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Tuesday, 02 December, 2008 03:25 am
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| Adefaye, Vanguard's Editor, is NGE's new president |
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| Written by Victor Ahiuma-Young & Olasunkanmi Akoni | ||||||
| Tuesday, 29 July 2008 | ||||||
     FRANCIS Gbenga Adefaye, Editor, Vanguard, yesterday, emerged President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). He polled 185 votes to beat Tony Akiotu of AIT who garnered 10 votes in the election of a new executive council of the Guild at its Biennial Congress in Ikeja. Akiotu pulled out midway into the election apparently after sensing defeat. An elated Adefaye pledged not to betray the trust of his colleagues in electing him. Earlier in a keynote address, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State had tasked the Nigerian media to channel its energy into rebuilding Nigeria’s image and national development. Attendance In attendance were the Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr Sam Amuka; former Minister for Information, Prince Tony Momoh; former spokesperson to the President and Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, Mrs. Remi Oyo; and former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, among others. Fashola tasks Media on rebranding Nigeria Fashola who was full of accolades for the Nigeria media for standing firm against tyranny and the military jackboots, stressed that “the media is needed in repositioning the country and should see itself as part of the critical stakeholder as partner in progress in the business of transforming the country. “Where there is no active partnership between the media and the three other estates of the democratic realm, what obtains is a disjointed and acrimonious relationship between the media and other estates, with government becoming unable to direct the ship of the state in the way that it is expected of it. “To the extent that government lives up to the responsibilities expected of it, the press is never seen or heard to be antagonistic to the reigning administration and where and when antagonism becomes necessary, the press does not reach for the structure and fittings of the State for the purpose of pulling them own,” he said. “Each time we push out negative reports and celebrate those issues which could afford us to learn from our errors, you strengthen the hand of the foreign media to feast on the need to launder the image of the country. These are self inflicted wounds that we could do without. “In America , Europe and even in South Africa, the secret behind the international image amid the routine negative trends within their borders is a function of the media. Their media do not project these occurrences as a national lifestyle. They learn to tone them down. We cannot unwittingly elevate the acts of the minority who perpetuate crime, fraud and anti-social vices to prominence as representing the way of our people. The media must continue to give hope rather than diminish it,” he said. Noting that "the business of the media in a democratic environment is that of keeping government committed to its responsibility of improving the lots of its citizens, Fashola said the media must cooperate with the government to inspire the people of the country to reach for their best talents and to commit them to the utmost benefit of the state. “A confident people who believe in themselves more than they believe in other people are most likely to serve the best developmental interest of their fatherland. The media has to engage itself with the task of changing the state of the average mind from despair to determination, fear to fortitude, and pessimism to optimism. When we commit ourselves to this type of exercise, we simply make it impossible for kill-joys and mischief-makers to affect our spirit of self determination. “When the media is able to create a positive atmosphere in a society, it makes it possible for the world to relate with it positively. It is only when there is a positive interaction with the outside world through increase in investment that the media will prosper and grow,” he said. Adefaye thanks all, extends hands of fellowship to Akiotu In his acceptance speech, Mr Adefaye said: “I cannot express the sense of pride I feel as a member of this distinguished merit club of editors of both print and electronic media throughout Nigeria. “I feel proud especially because of the overwhelming presence of members of the Guild which is an indication that as the final gatekeepers in our noble profession, we are determined to set our Guild and our nation on a historic course. “I am especially gratified to note the presence of our Fellows and senior colleagues who deservedly are the owners of the Guild. Your presence today is somewhat intimidating but also a clear challenge to me and my colleagues on the Standing Committee to make sure we do not betray your trust. We make you a solemn pledge here: we shall not do anything that would put the Guild to shame. We made you promises on the independence of the Guild, capacity building and ethical practice of journalism. We will be guided by these promises. “It is important for us to note here that this executive is not a beneficiary of a flawed process. If anything, in all our speeches and in our campaigns, we have strictly insisted on absolute compliance with the constitution of the Guild. “We resisted all attempts to import strange fellows into the Guild simply for the purpose of election into offices of the Guild. We insisted that before you make decisions concerning the future of a club, you must be properly admitted and must know its rules. “As a member of the Guild and Standing Committee for four years, I can beat my chest proudly to say that our Guild is on the path of honour. “Let me use this opportunity to appeal to my distinguished colleague and co- contestant in this election, Mr. Tony Akiotu, who passionately served this Guild as Deputy President for four years to please join hands with us to fulfill our dream of an honourable association. You do not pull down a house you sweated to build. “Mr. Akiotu is a colleague I have worked with him closely and I believe that as an honourable man he will not be party to any decision to break the Guild he worked so hard to make in the last four years,” he said. Also elected yesterday were Mr. Tukur Ibrahim (Deputy President; Aisha Saleh (VP-North); Mr. Abiodun Raufu (VP - West); Mr. Obang Akwaje (VP - East). The rest are: Mr. John Ndukauta (Secretary); Steve Ayomide (Assistant Secretary); Abdulhamed Majia (Treasurer); Messrs Mike Eke, Femi Adesina, Victor Oghene, Abdulraham Abdulrauf, Isaac Ighuwe, Kemi Lazarus, and Mustapha Isah (Standing Committee members).  Quote this article on your site | Print | E-mail
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