17th May, 2024
By Grace Alegba
A Lagos lawmaker, Abiodun Tobun, on Thursday called on media experts to practise responsible journalism and help to promote unity among Nigerians.
Tobun, who represents Epe Constituency 1, in the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the call at the official inauguration of Duke TV Online Studio and Equipment Launch, at Ikeja.
The event had the theme: “Role of the Media in a Volatile Economic Climate”.
The lawmaker, Chairman, House Committee on Commerce, Cooperative, Trade and Investments, urged the media to use their reportage to calm frayed nerves.
He said that current economic challenges in the nation had made several people edgy, and any misinformation or disinformation could cause crisis, citing the EndSARS protests as example.
“We expect media to come up with facts and professionalism,” he said.
He advised Duke TV to abide by ethics of journalism, praying that the medium would correct several infractions in the media space.
“Media are the catalyst between the leaders and the led. Any information that you give that is not true will cause mayhem in our volatile environment,” he said.
Mr Olabode Garbadeen, CEO Duke TV, promised to bring in initiatives to ensure accuracy and professionalism in information management.
He said this was to prevent conflicts and promote harmony in communities across the nation.
Garbadeen, a Public Speaker/ Public Affairs Analyst, philanthropist and former Commissioner, Lagos State Local Government Civil Service Commission, also called for professionalism.
He assured that his former political inclinations would not affect his judgement of fairness.
“Where you cannot speak the truth, you keep quiet; at Duke TV we will never take sides, we will never do that,” the Duke TV founder said.
Garbadeen, who is also the Director General, Eternal Care Foundation, said the Duke TV Online concept was an age-long dream.
He said it followed his passion for journalism and desire to add value to information dissemination and social mobilisation.
He said his flair for writing was inborn, and he had authored several books and over 6,000 articles.
Oba Nurudeen Osoja, a traditional ruler who is the Onikogbo of Ikogbo Kingdom in Ogun, congratulated Garbadeen and urged him to use Duke TV to raise the bar of journalism in Nigeria.
Olori Abiodun Animashaun, elder sister of the host, described her brother as an achiever.
She hoped that Garbadeen’s passion for doing things right would revolutionise the nation’s media space positively.
The guest speaker, Tunde Jakande, the General Manager LG News, spoke on the theme: “Role of the Media in a Volatile Economic Climate”.
He urged Duke TV to practise responsible journalism.
Jakande enumerated the negative consequences of social media, noting that some countries were already planning to ban tiktok.
He called on government to regulate the social media, while urging the Nigeria Union of Journalists and Nigerian Guild of Editors to do more to curb unethical media practices.
Giving a keynote, he gave historical background and evolution of the media through centuries to the modern day digital forms.
He noted developments from the year 2000, with the introduction of the internet.
“Basically, it seems like everybody is now a medium,” he said.
Jakande, a former reporter in NTA, explained the role of the media in the nation while listing the types, and rudiments of journalism.
He also explained difficult times and other hazards that media experts and organisations go through while trying to bring out the truth in the nation.
He urged the media practitioners to shun sensationalism and report issues that unite and bring progress to the society and nation at large. (NAN)