The national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Chief Chris Isiguzo and president, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, Dr. Muhktar Sirajo, said both associations will collaborate to stamp out quacks in both professions with a view to promote professionalism.
The duo said with the prevailing insecurity in the country, Nigeria would need professionals in perception management to be able to keep the country united.
Speaking in Abuja, last week, when the NUJ played host to the leadership of the NIPR, both presidents lamented the many unethical and unprofessional conducts of journalists and public relations practitioners exposing their lack of capacity for their respective roles to build society.
Sirajo said his mission to the NUJ was to canvass for support and partnership to fight unprofessional conducts and birth a new narrative of perception on the Nigerian State.
He pointed out that the NIPR may be forced to publish names of non-members who are doing the job illegally where they fail to respond to the opportunity the association has created for them to regularize their membership and gain sound professional training.
“We have taken our advocacy to various agencies and various governmental spokespeople, who by law are not qualified to practice the profession.
“We have tried to reach out to them, letting them know that we are not out to embarrass anybody but if it gets to that we have a job to do.
“We’re going to have to do it but then as relationship builders we have to ensure that we will do all that we can not to rupture the relationship except if it becomes inevitably necessary,” Sirajo stated.
President of the NUJ, Isiguzo said the union has begun the process of setting up mechanisms at the various state councils across the country to combat and weed out quacks.
He said: “We are doing a whole lot. I can assure you that with you joining us, I want to believe that we’re going achieve something better. It is so sad like you have lamented that you have some spokespersons of very important institutions that are quacks going by the established law guiding the institute.
“It is also sad that you have a system where people are appointed into media related organizations and they don’t have anything to do with the media.”
