Alhaji Mohammed Bello, South-West Zonal Director, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), has called on media practitioners to strive toward accuracy in their reportage to avoid spreading fake news.
“Reporters have sacred roles to inform; they must do that accurately so as not to misinform members of the public,” Bello said on Sunday in Ibadan, during the 2019 Iftar lecture organised by the Oyo Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).
He pointed out that there were ethics guiding the media profession in Nigeria, and advised practitioners to adhere to them to avoid causing disunity in the country.
Bello regretted that most media practitioners do not know about the the teachings of Islam and Muslims, saying that stories published about the religion and its adherents were often inaccurate.
“Media practitioners must always verify information before going public with it. We must always do that to avoid misleading the public,” he said.
Suleiman commended the NUJ officials for being sensitive to the religious differences of members, and called on Nigerians to be tolerant of one another irrespective of perceived differences.
The guest lecturer at the occasion, Dr Abdul-Haadi Tihamy, from University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan, urged Muslims to promote communal living and avoid deeds that could put others at risk.
Tihamy, whose lecture focused on “communal co-existence in the context of culture and creed”, said that the religion of Islam was about peaceful co-existence with people of other faiths.
“The religion also preaches the need to sacrifice personal needs for common benefits,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Adewumi Faniran, the NUJ chairman in the state, had said that the lecture was a demonstration of
the union’s commitment to promoting unity among the members irrespective of their religious beliefs.
He said that the NUJ had decided that the Iftar should be for both Muslims and Christians members so as to promote unity among them.===NAN
