The Deputy Executive Secretary (services) Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Dr Isiaka Olayinka Kolawole has said Nigeria journalists must approach their routine assignment purposefully with the relent or highlighting and shaping public discourse on the larger multi-dimensional issues.
Dr Kolawole who chaired the first lecture of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Oyo State 2020 press week with the theme “Journalist and the Development of underdevelopment in Nigeria” said “we are aware of the fact that journalists play one of the most vital roles in the socio-economic development of nation-state and transformation of society.
He said the management and dissemination of facts and information are known to have served as a catalyst for effective management of resources, efficiency in governance and steady progress towards sustainable and inclusive development.
He said effective discharge of the journalist’s critical role as manager of information is what has earned journalists and the press as a whole, the unique recognition of being the fourth pillar that supports the triune structure of government Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
Adding that being the fourth estate of the realm and playing such vital roles in social-economic development, journalist and journalism practice can rightly be considered as one of the primary agents of development.
Dr Kolawole made it clear that development is a change process that targets the improvement of life of human being as well as the enhancement of the environment that man operates within.
He said journalists are expected to lead in the process of development communication which for all purposes and intent is aimed at innovating and institutionalizing a development plan that suits the peculiarities and specific yearning of each society.
The Deputy Executive Secretary added that the import of the journalist’s role in development communicate in his/her capacity to mould or influence public opinion in a manner that encourages the positive and active participation of stakeholder in development programmes.
