BY PHILIP NWOSU
Media icons in Nigeria shone brighter in Lagos at the weekend as the Nigerian Union of Lagos (NUJ) conferred on them with awards of recognition and excellence for uplifting the media in the country.
Those recognised by the NUJ include the Bauchi state governor Bala Mohammed, Mr Ray Ekpu, Dr.Danladi Bako, High Chief Tony Akiotu, Mrs Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, Mallam Baba Dantiye, Alhaji Najeem Jimoh, Prof Stella Okunna, Prince Henry Odukomaiya and Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye.
Others include, Prof Femi Adefela, Chief Emeka Izeze, Aremo Taiwo Alimi, Senator Chris Anyanwu, Dr.Grace Achums, Sir Folu Olamiti, and Mrs. Agbeke Ogunsanwo.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), under the leadership of Dr. Chris Isiguzo, MFR has honoured some outstanding media Professionals, at the second edition of its Milestone Recognition of Media Icon in Nigeria, which was held at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja Lagos on Thursday.
Speaking during the ceremony, the NUJ President Dr. Chris Isiguzo, warmly welcomed the recipients explaining the motive behind the award, which he said was to celebrate media personalities while they are still living.
Also the Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mallam Idris Malagi who was represented by Dr Mohammed Bala, Director General (DG), FRCN. The Minister lauded the initiative and commended the leadership of the NUJ for introducing the award
He urged the media to be fair in its reportage while promoting unity and good governance at all times.
The governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed was awarded ” The Media Friendly Governor of The Year “. He delivered a paper on the theme “The Place of Icons and Role Models in National Development: The NUJ Milestone Awards in Perspective”
Representative of Gov Bala Mohammed, Muhammed Bulama, who is also the Secretary of the State Government, SSG, charged the media to hold public officers accountable to their promises and be part of the tasks of nation-building.
He said: “As you would expect, the dominant concern of most political administrators in today’s Nigeria is the governance challenges confronting us: issues of the cost of living, security, out-of-school children, employment of our teeming youth, national cohesion, the and the recurring challenge of democratic succession in a system that prioritizes highly divisive primordial sentiments over the excruciating poverty that neither recognises nor respects those primordial sentiments.
“At the beginning, I had admitted that we need a national conversation on the country’s electoral process if for no other reasons, to reduce the disputations that attend each election and enhance the integrity of the outcome without recourse to the acrimonious litigations that threaten every institution of the state” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the recipients, Danladi Bako commended Nigerian Journalists, especially those who have carved a niche for themselves in the industry.
He commended the NUJ for the giant strides and tasked the Journalists to be committed to the profession being the watchdog of the society.