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Fawas Adebisi & Quadri Yahya
The President of Freelance and Independent Broadcasters’ Association of Nigeria (FIBAN), Desmond Nwachikwu has charged media practitioners to be more upright in their work as 2023 election approaches.
Nwachikwu said this while addressing journalists on Sunday at the backdrop of an event organised in celebration of 50 years on stage of the popular Fuji musician, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, aka, KWAM 1 in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that Nwachikwu stressed that the role of the media in the forthcoming election should not be tainted with by its professionals.
The freelance broadcaster noted that the media is capable of setting agenda and shaping the view of the people and their decisions in the election.
“2023 is another year to take our destiny into our hands, so as to do an evaluation of the state of things in Nigeria at the moment. It is necessary we do an appraisal to know whether things are the way they should be: if they are the way they should be, so be it and if they are not, then we should talk about change.
“My message to broadcasters and members of the fourth estate of the realm as a matter of fact is that we should work with our conscience; we should place national interest beyond personal pecuniary things; we should ensure that whatever we are doing irrespective of how much money we are being paid to do it, we should be professional with it and we should remember that we are conscience of the society.”
He added: “Nigerians rely on us to know that which they should do; they rely on us to understand the trajectory, history and records of all of those who are willing to take up responsibility of leadership in various spheres in our national system.”
“I think it is extremely important that we do that and that is the way we should do.”
PLATFORM TIMES further reports that in his address on K1 D Ultimate 50 years on stage celebration, Nwachikwu noted that the music maestro has achieved an unprecedented feat in the Nigeria music industry.
He said: “Today’s event is all about the celebration of excellence, tenacity, innovation and capacity to overcome hurdles, troubles, trials, and above all, celebration of success in life.
“We are celebrating fifty years of King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal trajectory in the music industry.
“And why I mentioned these other ones before is because in fifty years he would have gone through a lot of trouble, stress and many issues to contend with. But in the end, he is strong, he came up and he maintains that top.”
Also in his welcome speech at the event, the FIBAN Chairman in Ogun State, Olufemi Omilani thanked all members of the association and the entertainment industry in the country.
Omilani stated that Wasiu Ayinde’s music is one of a kind in Nigeria and worldwide.
He said: “In all the musicians in Nigeria, we cannot mention two before we mention King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal”