Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, alongside other respected scholars and personalities have called on bloggers in Nigeria to use their pen to save the country from total collapse.
The call was made at the 2022 Bloggers Summit, organised by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Anambra State, in collaboration with Life International Hospital in Awka, Anambra state on Friday.
They challenged bloggers to always use their platforms to criticize and tell the leaders of the country the bitter truth about the affairs and worsening state of the country.
Speaking at the Summit, Vice President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, expressed concern at the height of crimes, killings, and general insecurity bedeviling the nation and attributed it to system failure and bad leadership from those who ought to have retired from politics.
He noted that every part of Nigeria is being marginalized today, judging from the current state of under-development in every part of the country.
According to the Ohanaeze VP, the elders in the country have disappointed the youths by using religion and tribe to perpetuate themselves in power, thereby creating disaffection among the citizens.
“I don’t believe in tribe or religion. This is what the failed elders have been continually using to divide us to continue in power. The divide and rule are not peculiar to any tribe and religion but across all zones.”
He appealed to the bloggers to use their position to educate and change the narrative of country for good where things work effectively for all.
According to Ogene, bloggers are usually free because they and their addresses are not known, unlike the conventional media whom are known and whose addresses can be traced for sanctions.
He also urged the youths to raise and take up the fight to reposition the country where everybody would be treated equally as a citizen.
In a keynote presentation on ‘Managing Information Crisis in the Era of Citizen Journalism,’ Chinelo Ude-Akpeh, a senior lecturer at NTA Television College, Rayfield, Jos, Plateau State, urged bloggers to use their discretion and adhere to the professional ethics when disseminating information to the public.
Also, the traditional ruler of Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area, Anambra State, Igwe Kris Onyekwuleje, enjoined bloggers to remain committed to their profession and shun the temptation of feeding the public with fake news, lamenting that the advent of android phones had completely transformed the way people read and interpret news.
Other speakers including the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng; Director DSS, David Enoch Pawa; and former ABS MD, Nze Uche Nworah, urged the bloggers to do their jobs diligently for the good of the country. The speakers also advised them to be mindful of the kind of news they publish and avoid sensational stories that are capable of setting the society on fire.
Earlier, the Chairman of NUJ in Anambra State, Dr Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, emphasized that the essence of the Summit was to galvanise bloggers as the ‘fifth estate of the realm’ to understand the dynamics of journalism and work within the ethical and professional considerations of the profession.
