Mr. Olumide Akpata, immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA entreats journalists and news media to earn and maintain public trust by observing her professional and ethical standards as enshrined in the Code of Ethics for Journalists in Nigeria.
Akpata stated this while delivering a memorial lecture in honour of Senator (Elder) Anyim Ude, MON organized by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ); Senator (Elder) Anyim Ude, died on Monday 15 May 2023.
The lecture titled “Holding their feet to the fire: The Role of the Press and the Law in the Development of Nigeria in a Fake News Era” was delivered on Thursday at the Enugu Sports Club, Enugu on 20th of July 2023.
Connecting dearth of investigative journalism to Fake news era, the NBA immediate past President said, “as nature abhors vacuum, the cost of the dearth of investigative journalism in Nigeria is that citizen journalists have emerged using the instrumentality of Smartphones and social media and they are seriously taking over the traditional role performed by mainstream media, hence the tendency for irresponsible journalism.”
“In this era of Fake News there is no fact-checking and anything goes in an attempt to break news. These citizen journalists are not exposed to the same training that mainstream journalists undertook and they do not subscribe to any code of ethics,” Akpata reiterates.
Frowning at the present state of NUJ and journalism in the nation, the former NBA President asked why present day journalists do not hold government to account.
“Why are you not holding their feet to the fire? What happened to the profession practiced with distinction by the likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Peter Enahoro, Chris Anyanwu, Ernest Ikoli, Dele Giwa, Tunde Thompson Nduka Irabor, Uncle Sam Amuka, Olabisi Onabanjo, Olusegun Osoba and of course late Senator Anyim Ude who we have gathered today to honour?
“Why then are you content to have your noble profession diminished and dismissed with sobriquets like “brown envelope profession?” Are we saying that there are no noble and upright men or women in the profession who are appalled by the actions of a few people who are soiling the profession? To what extent are you willing to go to restore the pride of your profession?” Akpata asked.
To encourage investigative journalism, Mr. Nnanna Udeh son of late Senator Anyim Udeh in honour of his father pronounced one million naira award for the best investigative journalist as recommended by the NUJ.
Senator (Elder) Anyim Udeh, MON, of Iyioji, Akaeze, Ebonyi State in Nigeria died at age 82 on 15th of May, 2023; he was a veteran journalist, broadcaster and administrator with vast experience in public service, especially in media matters
In 2007, he became a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the Ebonyi South constituency; he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
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