In commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) celebration, Nigerians from different quarters have joined the global community to raise concerns about press freedom violations, stressing the need for stakeholders’ collaboration to safeguard press freedom in the country.
They spoke at different programmes organized across the country to mark May 3 Press Freedom Day.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, congratulated journalists for their commitment to the tenets of journalism as they mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day. He equally urged the journalists to rededicate themselves to courageous and objective journalism.
In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, the governor said the administration would continue to provide an enabling environment for good journalism to flourish.
Also, the Ogun State governor has saluted the courage being displayed by the media in ensuring the society is rightly informed as he described journalists as the bastion of democracy and the world has been a better place through accurate and objective reportage by the media practitioners.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, yesterday, the governor noted that though journalists work in a hostile environment in some countries, they have been able to inform, educate, entertain and set agenda for development and growth.
The governor, who submitted that the country owes its uninterrupted democratic rule to the media that has kept public office holders on their toes, said the media, as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, should be accorded its pride of place in his country.
In its statement to mark the press freedom day , the International Press Centre has also urged the Federal Government to respect its commitment and uphold the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also affirmed that Nigerian journalists deserve a better deal in the discharge of their constitutional duties than they currently have, where many of them face poor working conditions as well as censorship, harassment, intimidation, and sometimes assassination.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, said this in a statement commemorating this year’s World Press Freedom Day.
According to him, the press, which battled hard to return Nigeria to its current democratic status and continues to struggle to sustain democracy and development, has to be supported in order to successfully execute its constitutional duties as the society’s watchdog.
He reminded Nigerians to continue to see journalists as “The oxygen of democracy and agents of change and development”. He asked law enforcement officials, particularly the police, to step up their investigations into the circumstances of the deaths of several Nigerian journalists, including Tordue Salem of the Vanguard newspaper, whose body was purportedly discovered in Abuja in 2021.
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), in a press statement signed by the President, Mustapha Isah, and the General Secretary, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, yesterday, to mark the World Press Freedom Day, said that the threat to media freedom in Nigeria is real, the impact on the state of democracy in the country will be very dangerous, if not checked.
According to NGE, “Today is a day fixed globally to remind governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of reflection among journalists and other media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
“We need to remind governments at all levels in Nigeria that a free and independent media that can keep the people informed and hold leaders accountable are essential for a strong and sustainable democracy, including free and fair elections”.
“Without it, Nigerians cannot make informed decisions about how they are governed; and address human rights abuses, corruption, and abuse of power,” the editors stated.
The NGE also called on the Federal Government to make newsprints, broadcast equipment, and all other consumables in the media sector tax-free, in order to save the media from total collapse.
While saluting journalists, pro-media rights groups, and others who have remained resolute in the defence of press freedom and independent press in the country, the NGE said that its ongoing Town Hall Meeting and Capacity Training Programme for editors in the six geopolitical zones – being sponsored by the US Embassy in Nigeria, have also provided a huge opportunity to remind its members about the ethical values of journalism practice and the need to strictly adhere to those values.