National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
Media Career Services, Lagos has organised a free one-day training on advocacy and social media for journalist.
The training, titled Advocacy and Social Media Journalism, was held at the Media Career Centre in Lagos on Friday addressing journalists from the traditional and the new media platforms.
Facilitating sessions were Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Online Editor of the Nation newspaper and Mr. Femi Awoniyi, a Germany-based publisher.
Otufodunrin, who is a media trainer challenged the participants to leverage on the immense possibilities afforded by the social media. “If you are going to practice journalism in 2017, you must embrace the new media and to achieve this, you must be social media compliant,” he said
The media expert afterwards enumerated practical steps to utilising social media platforms saying, “You must understand it and consider it a professional tool to advance what you do.”
Challenging negative mannerisms and social media behaviours, Otufodunrin admonished the participants to pay attention, listen and converse with their audience on social media.
He concluded that “There are so many tools at our disposal today, however, you must find which is best for you and carve a niche for yourself.
Corroborating Otufodunrin’s position on the several opportunities available for career development, Femi Awoniyi, a trained engineer from the University of Ife who now practices journalism, encouraged the participants to harness the possibilities available in Nigeria.
Awoniyi, publisher of The African Courier, an international magazine published in Germany, went on to advocate against illegal migration which has grown among Nigerians.
Also the Project Director of the Migration Enlightenment Project in Nigeria, Awoniyi berated the number of Nigerians who have lost their lives to illegal migration.
The publisher who has lived in Germany since 1990 told participants that, “This year alone, many Nigerians have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, exposing themselves to wide spread human rights abuse with some women being forced into prostitution.”
He added that, “The majority of those who leave the continent don’t visit home because they are illegal immigrants. Illegal migration not only put their lives at risk but also endanger the fish industry across the Mediterranean Sea as bodies of dead migrants are usual not recovered.”
A frequent visitor to Nigeria, Awoniyi, admitted that Nigeria has made enormous improvement over the years contrary to popular opinion. The country is not hopeless and she has a future, he said.
Comparing Germany with Nigeria, he revealed that Germany has no natural resources but has thriving industries. Explaining further, the publisher said, “Governance in Germany is policed by the people and as such there is no room for corruption.
“On the other hand, 60% of the world’s uncultivated land is in Africa with numerous mineral resources. However, people expose themselves to hazardous conditions just to migrate.”
Awoniyi, having observed illegal immigration practices among Nigerians for some period, declared that “The cumulative expense of illegal migration is enough to start a worthwhile career in Nigeria.”
He then charged the journalists present to create positive stories about Nigeria saying, “Don’t write in a way that can make readers pessimistic about this country.”
