UCJ UNILORIN holds induction at NUJ

The UCJ induction ceremony held for the very first time at her Parent body situated at the Press Centre; the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) Secretariat. The event was anchored by  Mr Muhammad  Bashir Abdulazeez. It kicked off at exactly 12:39pm with the press prayer anchored by the Director of Finance; Miss Adedeji Fatimah Sanni. Afterwards,  the National and the School anthem were taken and the president of UCJ, Osuji Chima Francis mounted the podium expressing his joy for the occasion.

The president further introduced the dignitaries who graced the event, which includes; the Chairman of NUJ Kwara state, Comrade Abiodun Abdulkareem, ably represented by the Vice-chairman Mrs Basirat Bola who also works with the NTA, the guest speaker Dr Mrs Saudat Abdulbaqi, the H.O.D Mass Communication Department and the staff Adviser;  Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji in absentia, the immediate past president  of the UCJ; Mr Muhammad  Bashir Ishola, Mallam  Mustapha, a friend of the UCJ and NUJ, The Student Union PRO and the Chairman, Senate committee on awareness.

    ‎Mrs Basirat Bola gave her welcome address kick-started by congratulating the new inductees and appreciating them for 'taking the right step in the right direction ' which was joining the union. She expressed the importance of UCJ to NUJ and it being the reason she filled in for the Chairman in his absence.

    ‎  The President soon introduced members of the Press Council before giving his welcome address tagged " FOR THE CAUSE:  THE MANTRA OF A TRUE MEMBER OF UCJ ," adapted from Miss. Ojebode Oluwatumishe Sewueseter ( one of the inductee's) write up.

The address charged the inductees on how to be watchdogs with sincerity,  diligence,  accountability,  responsibility,  credibility and objectivity. Also giving instances of some of the inductees renouncing their political positions to join the union,  he encouraged them to be found worthy in character and learning.

    ‎The compere reiterated the president saying 'writing,  speaking and leadership qualities are the mainstay of of UCJ,  he gave personal accounts of his reasons for joining the union, which were his driven passion for writing  and speaking.  He charged the inductees to  deliver speeches offhand as this will aid a better memory, he appreciated the evolvement of broadcast and print journalism, he gave many anecdotes of writings to inspire them, saying it was a privilege and golden opportunity  to be a member,  ending with a note of 'you are in the right place.'

    ‎  The Vice-president Editorial Mr. Tomori Uriel Idowu, while stating the dos and don'ts of the Union said, reminding them that they were not to participate in partisan politics. He also encouraged them to show commitment, be law abiding, and be good ambassadors.

    ‎Dr. (Mrs) S.S Abdulbaqi gave the lecture on the theme of the programme 'THE CORE AND CAUSE OF JOURNALISM,' with the topic 'ETHICS OF JOURNALISM '. She juxtaposed between the citizen journalism and mainstream journalism stating what distinguishes a trained journalist to a non journalist which was Ethics. According to her, journalism  is a medicine that deals with lives, as identifying ethical issues will help reduce implications of certain events.

Highlighting some of the ethics in campus journalism she mentioned; passion for the work, punctuality  at a news covering event, empathy,  factual information  which must be verifiable, accuracy of figures,  legal backing, secrecy or privacy of the source and content which includes digging deep,  having nose for news,  getting scoops and being unbiased. ‎Questions were asked as answers were given by the speaker. She soon signed out with a cliff hanger,  ' give news that protect public interest rather than Interest the public.'

    ‎The President of the Union handled the oath swearing session on 44 newly inducted members, and enjoined them to abide by it. Award was given to the best applicant of the 2017/2018 recruitment process in person of Ms. Omodara Ruth, a 300 level student of Common Law.

The vice chairman encouraged members to be a part of the NUJ,  the immediate past president Mr. Ishola emphasised the need to be passionate and Mallam Mustapha mentioned that academics was the priority for the inductees,  he encouraged activeness and opened the doors wide to the inductees who are interested  in having programmes or news for the unilorin FM.

    ‎Vice-president Administration  Ms shittu Adetoun in her vote of thanks, congratulated the new members once again, charging them not to be slothful in their academics as it was their first call. She further said "expect news everywhere and report".

The event soon ended in a photo taking session outside the hall