The Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Senator Dayo Adeyeye, has urged journalists to develop ways of honouring their own, saying the profession spends too much time celebrating others and too little celebrating itself.
Adeyeye, himself a veteran journalist, spoke in Ado-Ekiti when he received the Chairman of the League of Veteran Journalists (LVJ), Ekiti State Chapter, Prince Kayode Oni, and other members of the League on a courtesy visit to his residence.
“We report about others, not ourselves”
Recalling his own path into the profession, Adeyeye said: “Some of us did not deliberately decide to go into journalism; we just found ourselves there. But it is a profession we enjoyed, and from there we were able to build whatever careers we are pursuing now.”
He told his guests that his years in active practice spanned both print and broadcast media, where he held several editorial positions.
The senator said journalists must learn to blow their own trumpets, as members of other professions do.
“We journalists like to celebrate others without celebrating ourselves. That is the problem of journalism. We report about others, but we don’t report about ourselves,” he said.
According to him, some journalists have made contributions that, had they been lawyers, would have earned them recognition greater than the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Yet, he noted, the profession has no structure for rewarding, honouring or acknowledging its members’ contributions to journalism and society.
No fellowship to aspire to
“If you are an accountant, you can aspire to become a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA). If you are an engineer, you can aspire to become a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. If you are a medical doctor, you can aspire to become a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons. What about journalists? They have nothing to aspire to,” he said.
He called for deliberate steps to make journalism “a real profession.”
Adeyeye commended the League’s leadership for establishing the body in the state and expressed satisfaction with its current membership, but advised it to reach out to more veteran journalists.
League appreciates support
Earlier, Prince Oni thanked Adeyeye for his contributions to the inauguration of the League’s Grand Patron and Patrons in Ado-Ekiti last month. He also appreciated the NPA Board Chairman for keeping in touch with the League despite not residing in the state.
Oni assured him that the League would continue to count on his support, citing his consistent goodwill toward the body and the publicity his private broadcasting outfit gave the inauguration ceremony.
“SWAGA has done very well”
Assessing the South-West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA), which he midwifed, Adeyeye said many had doubted the project would succeed, but “to the glory of God, it is still alive today.”
He said the clearest evidence of its success is that the man it campaigned for, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, won the 2023 election. Adeyeye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), added that even the President did not initially believe the project was feasible, but by his own assessment, SWAGA has done very well.
