8 September 2008
Lagos — Justice Mohammed Uwais, a former Chief Justice of Nigeria yesterday in Abuja called on Nigerians to join the crusade to wipe out corruption in Nigeria.
Uwais made the call in a keynote address on the occasion of a Ramadan seminar organised by the FCT chapter of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN).
The theme of the one-day seminar was "Islam, Media and Corruption".
Uwais, who is the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), also called on the Media to expose corruption through their reportage and news analysis.
Uwais, who was the chairman of the occasion, said fighting corruption was a good way to build a nation and stressed that all hands must be on deck to eradicate the cankerworm.
He commended the effort of the MMPN in organising a seminar aimed at finding a lasting solution to the problem of corruption.
Speaking on the Role of Muslim Media Practitioners in fighting Corruption, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Action Congress (AC).
National Secretary, said it was an obligation imposed on every Muslim by God in the Quran.
Represented by his wife, Dr. Mairo Mandara, Bugaje said that a Muslim who was not ready to fight corruption "might as well stop praying, fasting and paying Zakat".
He implored Muslims in the media to see their role as a divine call from Allah to expose corruption and make the society a better place to live in.
In his contribution, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, a former member of the House of Representatives, said media professionals especially Muslims should be fearless and just in reporting events accurately and truthfully.
Baba-Ahmed said corruption was so endemic in the country and that it required special prayers and determination from all stakeholders to check and redress the situation.
Speaking on the challenges facing media professionals, Alhaji Liad Tella of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), lamented that Muslims media professionals were in minority in the country.
Tella, a former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the defunct National Concord Newspapers, and former Managing Director of Monitor Newspapers, called on wealthy Muslims to establish newspapers to correct the negative impression about Islam and Muslims in the Western media.
Imam Tajudeen Adigun-Bello, who spoke on "Standing Up for Islam", said the basis for Islamic existence was the dissemination of correct information on the religion.
He advised members of MMPN not to compromise their stand on any issue affecting Islam.
Adigun-Bello also urged the members to counter the bad impression being created in the western media that Islam supported terrorism.
In their contributions, the duo of Malam Abdulfattah Adeyemi and Fuad Adeyemi, said there was urgent need for media education and sponsorship to correct misconception about Islam.
Adeyemi said the fight against corruption should not be restricted to those in power.
"Individuals should look inwards to see whether what they are doing is in line with the teachings of Islam with a view to making amend," he said.
Earlier, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, the Chairman of MMPN, had said that the association was formed to cater for the spiritual and social well-being of Muslims working in the media industry.
Balogun said the seminar was MMPN's quota toward the eradication of corruption in the country.
"Our role is basically to educate, inform and entertain. We want to use this platform to fight corruption which is retarding the development of the nation," he said.
He blamed corruption in the media on what he described as "pittance paid to media men and women as salary and called for a living wage for media workers.
Balogun further urged wealthy Muslims to invest in the media industry.
He said the quick passage of the Freedom of Information Bill which was still pending before the National Assembly, would facilitate the war against corruption.
"It will enhance access to information for the citizens in the fight against corruption," he stressed.
NAN reports that goodwill messages were also received from the Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Khosrow Rezazadeh and his
Sudanese counterpart.
The occasion also featured the inauguration of the executive members of the association in Abuja by Justice Uwais.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2008 Daily Champion. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
nigerians, if these lip services, of a people, is anything to go by, they are advised to tell umaru yar,adua, to sign the freedom of information bill. if the FOIB is not signed into law, every public office holder, these men paying the lip service, the lawmakers, madam EFCC, all of them are pen robbers, waiting in the angle for their own loot. JUST SIGN THE FOIB INTO LAW, AND NIGERIA will ressurrect. thanks. i am as usual, CAPITAL G.C.