23rd November, 2011
Mass Communication students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been admonished to imbibe the culture of reading in order to gain vast knowledge as well as succeed as journalists in future.
A media aide to the Ogun State governor, Mr. Babs Daramola, stated this at the annual Career Talk Show, organised recently by the graduating students of the Mass Communication Department of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ijebu–Igbo in Ogun State.
The event, held at the School Hall, was well attended by the students, staff of the department and of the school as well as other invited guests, one of them is a popular radio presenter, Mrs. Funke Treasure.
Daramola, who spoke further, advised the Mass Communication students to learn the rudiments of the profession and be ready for the hazardous nature of the job, stating that there is no profession without its ups and downs, while describing journalism as most challenging because of its risk, especially when it comes to investigative aspect of it.
He also decried the poor attitude and ineffectiveness of some Mass Communication graduates coming out for the profession, urging them to have necessary aptitude for the profession and be well groomed in their spoken English.
“If your grammar is so bad, you have no business in journalism except where your uncle knows the general manager of the media house, that is where they will employ you. Such person has no business in broadcast or print journalism,†he stressed.
In another lecture entitled Telling The Nigerian Story: My Personal Experience, delivered by the head of Presentation, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Metropolitan FM in Lagos, Mrs. Funke Treasure-Durodola, highlighted the need to tell Nigerian stories in a more sensitive and mature manner.
“Let us speak the truth of the burden of Nigerian stories because BBC, VOA and the likes will come and tell our story in a wrong way. You have the responsibility to tell the Nigerian story and speak the burden of your generation as a story teller,†she stated, while advising the youth to create a good image for themselves by shunning divisive tendencies and embrace the attitude of learning from each other before creating for the country.
“Why would you twist your name to sound hip? There is nothing hip in distorting your name; you are trying to distort your culture and history if you do that. Life is a journey and we all are on a trip for we owe it to each other to respect our stories and learn from them,” she admonished and advised the graduating students to be more creative and resourceful when they get a job of their own.
She also urged against compromising stories as a result of inducement.
“As graduates of Mass Communication, you will face compromise in the hands of politicians, employers and other people you will meet; you will face basic needs that will conspire against you to make a demand on the stories you have heard and in the same breath, tell your own story to an onlooker,â€
Treasure added, while advising the students to rediscover themselves and observe all ethics of the profession, saying there is need to champion the course of free press in a democratic society.
In his remarks, the Head of the Mass Communication Department of the institution, Dr. Gbenga Daly, commended the two guest lecturers for their assistance in the effort to produce quality broadcasters from the institution, who have also made remarkable landmark in journalism.