Dokpesi, who made the prediction, yesterday at his ‘Kpaduma’ top Hill residence in Abuja, at a meeting between a group of media professionals under the aegis of South- South Pen Pushers (SSPP) and Dokpesi, expressed fear that there are signs that journalists may be subjected to difficult working condition except practitioners work in tandem to defend the values of the profession.
While calling for a formidable media collaboration of the South, Dokpesi said journalists in the discharge of their official duties must be resolute, determined and united as any injustice to one journalist amounts to injustice to all journalists.“The years and days ahead are going to be more challenging for all journalists and I think we must defend this pen pushing profession. It is usual to take people for granted, Decree 4 was promulgated and like joke, almost 31 years ago, everybody thought they cannot implement it until they started grabbing journalists here and there. May God not let them grab any of our own but unless we are united, unless we all work together, we will not be able to defend those values,” he said.
He called for a formidable alliance of media practitioners from the Southern region as well as the Middle Belt so as to guide against any form of oppression and injustice against the media by the government.
“After consolidating this relationship properly, we can bring into the fold the South-East and the South-West, so as to have a strong Southern Nigeria Media collaboration but if we want to be more patriotic, I will advise that we bring in the Middle Belt,” he said.
Newswatch Times