Crusaderhotnews
By Isaac Olamikan
On Wednesday, May 11th, 2022, in the course of the monthly Congress of the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), its Chairman, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, inaugurated the Compendium and Anti-quackery Committee of the council in line with his promise in the course of his campaign to be elected chairman late 2021.
The campaign was a highwire stuff between him and his opponent, Comrade Titus Akhigbe, the then Secretary of the council. Alenkhe eventually gained the upper hand with 226 votes against the 126 votes that his opponent got.
In the countdown to his electoral victory on Friday, December 17th, 2021, some reporters, who are used to the old idea whereby office seekers make gargantuan promises of creating an utopia which they never do once they get into office, were of the opinion that he was only sounding concerned so that he can sway votes in his favour on the election day.
But contrary to such insinuations Alenkhe came running as soon as he assumed office. In less than six months he is credited to have achieved at least 70 percent of his promises. For a three year tenure that will be ending in December 2024, Alenkhe and his team, who incidentally all got elected on first ballot, have been doing so well.
The issue of Compendium and Anti-quackery is one that many are of the view would address all the problems that are hydraheaded and seem to be unapproachable by anyone considering that these set of people(Quacks) mostly gain entry into the journalism turf on account of been used as willing tools to sway poll results in favour of their principal who got them into the noble profession via the backdoor.
What Alenkhe has been hammering on as regards quackery is that "if you are so much in love with the journalism profession may be as a result of the flair you have for writing. Go on and register for proper training via the International Institute of Journalism(IIJ) which is the brainchild of the NUJ and is affiliated to the University of Maiduguri. With its certificate you are fit/qualified to work in any media establishment in the country without any eyebrow being raised.
"With this step that you have taken to become better grilled in the profession and its ethics, you have inadvertently put a message to those who prefer meandering all over town laying claims to be journalists while in actual fact they're just meddlesome interlopers who risk been humiliated in big gatherings of the who is who any day.
Being a man who believes that anything worth doing is worth doing well, Alenkhe's choice of members of the Compendium and Anti-quackery Committee is flawless.
Members are Fedinard Osakue of ITV/Radio chapel who is the committee's Chairman; Osaretin Emokpae of Bronze FM, who is the immediate past Treasurer of the council; Idris Momoh of Correspondents Chapel; Agatha Eguare Ojo of NTA and Joy Musa Aghedo of EBS Chapel who serves as the committee's Secretary.
Their mandate is to produce a compendium of genuine journalists practising in Edo State and by so doing fish out the quacks and give them a final quit notice.
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