World Press Freedom Day: Don advocates special salary for journalists
Prof. Lukman Azeez of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, has advocated for the introduction of a special salary scale for journalists in the country.
Azeez made the appeal on Monday in Ilorin in an interview with journalists on the occasion of the World Press Day.
He said the special salary should be commensurate with the huge responsibilities that the newsmen discharge.
He explained that if professionals in other callings can be given the privilege, there is no reason why journalists should not be given special salaries and allowances.
Azeez therefore called on stakeholders to prevail on the National Assembly and other relevant authorities to make the introduction and implementation of a special insurance scheme for journalists by the government and employers a prerequisite for the establishment, operation and revalidation of media establishments in the country.
He justified his position with the enormity of media responsibilities as frontline crusaders against terrorism and other forms of criminality, while their lives are endangered without any form of adequate insurance for their families in case of any eventuality.
The expert in communication however advised Journalists to stay safe in order to educate, inform and entertain the public, as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Besides, he advised journalists in Nigeria to always ensure their maximum safety while performing their responsibilities.
Azeez appreciated the wonderful roles of journalists in nation building and promotion of national security.
He said that despite the challenge posed to their personal safety, they have been serving day and night through their reportage, education and mobilisation of concerted efforts towards solving security challenges in the country.
“This is a very difficult time for journalists because they are expected to report security situations to the public so that people can get informed in terms of where they can go and where they should not dare to go for their safety,” he said.
He explained that in the course of performing their constitutional duties, some journalists were exposed to danger, which claimed their lives or caused them permanent injuries.
The don added that in this era of commercial abduction and insurgency, journalists were the soft targets of the perpetrators of the unabated criminality.
He recalled the painful assassination of the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Newswatch Magazine, Mr Dele Giwa; and Mr Bagauda Kaltho of The News magazine, among several others, who paid the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
Azeez therefore urged journalists to demonstrate candor with circumspection.
He advised them not to serve the public at the expense of their precious lives as their death or permanent incapacitation would expose their families and loved ones to more perilous social challenges.
The don described harassment of media houses and media practitioners over flimsy excuses as a disservice to the fundamental human rights of citizens, most especially the victims of such highhandedness.
