At a recent workshop in Abuja, which attracted journalists practicing in the northern part of the country, it was established that the nation’s democracy would continue to be endangered until stakeholders in the media industry pay attention to investigative journalism, Raheem Akingbolu reports. As Nigerian democracy continues to attract global attention, participants at a recent workshop
At a recent workshop in Abuja, which attracted journalists practicing in the northern part of the country, it was established that the nation’s democracy would continue to be endangered until stakeholders in the media industry pay attention to investigative journalism, Raheem Akingbolu reports.
As Nigerian democracy continues to attract global attention, participants at a recent workshop held in Abuja challenged the Nigerian Union of Journalists and other stakeholders in the media industry as not doing enough to promote the spirit of investigative reporting, which, according to them, would protect the civil rule from derailing.
The two-day workshop, with the theme: “Investigative Reporting and Methodologies for Institutionalising Transparency and Accountability in the Democratic Process,” was organised by the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, with the support of United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development project (DGD II).
To the participants, no amount of sloganeering and campaign to rid the country of corruption would work unless the players in the media industry accept investigative journalism as a tool to promote transparency and accountability in governance.
The participants, who saw the passage of the Freedom of Information Act as an added advantage, urged journalists to ride on the provisions to expose corruption and raise the bars of accountability, transparency and good governance in Nigeria.
They see the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other media stakeholders as people who are capable of sustaining the tempo of investigative journalism. While urging the stakeholders to continue to act in the defense of press freedom and journalists’ rights, they called on them (NUJ and other relevant bodies) to explore legitimate means to ensure provision of insurance and other welfare packages for journalists.
Source from – THISDAY NEWSPAPER
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