Abike Dabiri-Erewa
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has replied Mr. Livinus Chibuike Victor, noting that his focus should be on working with veterans and trained journalists to champion the return of ethical, responsible and professional journalism.
Dabiri-Erewa acknowledged the genuine concerns of Victor that there is a huge problem plaguing journalism practice in Nigeria. Adding however that his call for an apology is totally misplaced and utterly irrelevant.
It will be recalled that while she was in the Parliament (2003-2015) as Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Media, she championed the introduction of the Journalism Enhancement Bill, in 2010,which was aimed at setting standards to enhance the standards of the journalism profession.
She argued that the criteria for any profession, like medicine, law, Accountancy etc., was absent in journalism , thus making it possible for just anyone to lay claims to being a journalist without any form of training or certification.
Unfortunately, the move was resisted by those that should have supported it, and today the dignity of journalism is now being clearly eroded.
She called on the writer to focus more on working with veterans to join hands and champion the return of ethical journalism, than seeking for an apology that he will never get , because the erosion of standards is glaring.
She noted with satisfaction that it is the journalism profession that nurtured and trained her, recalling the tutelage and mentorship she got from outstanding lecturers at the Mass Communication department, University of Lagos , and said she will be glad to join the writer and other veterans in the industry willing to deal with the challenges, which the writer himself alluded to in his write up.
She called on the NUJ, Guild of Editors, NBC , and other media professionals not to sit back and watch this esteemed profession denigrated.
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