Our man, EMMANUEL ADENIRAN recently had an encounter with Comrade Ronke Samo, the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalist, (NUJ) Ekiti State council and a candidate for the post of the Vice President of NUJ, Southwest, B Zone. Many salient issues were discussed… Excerpt:
Can we formally meet you?
My name is Ronke Afebioye Samo. I work with the National Orientation Agency (NOA). I was the state Secretary to the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Ekiti State council for two terms and currently the Vice Chairman of NUJ, Ekiti State council. Presently, I am aspiring to be the Vice President of NUJ in the Southwest, B Zone.
I grew up in the North – I attended Army Command Children School and Army Secondary School, Zaria for my primary and secondary education respectively. Thereafter, I did my Diploma at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria before bagging my first and second degrees at the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD). I also attended the International Institute of Journalism, Ado Ekiti Campus.
Can you share your experience working with the National Orientation Agency (NOA)?
Yes, it has been a very wonderful environment and the most important thing is that when you like what you are doing you need to put in more effort towards it. This has propelled me to be the voice of the voiceless and to fight for the constitutional rights of journalists in the country.
What informed your decision to contest for the office of the National Vice President of NUJ?Â
Having served as secretary for two terms faithfully, I want to pursue and change the face of Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) positively so that the name of Ekiti state can be written in gold. I believe that whatever God has committed to one’s hands should be done to the best of one’s ability. I feel there are some things that men are not seeing that I, as a woman will be privileged to know, I have penned them down and I know that I am going to fix them.
What are your vision and plans for NUJ in the zone?
While I was serving as Secretary, there was peace and harmony in the Ekiti state council and that is one of the things I want to replicate at the National level. I discovered that there are pockets of troubles in some councils in the Southwest and I believe I can be a change agent to bring the desired peace among the troubled councils. I am optimistic that God can use me to build a virile, viable and united union in the zone that will be able to compete favorably among the committee of zones in the country.
Furthermore, we are going to be an effective voice for the voiceless in the zone at the national level. I am planning to collaborate with development partners for training and retraining of our members in the zone. We did it at the Ekiti state council and I know we can extend it so that other journalists from the zone can enjoy it.
We have also mandated the Technical Committee in Osun State to reposition the International Institute of Journalism in the state so that the institution can be a world class institute and its graduates reckoned with after graduation. We want to give our profession the dignity that it deserves and these are some of the numerous things we aim to achieve.
What is your plan towards the welfare of Journalists in the zone?
We are going to prioritize it and make sure that Journalists are fairly treated because a worker deserves its wages. Also, we will endeavour to ensure that Journalists are not molested and harassed in the course of carrying out their legitimate duties.
What is your plan towards ensuring that the press is not gagged and suppressed in the course of carrying out their professional duties?
I want to say that we are learned and we know that we have a constitution guiding our profession as Journalists. We will make sure that the press is not gagged and its practitioners are not molested while discharging their duties. On the issue of the Channels television, I am sure the NUJ National president is handling the matter and he has approached the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to discuss with them that people who are discharging their duties should not be molested. At the level of the zone, we believe that when such reoccurs, we will know how to tackle it because Journalists are expected to be treated with dignity.
Your final words of admonition?
If elected, I will run an open-door policy and I promise not to disappoint. Every stake holder in the zone will have their own inputs on how the zone should be properly run. I promise to be a voice to the voiceless and to represent the southwest zone fairly. I am not going to be an autocratic leader and our decision towards the growth of the profession will be a collective one.