditure in the 2022 budget proposal of N425 billion was indicative of the desire of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s administration to finish strong in 2023. The chapel in a resolution reached the monthly congress of the chapel commended the state government for taking proactive steps in approaching 2022 The Chapel in a statement issued by its Chairman, Comrade Dominic Adewole and Secretary, Comrade Gospel Amaliamifeobu and 41 other members, said the appraisal became necessary at a time when most governors pre-occupied themselves with the politics of 2023. They said the consistent high regard the Governor have for traditional institution culminated in the relative peace and development the state has experienced since 2015. The Chapel in the statement said, “Delta state government, led by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, is very much concerned about the development of the state. His style of blocking all areas of wastages and financial leakages has largely boosted his ‘SMART agenda’, which metamorphosized into a ‘Stronger Delta’ vision. “The Governor’s welfare for citizens was demonstrated with the building and inauguration of the state of the art Secretariat for royal fathers in the state”. They however called on the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration to expedite action in the completion of the State NUJ Secretariat.NUJ Enugu Correspondents’ chapel elects new executives
NUJ Enugu Correspondents’ chapel elects new executives
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Enugu Correspondents’ Chapel, on Thursday, elected new members to pilot its affairs for the next three years. The election at the Union’s Secretariat saw the emergence of Lawrence Njoku of the Guardian Newspapers as Chairman. Others elected were Ignatius Okpara of African Examiner, Vice Chairman, Emma Ugwueze of DAILY POST as Secretary, Moses Oyediran of Daily Times, Assistant Secretary, Patience Ogbodo of Daily Independent, Treasurer and Nnamdi Mbawike of Leadership Newspaper as Financial Secretary. The National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Chris Isiguzo, who is from the chapel, was represented by the zonal Secretary, zone C, Comrade Kenneth Oforma, also a member of the chapel. The election was supervised by the State Council of the Union, led by the chairman, Comrade Rex Arum and the Secretary, Comrade Amaka Speaking on behalf of the National President, Comrade Oforma urged the new leadership to pursue the interest of members as their cardinal objective. He said for any organization to thrive “there must be a clear agenda and a push towards addressing the welfare of members.” Also speaking, the State Council Chairman, Comrade Rex Arum said the peaceful process that heralded the election was a great vindication that a new dawn had come to the union. He urged the new leadership and the members to remain united, stressing “I am very happy that we are one united family today. This is for the good of all of us. “I urge the new leadership to see this mandate as a call for duty.” In his acceptance remarks, the new chairman, Comrade Njoku described the task before the new executive as enormous. “For the fact that this mandate was given collectively, it places on us enormous tasks. It is a responsibility I and my exco have accepted with our whole heart. We are not going to take this support for granted. All we need is your prayers,” he pleaded. NEWSNUJ Enugu Correspondents’ chapel elects new executives.Crisis: NUJ stakeholders meet in Kaduna, slam Isiguzo
Crisis: NUJ stakeholders meet in Kaduna, slam Isiguzo
Stakeholders of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) met in Kaduna State, yesterday, to review the decision and hold the union’s coming delegates’ conference in Imo State, and to save the journalism profession.
The stakeholders, who met behind closed doors, said they had begun consultations on modalities to revive NUJ. According to them, the decision followed what they described as “the regrettable outcome of the recent National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, where caution – as regards the constitution, rule of law and ethical practices – was thrown to the wind by the leadership of the union under the President, Chris Isiguzo.”
Spokesperson for the stakeholders, Wuyah Peter, explained: “The meeting, which was presided over by Isiguzo, deliberately violated the NUJ constitution by approving October 4, 2021 as date for the conference (election day), which is less than two months to the end of the mandate of the current Central Working Committee (CWC).
The development is contrary to the NUJ constitution, which stipulates that the credentials committee should be given three months to organise an election.”
The statement also highlighted, among other issues of concern: “Isiguzo insisted that the election should be held in less than two months which contradicted the union’s constitution. He also padded the list of delegates of some state councils that are his supporters. For example, his state, Abia, which had 16 delegates in the 2018 conference in Abeokuta, was now allocated 20 delegates, while Enugu moved from 25 to 30 delegates, Cross Rivers from 16 to 20, and Ebonyi from 15 to 18.
While issues of safety and security were raised by the Vice President Zone F, Edward Ogude, about the choice of the president’s home state for the delegates conference, he was ignored and, in a mob-like fashion, the election was moved to Abia State.”
The statement noted that journalists, who are meant to be role models in the society, should not drag themselves in the mud for pecuniary and egocentric gains, but should rather project its dignifying and elegant responsibility.
“We appeal to Iziguzo to retrace his steps and avoid laying a catastrophic presence in the history of the union. The union means a lot to us. Don’t allow power and political motives to squander the future of the union through you,” it added.
Gov Badaru mourns Jigawa NUJ Chair
Gov Badaru mourns Jigawa NUJ Chair
Governor Muhammad Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State has expressed shock over the sudden death of the Chairman of the state Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, The Sun Newspapers’ correspondent in Jigawa, Malam Ahmad Abubakar.
Abubakar passed on Tuesday evening at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, after a brief illness at age 55. He left behind a wife and five children.
In a condolence message signed by Habibu Nuhu Kila, Special Adviser on Media and Public Relations to the governor, Badaru described Abubakar’s death as a great loss to the family, the media community and the entire state.
Governor Badaru said the deceased was a promising and dedicated journalist whose contributions to the development of the state in enlightening and educating the public through the medium he represented will ever be remembered.
The Governor sympathized with the family of the deceased, the Management of The Sun Newspaper, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the correspondent chapel for the great loss. He prayed to the Almighty to grant him eternal rest.
Similarly, the NUJ Chairman in Kano, Malam Abbas Ibrahim said Abubakar would be greatly missed in the professional circle in Kano and Jigawa states.
Ibrahim, who described him as a core professional and gentle fellow who easily relates with colleagues, prayed for the Almighty Allah to grant him paradise.
Until his death, Ahmed was the Chairman of Jigawa State correspondents. Funeral arrangement is being perfected as at the time of filing the report