Former Rector of Kaduna State Polytechnic, Dr Nuru Yakubu has said Nigeria needs more investigative reporters who are committed to change and willing to unravel the wrong-doings in the society.
He added that such journalists must be driven by values, patriotism, nationalism, transparency and accountability.
Nuru stated this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital on Wednesday at the ongoing 3-day Broadcast Investigation Training for journalists in the South-South organized by Daily Trust Foundation in partnership with MacArthur Foundation.
He regretted that adequate investigative reporting had not been carried out on the television and radio platforms.
According to him, “It is the vision of the Foundation that broadcast journalists would do more investigative reporting in the interest of the growth of Nigeria. We believe that all journalists here, at this workshop, are interested in change in Nigeria.
“There can be no change except ills in the society are exposed. We must do the kind of journalism that is driven by values of patriotism, nationalism, transparency and accountability.
“Professionals who have imbibed these values cannot look away where there are wrong-doings in the society. In a nutshell, the country needs many more investigative reporters who are committed to change than we have at the moment.
In his goodwill message on behalf of the Akwa Ibom State government, the Commissioner for Information, Ini Ememobong, commended the Foundation for training journalists in other media organisations despite being their competitors even as he urged participants to domesticate what they have learnt.
His words, “When we invest in training, we invest in the future. The egalitarian nature of the Daily Trust Foundation must be noted. You could still have gotten this funding and made it an in-house training with Daily Trust reporters alone, but you are now training your competitors.
“That is the beautiful part of it, You are training people without the fear that they will use the knowledge you have facilitated them to get to outdo you in the market.
“That is where the issue of adversarial collaboration comes in because, at the vendor’s hands, all your titles are competitors, but when we come into the democratization processes of our country, the entire press becomes one family, and that is where the collaboration is.”
