ADDRESS BY NUJ PRESIDENT, CHRISTOPHER ISIGUZO, DURING A COURTESY VISIT TO PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR, ON THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019 AT STATE HOUSE, ABUJA.
Protocols,
Mr President, permit me to begin by congratulating you on your re-election as President and Commander in-Chief. Certainly your victory at the polls was because of your record of integrity and commitment to the development of this nation.
Your Excellency, it may not be out of place to urge you to strive harder towards repositioning the art of governance by making it more transparent and all inclusive. We are confident that when this is done, it will reflect exceptionally well on the Nation.
We are desirous of Promoting Safety and Security of Journalists in the Country and wish to draw the attention of His Excellency to the Regional Conference on the Safety and Protection of African journalists organised with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) at the African Union Conference centre in Addis Ababa in September 2010. NUJ is a prominent member of the Federation of African Journalists.
The outcome of that key event, which was attended by AU politicians, as well as journalists’ leaders in Africa and the NUJ , was the urgent need to adopt a resolution on safety of African journalists by the African Union summit in January 2011. On 23 December 2006, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1738 calling on the protection of journalists in armed conflict situations. AU resolution on safety of journalists was meant to follow this resolution.
Your Excellency, in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, journalists take great personal and professional risks to collect, process and disseminate news and information to millions of citizens in 36 States and the FCT and beyond. But sadly, being a journalist today can often be a deadly pursuit, particularly for those covering conflict and other dangerous assignments. Conflict areas and post-conflict areas are predominantly dangerous environments for journalists. Other dangerous assignments include investigation of corruption cases, coverage of political activities and elections. The number of journalists that suffer various acts of impunity across the country and attacks on media equipment and facilities daily is on the increase and this poses great danger to democracy.
We particularly appeal to the Federal Government and all States of the Federation, to take effective measures for better protection of journalists and to fully implement the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa, which clearly states that …. “No one shall be subject to arbitrary interference with his or her freedom of expression…”, and to cooperate and support the mandate of Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in the Continent and to build synergy with the Union to foster safety of all media professionals.
Sir, we also wish to encourage your administration to evolve better ways of impacting positively on the lives of Nigerians who feel marginalised from the mainstream of Nigeria’s social, economic and political activities. If this is done well, the nation will transit positively as desired.
Mr President, we commend your effort in fighting terrorism in the North East. We are happy that today, terrorists no longer control any part of Nigerian territory. We equally note with gratitude, the sacrifice of Nigerian Armed Forces in this regard.
We urge Government not to relent in ensuring that terrorism is effectively defeated in the country. Efforts should also be intensified at rebuilding the economy and infrastructure of the affected region.
The Union is also concerned about the continued social, communal conflicts, hostage taking in the country. We are particularly worried by the killings by herdsmen in Central Nigeria and the unrelenting attacks in Southern Kaduna and the activities of bandits in Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina States. We believe government needs to overhaul the security architecture in the country to curtail all these attacks.
It is no doubt that corruption in Nigeria is systemic and endemic. This is integrated into the structure of the society. Corruption leads to the depletion of national wealth and endangers the fight against this cancer and all hands must be on deck to ensure the success of this fight. The media will continue to play a vanguard role in the nation’s quest for good governance and corrupt free society.
Sir, although it is said that the media and Government cannot be institutional partners, since one is expected to hold the other accountable, however we are all stakeholders in the project Nigeria. We shall therefore, as a duty continue to support the fight against corruption and the quest for peace and security, good governance and rule of law.
We thank you Mr President profoundly for this opportunity to exchange Ideas and may God Almighty help Nigeria.