NUJ boss cautions journalists against hate speech

Media practitioners in the country have again been warned against allowing the political class, traditional institution or spiritual leaders to use their medium to publish or broadcast hate speech.
The President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists ( NUJ), Alhaji AbdulWaheed Odusile gave the advice in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital while fielding questions on a Radio Kwara personality interview programme, ‘Playing Host’.
Odusile urged journalists to always follow the ethics of the profession before reporting or broadcasting their stories.
According to him, it is not mandatory or under any obligation for any journalist to use stories that contains hate speeches which could destabilise the country.
Odusile said towards this end, the leadership of the NUJ has introduced an online biometric registration of all members in order to capture their details on the website as a means of curbing quackery.
Alhaji Odusile disclosed that the continuous registration exercise would determine the exact number of media practitioners. He warned that anyone who is not captured would not be allowed to participate in any NUJ activity, vote or be voted for during elections.
He disclosed that as part of efforts to generate more revenue and provide journalists adequate training on the job, the leadership has concluded arrangements with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to accredit courses under the International Institute of Journalism,(IIJ) programme in Abuja while the union has also gone into partnership with developers to construct a 4-star hotel to be financially independent.
Additionally, he said the NUJ has acquired Television and Radio licenses to create employment for its unemployed members and demonstrate journalism at its best as well as discourage the practice of inducing journalists while discharging their constitutional duties.
He lamented that the economic situation in the country has affected the media industry as journalists are being owed backlog of salaries, a situation he promised will be addressed under his leadership.
Odusile who is also the President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) and Managing Editor of The Nation Newspapers appealed to Nigerian journalist to participate fully and be actively involved in the forthcoming International Press Institute (IPI) world congress which is slated for Abuja in June.