Abdulwaheed Odusile, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, on Wednesday called for a legislation that would regulate entry into the journalism profession in the country.
Odusile made the call at the public launch of the “African Media Barometer: Nigeria 2015” report organised by FriedRich Ebert Stiftung, an NGO, in Abuja.
The NUJ boss said it was imperative to have a legal framework that would ensure sanity in the profession “so that it would not be an all comers’ practice”.
He also stressed the need for the establishment of a regulatory body that would help check the activities of quacks and unethical behaviour in the profession.
Odusile explained that in the absence of a law or regulation, individuals and institutions could create and run websites, blogs and other digital platforms without seeking authorisation.
He said: “It is unfortunate that anybody who thinks that he or she can speak and write English, finds their way into journalism without knowing the ethics of the profession.
“We don’t have any legal framework that regulates the activities of journalists in the country.
“Even the Nigerian Press Council is handicapped because it lacks the power to regulate the media.
“In legal profession, for example, even if you are a Professor of law, if you do not attend Law School, you will never be allowed to practice the profession.
“Sadly, the story is not the same in the media due to lack of a regulatory body in the industry.”
Odusile blamed owners of private media for employing people who were not trained journalists and often times decide what should be published in their respective medium.
The NUJ president observed that lack of specific protection for journalists breeds fear in the media, even as most journalists operate under bad economic conditions.
Odusile, however, noted that the Freedom of Information ACT 2011 was considered the most important piece of media regulation enacted in recent years, which had helped to push the frontiers of journalism.
But he said there were still challenges in regard to compliance with the Act.
On her part, a member of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Gina Osika, said the creation of a self-regulatory body for the media was very paramount.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the African Media Barometer is an analytical exercise to measure the media situation in a given country, which also serves as a practical lobbying tool for media reform.
NAN.
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