The Coordinator, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Dr Chido Onumah has called for the protection of campus press clubs and journalists in Nigeria due to their active roles in information dissemination, accountability and transparency, and holding authorities to account in their institutions.
Onumah made the call while delivering the keynote address on Tuesday, May 4, during a virtual conference themed: “Resilient Campus Journalism: Key element to education reform” organized by the National Association of Campus Journalists(NUCJ) in collaboration with Help Foundation for students and Youth to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2021.
He noted that the protection of campus journalists is vital as it fosters freedom of expression, transparency and accountability, and other basic rights of students in their institutions.
“The topic of protection for campus journalists is relevant as it recognizes the changing communication system that’s impacting our health, our system, human rights, democracies, and sustainable development and the need for citizens to ask questions and demand accountability.
“Free, independent, and pluralistic press on our campuses, in Nigeria, and around the world is important for us to enjoy the full benefit of democratic governance.”
He said campus journalists serve as the voices of students on challenges they are facing, maintaining that it is a platform that needs to be encouraged.
“With the fast-changing political, technological and economic landscape journalism feels to be expanding, some people are more interested in becoming reporters, many citizens are actively engaging and many on campuses are now becoming citizen reporters and they want to be part of the movement that seeks to protect free speech and hold the leaders to account.
“Campus journalists are raising important questions and issues around academic freedom, sexual harassment, the quality of infrastructure, teaching, and scholarship. We must encourage this platform,” he added.
He explained that campus press clubs and campus journalists need to be professional and uphold the ethics and principle guiding proper journalism in carrying out their functions saying that it is vital to their relevance on campus.
“There is this debate around whether campus journalism is a serious business and this perhaps explains why school administrators respond the way they do to student journalists. While the scare tactics and high-handedness of school management cannot be justified, what this debate tells us is that we must refine our craft for us to be relevant.
“We can’t be giving excuses because we are student journalists. Journalism is journalism whether it is on campus or in the larger society. What it means is that for those of us who are interested in campus journalism and for us to be taken seriously, we must apply the same rigour, principle, and ethics that guide good journalism. Just like the role of the press in society, campus press helps provide relevant information to students so that they can make informed decisions. This is crucial because of the issues confronting the students.”
While noting the importance of the press in a larger society, he explained that the importance of press on campus is as vital as the role of press clubs in their campuses.
“Let’s imagine what would happen if we don’t have campus journalists. Can we imagine for a second, an education system in a country like Nigeria without campus journalists? Imagine there is no group that has the right to exercise the freedom to inform, educate and entertain students and hold authorities to account campus?”
He explained how technological advancement has promoted information dissemination and enriched the exploits published by student journalists on campus.
“Campus Journalism in the past is focused on just the events going on campus but now the growth of communication and technology has now expanded the role of Campus Journalism. The qualities of what you find on some campus media are now as good as what you find on mainstream media outfits.”
He noted that present campus journalism has been improved by technological advancement by making their exploits reach a larger audience.
“Today’s campus journalists are more informed, more exposed, more creative thanks to the advances in new media technology. Of course, campus journalism and campus journalists are transcending campuses to bring to fellow students and members of the University community issues happening around the world while at the same time taking the issues on campus to a larger global audience. In the past, it was difficult, students used to fight their local battles on their own, but these days thanks to the advances in new media technology, thanks to social media.”
He condemned several travails preventing campus journalists from performing their civic right.
“It is unfortunate that even though we are in a democracy, we continue to witness daily the shrinking media and civic space in the country. The erosion of the rights of citizens to express themselves and to hold contrary opinions. Over the years this phenomenon has also permeated our campuses where Vice-Chancellors and school administrators have turned themselves into dictators and began to apply some policies that the political elites and ruling class have applied in the larger public space to suppress the rights of students and by extension campus journalists in our tertiary institutions.”
“Amid COVID-19, it becomes clearer why people need access to information both on campus and beyond. Information is an essential public good. Unfortunately, those who have taken this responsibility either campus journalists or professional journalists daily face intimidation and harassment and sometimes violence leading to death.”
He explained that the freedom of expression is a fundamental human right for not just campus journalists but all students in entirety.
“This is a very important point as we move ahead we should not delink the rights of students from the rights of student journalists they should go side by side while we are fighting for the free press on campuses. We should also be fighting for the rights of students and ability of students to express themselves freely and hold contrary opinion and voice out their concerns.”
He reflected on previous terrible stories about the travails of campus journalists in Nigeria which undermine their basic rights to freedom of expression as students.
He commended the effort of the National Union of campus journalists and campus journalists across tertiary institutions and urged them to be truthful and courageous and align with relevant organizations in pressing for their rights.
“If we are interested in building a society where there is freedom of speech, we must start by looking at what all various forms of information are going through. Our interest is in building a free press and by extension a free society and to achieve that, we must start with what happens on campuses where future leaders are groomed. We must protect those who undertake the civic responsibility of informing their fellow students.
“Student Journalists on their path must also show courage to fight for the truth and rally their communities around the public good. Campus journalists must align themselves with student organizations, mainstream media outfits, and civil society organizations in pressing for their rights,” he stated.
