Abdullahi jalaluddeen (Kano)
Media has been described as the major agent of curtailing numerous challenges that bedevilled the development of the country.
The president of the Nigeria Guild of Editors Mustapha Isa stated this during the opening ceremony of 2021 Biennial Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors taking Place in Kano.
Mr Mustapha Isa said the Nigerian Guild of Editors being an association saddled with the responsibility of promoting the interest of practicing journalist in Nigeria was working tirelessly in ensuring that meeting and workshops were being organized periodically geared towards ensuring sanity in the media profession.
He said despite the challenges the media was facing, it remained focus in bringing the nation together, irrespective of ethnic or religious differences .
“We have our challenges but the only way out is regular and constant peace, which we are advocating for, the media is supposed to work for peaceful coexistence of the nation , irrespective of religious or ethnic differences”
Mustapha isa added that during the Biennial Convention, many issues would be discussed aimed at Enhancing peace and Harmony in the country.
In a remark governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state called on media practitioners all over the country to strictly abide by the ethics of the journalism profession, and avoid anything capable of putting the nation into caos , saying this is the time when the country needed to preach for peace and stability.
“In this digital age, fake news spread like wild fire, and create a bridging for uncertainty which fuel skeptism and distrust, which can lead to lost of lives”
The Governor described Nigerian press as the freest in the world, He said there was the compelling need for media practitioners to effect a paradigm shift in media operations for the nascent democratic system in the country to survive and thrive to the satisfaction of every citizen .
Speaking while presenting a paper tittled “The Media in Covid-19 Era: Challenges and Opportunities” the vice Chancellor of federal university kashere ,Gombe state professor Umaru Pate the pandemic ruthlessly compounded the predicaments of the media in the country leading to the 23 media houses closed shop in 2020 alone.
The Director news FRCN Malam sani Suleiman and former executive director FRCN Lagos operations were among the participants of the convention, they described the convention as very timely, aimed at uplifting the Journalism profession.
The convention scheduled to hold for three days attracted over three hundred participants from all over the federation.