By; VITALIS UGOH, Calabar
The Cross River State chapter of Online Media Practitioners of Nigeria (OMPAN) has warned the Correspondent’s Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ,(NUJ) to desist from castigating its members, be it online journalists, citizen journalists, bloggers, or the ‘new media’.
The warning was issued by OMPAN-CRS against the backdrop of recent comments credited to the NUJ Correspondent’s Chapel chairman, Mr. Judex Okoro, published in one of the National newspapers (not the New Nigerian Online, where he opined that only mainstream journalists were charged with the duty of holding the government of the day accountable to the people.
While responding to an alleged threat to journalists in the state by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, Mr. Okoro was quoted as saying “the theory of social responsibility in mass media advocates free and responsible media. In other words, journalists (not bloggers or citizen witnesses a.k.a. citizen journalists) should hold the government of the day accountable to the people”.
In its reaction, OMPAN disagreed with the Correspondents’ Chapels chairman’s views.
Acccording to OMPAN “it is also the responsibility of bloggers, online journalists, citizen journalists, et’al to hold a democratically elected government responsible. It is not the exclusive responsibility of mainstream journalists to do so alone.
OMPAN decried what it referred to as a disjunctive logic in the practice of journalism in the state while using the opportunity to sue for unity amongst media practitioners.
Earlier, thehe Chairman of OMPAN in the state, Efio-Ita Nyok, ” said Okoro arrogated to himself and other mainstream journalists the exclusive responsibility of holding government responsible to the people. Albeit, we beg to disagree with him.
“While commending Okoro of the indirect and implicit admittance of the superb roles bloggers and citizen journalists in Cross River have played, are playing and will continue to play in holding the government accountable and responsible, we consider it ridiculous for him and any other journalists at that to think that holding government responsible is the sole responsibility of mainstream journalists.
”We are surprised at the fact that Okoro feigns ignorance of the fact and argument that the hallmark of democracy as practiced world over is citizen participation and inclusion in public policy formulation and implementation.
”The disjunctive logic underlying this exclusive professional disposition smacks of elitism, polarisation, divisiveness etc and is thus wholesomely rejected by bloggers and citizen journalists under the aegis of OMPAN. OMPAN rejects Okoro’s interpretation of the theory of social responsibility in mass media.
”OMPAN also recalls with regret the incident at the Department of State Security DSS Office in Calabar before the 2019 general elections in which during an interactive session between media professionals in the state and the DSS where the latter sued for utmost professionalism in the dessemination of information, reports by the former during the general elections, the chair of Correspondents’ Chapel referred to bloggers (literally pointing at where some sat) as the social media guys who publish unprofessionally.
”OMPAN by reason of this reaction is holding out an olive branch to Correspondents’ Chapel through her chairman. Let’s collaborate in view of a greater Cross River, Nigeria nay Africa, because as the sages have already observed —united we stand, disunited we fall.
”Finally, let it be stressed that new media has come to stay, let it be encouraged and accommodated, the statement concludes” .
