Founder of Afe Babalola University (ABUAD) and legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola has lashed out at the failure of journalists to promptly and effectively reports situations of things in the country.
He was particular about how this affects the interest of the general public. He equally descended heavily on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government for failing to attend to the deplorable conditions of Nigerian Roads and heed to the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian masses.
The legal luminary made this position known while playing host to the State Officials and Leadership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Ekiti State Council who went to present an Award of Excellence for his Service to Humanity and National Development to him in his office at ABUAD in Ado Ekiti recently.
While officially presenting the Award of Excellence for Service to Humanity and National Development to Aare Afe Babalola in his office, the State Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Lion Rotimi Ojomoyela thanked the Ekiti born philanthropist for his numerous and previous efforts towards making life better for the common people in the society. The Chairman urged the Ado Ekiti born Chief not to relent in his efforts to do more for his society.
Reacting to the Award of Excellence presented to him, Aare Afe Babalola frowned at the attitude of the present day journalists he has encountered as they discharged their their duties. He berated them for failing to perform according to the expectations of the public who solely rely on them to help them voice their grievances to the necessary and appropriate authorities in the country.
Giving an instance, Afe Babalola said: “the poor condition of the road from Odo Ado Area of Ado Ekiti in the state capital leading to ABUAD has been neglected by the Federal Government. I have been maintaining that road and the bridge for nine years. Last year, when FERMA said they were going to repair the road, we stopped working on it hoping that the road would be repaired by them. They never did it. I used to prepare the bridge in advance to prepare it for annual rains”.
Talking to the journalists, Aare Afe Babalola said: “how many of you went out of your way to write about that bridge? Now, the Aramoko Ekiti road has cut, there are four major Federal roads in Ekiti, the one from Ado Ekiti to Otun Ekiti; the one from Efon/Ilesha to Ado Ekiti; the one from Ado Ekiti to Akure and the one from Ado Ekiti to Ikare in Ondo State. All are in their deplorable states now as I talk. How many journalists wrote anything about them?”, the legal luminary queried.
Afe Babalola noted further and complained that when journalists were invited to his office, that some would come with cameras without batteries. Thereafter, I will look at the press, and see nothing. That is the type of people we are having as journalists today”.
However, he didn’t undermine the power of journalists as he made reference to a particular person in England who sometime told the Queen of England that the persons he couldn’t abuse or criticize are the journalists because of the power of their pen.
According to him, “when you write, it goes to the places where you cannot defend yourself.
“If this country will grow, if this country will get out of poverty, it is through the journalists. That is my position. You are not doing your job properly. You people are afraid of criticizing those in power.
“The Senate is going to pass a bill on hate speech. How many of you have come out to criticize this? That is the beginning of dictatorship”.
Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
