8th August, 2015
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Friday received the newly elected President of the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Mr. Waheed Odusile and the executives of Lagos State Council, where he charged them to work assiduously to improve on the standard of the profession in Nigeria.
Speaking at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, the Governor, who congratulated Odusile on his success at the keenly contested election in Abuja few weeks ago, said it was time to justify the confidence of those who voted for him by improving the lot of members of the union.
He emphasized the need for them to utilize the strength of the social media as a platform for repositioning journalism for dynamism and a tool to build a virile and strong nation.
He said, “In this modern day of social media, we need to start to look at what social media means to our journalists and national development”.
“We should be able to look at that area and see how we can improve on the curriculum of the Institute of Journalism and other communication schools where we can start integrating the good side of social media with journalism and development in the best interest of the nation”.
He said no political leadership can thrive without the support of journalists as its role in the polity could not be over emphasized.
” I congratulate Lagos state for producing the president of the NUJ after a long silence in the last 21 years. I am committed to supporting the NUJ, I also want to let you know that what we have in our hands now is to come together and build a viral nation” he said.
Governor Ambode who said he was not against constructive criticism, sought the co-operation of journalists in the task of a safer and more prosperous Lagos, charging the NUJ President to ensure that he uses his good office to transform the landscape of journalism in Nigeria.
“I believe strongly that NUJ and journalists have that platform to assist me, so I will and I do welcome constructive criticism, because they will spur me on to be at alert to do those things that I cannot see 360 degrees. I expect that in this relationship, we would do everything to make Lagos become a safer place, a more prosperous place and a cleaner place, the mantra that we’ve always preached about change should also guide our journey” he said.
Earlier, the President of NUJ, Waheed Odusile, said the team was on the visit to pay homage to the Governor since his victory at the election two weeks ago.
He said the Union was ready to partner and support his government, adding that the change mantra the All Progressives Congress (APC) preaches, is one they have resolved to identify with.
He appealed to the governor to help weed out quacks and fake journalist out of the profession, adding that the association will need the support of government especially lawmakers in form of legislation.
”We need law to flush out quackery from our profession, we need your support to make a law to make quackery a thing of the past in our profession. We want to focus on professionalism”, Odusile said.