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Writing,
Battered and Dying in the Line of Duty yet without pay.
§
The story of the
Nigerian Journalist
Nigerian journalists and media workers are spending times, energy,
efforts and even lives to enrich the bank accounts of their employers
who very often pay peanuts for salary, frequently choosing to delay or
even withhold their entitlements. Several Nigerian journalists have been
harmed in various ways and some even died in the course of carrying out
their daily duty of gathering news in the face of the hostile political,
social, economic and legal environments in which they operate. Media
houses owe their staff salary arrears that range between six months and
one year.
The economic hardship that journalists are subjected to due to withheld
remunerations has also sadly led to the unethical practice of “brown
envelop”. A situation in which journalists seek to make money from news
sources in unprofessional manners.
In the last ten months, no fewer than 20
journalists have been victims of attacks by armed bandits while at least
10 have died, all in the line of duty.
Most notable in the casualty list is Mr. Godwin Agbroko, Editorial
Board Chairman of ThisDay newspaper who was shot dead by unknown
assassins at about 10pm local time on December 22, 2006. He was retuning
home from the office after the day’s work. Over eight months after the
gruesome murder, his assailants have not been found and there is no
evidence that the nation’s security agencies are still investigating the
murder with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book.
The Nigerian media suffered another loss of several lives on May 16,
2007 when six journalists: Judith Adama, editor of the New Nigerian
newspaper; Isaac Agbo, a reporter with the privately-owned The Nation
newspaper; Givo Emma, reporter with Leadership newspaper, Moses
Ezulike, Plateau State correspondent of the private-owned Daily
Champion; Musa Nuhu of the state-run News Agency of Nigeria; and
Emma Adinoyin Ohuru of privately-owned African Independent Television
died in a traffic accident while covering official activities of the
Plateau State governor, Chief Joshua Dariye in Jos, North-central
Nigeria.
Mr. Samuels Famakinwa, Deputy Editor of ThisDay newspapers was on
July 27, 2007 found dead in his hotel room in Maiduguri, the capital
city of Borno State, North-western Nigeria while on an official visit to
the State Governor, Alhaji Modu Bunu Sherrif. His death was traced to
cardiac arrest.
Again, on July 28, 2007, death struck the media: Mr. Benjamin Akpan, the
Anambra State, South-Eastern Nigeria, correspondent of privately owned
The Nation newspaper slumped and died in a cyber café while
sending news reports to his office in Lagos. He was reportedly being
owed three months salary at the time he died
Alarmed by the rapidity with which death was decimating the media, the
Lagos State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) undertook
three days of fasting and prayers to seek divine intervention for the
protection of the lives of journalists and the repose of the souls of
those that have died. It also gave media owners a 21-day ultimatum which
expired on August 27, 2007 within which media owners owing their workers
should pay up or faces the wrath of the Union. The Union also called on
media proprietors to provide staff busses to convey workers who work
late to their homes or to places near their homes to provide a level of
security against further attacks in the hands of robbers and bandits.
Mr. Deji
Elumoye, the Vice Chairman of the Lagos Council of the NUJ in an
interview with Media Rights Agenda lamented that the issue of unpaid
entitlements is a recurrent one on which the Council takes up media
owners adding that it found out that unfortunately, senior journalists
in management positions are part of the boards that make decision and
refuse to pay their junior colleagues. He said some media houses still
paid about N12, 000.00 (twelve thousand Naira, less than US$100) monthly
salary to graduates.
The situation, he revealed, informed the Council’s 3-day fasting and
prayer exercise for divine intervention over the untimely death of
journalists, culminating in the issuance of a communiqué in which it
gave media owner a 21-day ultimatum to pay salary arrears or face
industrial action from the Union in addition to publishing the names of
such media houses in the media.
Part of the communiqué reads thus: “That all media houses,
owing our members should with immediate effect, pay up the arrears of
salaries and other entitlements or face industrial action from the
combined bodies of NUJ and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). In this
regard, a 21 days ultimatum commencing from Monday 6th to
Monday 27th of August, 2007, is hereby given to all the media
houses in the country, regardless of whether ‘chapelised’ or not, to pay
all outstanding arrears of salaries and other emoluments. In case of
defaults, the list of such media houses will be published and the union
thereafter shall not guarantee industrial harmony.”
He listed some of the welfare activities the Council had embarked upon
for the betterment of its members; he disclosed that it had secured
lands in Ogun and Lagos States (South-western Nigeria) for its members
which they pay for in installments adding that some of the members of
the Council have through the scheme built their own houses. In addition,
he said the Council also organizes periodic computer education to
upgrade the competences and skills of its members.
Click here to read the
interview:
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