Students from different higher institutions gathered at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) for a national conference and workshop organised by the UNILORIN’s chapter of the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ). The theme of the conference was: Nigerian campus journalism: Renaissance and reformation.
The event was held in the university’s expansive auditorium.
Speakers included Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji, a lecturer in the Department of English Language and former Director of Information and Protocol, UNILORIN, Mr Adedayo Thomas, Director of Outreach, African Liberty Organisation, and the chairman, National Union of Journalists, Kwara State chapter, Mr Abiodun Abdulkareem.
Also present Olaiya Templer, Guardian, Wale Ajetunmobi, The Nation; Faith Olaniran, Campus Trace magazine and Stephen Oladipupo, Campus Vibes magazine among others.
In his lecture entitled: Positioning campus journalism for change, Dr Adedimeji opened with a quote from late Pini Jason, a columnist with the Vanguard: “Our society has lost its manners and now it is about to lose its mind. Your responsibility as a fine writer is to help this society retrieve those values that made us great in the past which this generation about to take over does not care about anymore! If you must be part of that recovery, then, you must not lose your head.”
According to the don, journalism thrives on words, which he said are the building blocks of language. He said journalism had been defined in many ways but added: “A journalist, either campus-based or society-based, deals with words and makes words work.”
He said: “There is no doubt we are living in a world of words today. Everywhere you go, words keep on dazzling your eyes on the pages of newspapers, magazines, books and the computer. Words keep on blasting your eardrums from speakers, radio and television sets. On many occasions, what we read, what we hear, what we watch, determine to a surprising extent who we are and the world we live. Words are powerful. Words are wonderful. Words are awesome. Words are breathtaking as confirmed in the Holy Books that ‘in the beginning was the word; and the word was God.”
While noting that a writer’s pen was more powerful than the gun, Dr Adedimeji described writing as a weapon of mass destruction, stating that many government officials had been kept on their toes because of the activities of journalists, who he described as the watchdog of the society.
He regretted that campus journalists and their counterparts in the larger society reported lies and block the truth despite taking the truth as the basis of journalism.
Adedimeji said journalists were an integral part of our modern society, describing them as oxygen of democracy.
He urged the campus writers to wake up to their duties and responsibilities, stating that they must stick to the principles of journalism which are truth, objectivity, balance and fairness.
Thomas spoke on Role of the pen in creating a prosperous future. He said: “As campus journalists, you should be advocates of fairness, justice, integrity and entrepreneurship. These tools will give you an edge over your peers in the political, economic, and social set up.”
On building a prosperous nation, Thomas charged the participants to always engage the government in ideological warfare by writing to criticise anti-developmental policies of government, which he said had stifle entrepreneurship.
After lectures, the participants were taken on another session by the campus editors present at the event. Ajetunmobi, CAMPUSLIFE Editor, described campus journalism as a complex trade, with “objectively.” While narrating his ordeals as a campus journalist in UNILORIN, he urged the student-writers to write to break grounds and traditions with the objective to leave the campus a better place.
Templer noted that campus journalists remained the voice of the students and conscience of the public, who must understand issues and engineer social change. He said campus writers must demonstrate to students they were the bearers of their trust.
Olaniran, a former CAMPUSLIFE reporter from the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA), charged the participants to be an all-round writer, adding that campus journalist must know their strength and improve on their weaknesses to harness their potential in writing.
Delegates attended the conference from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, University of Ibadan (UI), Ibrahim Babaginda University (IBB), Lapai, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), University of Calabar (UNICAL), Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Delta State University (DELSU), Federal School of Statistics (FSS), Oyo, among others.
