EMINENT Muslim journalists have urged Muslims in the industry to abstain from partisan reportage in the country. The appeal was made by Senior research fellow at University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, Liad Tella, , President, Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Waheed Odusile and Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof Ishaq Akintola during a symposium organised by Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, MMPN, Lagos chapter held at the Secretariat, Alausa Ikeja, recently.
The trio argued that considering importance of mass media in Nigeria, involvement of journalist in partisan political and religion reportage could set the country ablaze and Nigeria must not be dragged to that state. Odusile stressed that media practitioners must be professional in their duties and not support any political idea or party in the country, noting that what lies ahead for the country is bigger than whatever interest the media seek to support.
While delivering his lecture on the symposium theme, Tella, who was former Managing Director of Monitor Newspaper, argued that the time had come for the media to get things right in Nigeria. According to him: “We must balance our view and reportage in order to prevent bias. “There is need for the media to get things right and desist from associating personal aggrandizement with religion.
“The media must get itself detached itself from religion partisanship. We must not set the country ablaze because no country has ever survived neatly from religious war. Nigeria must not be driven to the position of war, Islam is not violence. “Islam predated Christianity religion by 800 years. So why was there no crisis within those years? Brotherhood, care and love is what we all need in the country. Blackmail and stereotype must stop in Nigeria,” he added.
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