Kanu Agabi
From: Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
Former Attorney General of the Federation, Senator Kanu Agabi, at the weekend in Calabar, reminded journalists in Nigeria of their crucial role in nation building, charging them not to underestimate their worth.
He gave the admonition while presenting his keynote address during the Press Club meeting of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council, held at Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre, Calabar. Reflecting on the theme of 2013 Media Week in the State: “National Dialogue: Consolidating Nigeria’s Unity”, Agabi said, “You Nigerian Journalists are like Paul in the Bible, you sometimes underestimate yourselves. You do not realize the magnitude of your work”.
He added: “I want you to realize tonight that this country owes you a great deal. I believe if it were not for our Pressmen, our Journalists, this country would have disintegrated long time ago”.
The former Chief Law Officer of Nigeria noted that over the years, with the instrumentality of the pen, the Nigerian media had been able to prove her worth as the only viable opposition in the country.
“For many years, you were the only viable opposition in the country. Even now, I regard the press as the only viable opposition, may God bless you”, he submitted.
Speaking further on the proposed National Dialogue, Agabi maintained that there is absolutely nothing wrong with convening a conference now and that a time would never come in this country when it would be wrong for us to speak up.
“A time would never come in this country when it would be wrong for us to speak to one another. It’s the right thing, the Conference is a good thing, and there is nothing wrong with it”
He called on Nigerians to always respect the constitution, noting that the Constitution is not defective in its entirety as misconstrued by some.
Agabi, who cautioned Nigerians not to strive too much to have a perfect constitution, disclosed that there is no perfect constitution anywhere in the world, noting that the constitution of any country can only get better over time through consistent amendments on different platforms such as the desired National Conference.
He said of the constitution: “it was not given to us a perfect document, those who are looking for perfection in it are wrong” and decried and decried the attitude of Nigerians who often describe the constitution as a fraud, pointing out that it is in obeying it that we would appreciate its strength.
According to Agabi, “the fact remains that we cannot actually achieve this laudable vision through falsehood, rash or spontaneous actions and reactions, as journalists, you need to digest information, analyze it and seek a second opinion in order to create a sense of balance in all circumstances and cautioned that journalism must not be a last resort profession for the unemployed who work against the journalism code of ethics and guild.
Speaking earlier, the State Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Ndoma Akpet, decried the poor remuneration of media workers in the State, Nay, Nigeria.
While thanking the State Government for approving the 22% way-in allowance for some workers in the State, he appealed for an improved welfare package for editorial staff of the Cross River State Newspaper Corporation, (Nigerian Chronicle).
He said the choice of the theme for the 2013 Media week lecture, National Dialogue: Consolidating Nigeria’s Unity, was intended to enable members of the union contribute towards the ongoing national discourse and nation building.
The State helmsman of the Nigeria union of journalists noted that the import of the National Dialogue cannot be over emphasized, hence, the need to fully endorse the initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan in kick starting the process.
In Akpet’s words: “what we are attempting to do today (that is Nigeria) is to bring the national dialogue to our level, to examine what the issues are all about with a view to eliciting our robust participation in the discourse”.
It would be recalled that the 2013 Media Week in the State was flagged off with a road walk by the State Commissioner for Information, Chief Akin Ricketts, on Monday 25th Nov. 2013.
Other activities featured in the weeklong event included; Table competition, Scrabble, Monopoly, as well as Football match between the Correspondent Chapel and the NTA Chapel among others.
admin
