The Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ) recently held its special delegates' conference at Benin City, Edo State, to fine-tune the union's working document. Bello Gusau, who was one of the delegates at the conference, brings a report.The proverb, he who wears the shoes knows where it hurts most, played out recently at the ancient city of Benin, Edo State, when the state's comrade governor, Adams Oshiomhole, broke his silence on the challenges of leadership, saying that his experience as a governor had shown that governance was not without bias, adding that, in fact, to him, governance was about management of biases.The occasion was the special delegate conference of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for the purpose of reviewing the union's constitution. The programme was a three-day event, starting from 14 to 17 November at the Baden-Baden Exquisite Motel, along Sapele Road, Benin city, the capital of the capital.The opening ceremony of the conference, which drew seven delegates from the 36 states and Abuja, was graced with the presence of notable personalities such as the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ikweremadu, who was the chairman of the occasion; the representatives of Ministers of Information, Labour and Productivity, Mr Labaran Maku and Chief Emeka Wogu respectively, as well as the Oba of Benin, HRH Omo N'oba N'edu Uku Akpolokpolo Ereduwa CFR, while the Otaro of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, was physically present. Also present was the special adviser to the state governor on media, Mr Tony Iyare, who declared the conference open on behalf of the comrade governor who was initially stranded at Abuja, following the cancellation of the early morning flight he booked so as to make it back to the state to attend the opening ceremony of the conference. Others include the NUJ president, Mallam Mohammed Garba, and the registrar of trade unions in the Labour and Productivity Ministry, Mrs Nwanyieze Mbogu, who was on hand to ensure that the constitutional review exercise followed due process.In his remarks, the NUJ president said the constitutional review conference was being held by members of the union every five years to fine-tune the working document of the NUJ in order to meet the challenges of time. Mohammed said he had no personal interest in convening the conference other than to ensure a conducive working environment for the Nigerian journalists to operate. He, therefore, charged all the delegates to the conference to make far-reaching contributions during the business session of the conference with a view to improving the quality of the journalism profession in Nigeria.In his speech, the deputy president of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, said the conference could not have come at a better time than now when the Nigerian constitution was subjected to a review exercise. Ikweremadu, who doubled as the chairman, Senate Committee on the Review of the Nigerian constitution, further stated that constitutional reviews required objective approach in the collective interests of all stake-holders. He explained that the members of his committee worked around the clock to fine-tune the 1999 Constitution with a view to making sure that they completed their assignment before the recently concluded general election, as some portions in the constitution amended bordered on elections.Ikweremadu, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States' (ECOWAS) parliament, urged the leadership of the NUJ to guard against reviewing certain areas in the constitution in a way that would suit their selfish interests.In their separate remarks, Maku and Iyare cautioned practising journalists on the challenges being posed traditional media by the social media. They reasoned that the clamour for justice and change of impostor regimes across the globe were being championed by the social media, rather than the traditional media which was a slap to the practitioners in the traditional media organisations.The two concluded that the sudden turn of things in favour of the social media was a good indication of the fact that the traditional media was no longer satisfying the desire of the people, saying that the traditional journalists must wake up from their slumber so as to save the noble profession of journalism from nose-diving in the reckless hands of operators of the social media.Mid-way into the first day business session of the conference after it was declared open, an announcement came from the NUJ president that the comrade governor had returned from Abuja and that he said he would grace the conference with his presence. Shortly after 3p.m., the governor arrived the venue of the conference which out much fanfare.When it was his turn to speak, the comrade governor began by lamented on how tasking it was to govern, saying that his experience as a governor had convinced him that government was not without bias, and that the art of governance was all about management of biases.Oshiomhole said this was because as a governor, one would have his agenda for development, the projects he would want to execute and areas he would like to give priority, however the people, on the other hand, would have a different thinking as to what projects the governor should execute and where he should execute them.He said this was what made the art of governance something that had to do with the management of biases by the person at the helm of affairs in ways that would be beneficial to the larger majority rather than a selfish few.The comrade governor, however, said the people of the state, so far, were happy at the spate of development going on in the state and when they tried to thank him, he would tell them that there was no need for that because it was their money he was using to serve their purpose not his personal money.Speaking on the NUJ conference, Oshiomhole urged the delegates to use the review exercise to give a biting-teeth to members of the union for the enhanced welfare of the members of the NUJ. He said he was surprised how members of the NUJ could fight for the cause of others but fail to fight for the cause of its members.The comrade governor said he had had course as a labour leader to challenge some of his journalists friends on the failure by the members of the union to engage their employers through strike actions, be thegovernment or private, to pay their salaries as at when due and give them all their rights. but in all cases he said they would tell him that it was not in our character to embark on industrial strike action.The delegates later broke into four groups to discuss and take positions on proposed areas of amendments in the NUJ constitution and the conference closed for the day and resumed the following day.At the resumed sitting on the second day, the comrade governor was vindicated on his definition of governance when the groups made submissions on their stands on articles proposed for amendment, most of which articles were duly passed by the whole house with ease, except that which bordered on the placement of Kwara State in Zone D which they hoped to be changed to Zone B.In the proposed amended constitution, the eight zones operating under the NUJ were re-arranged in such a way as to reflect federal character, in line with the recognised six geopolitical zones in the country. States were grouped based on their geographical location which automatically moved Kwara council from Zone B to zone D but they decried that Kwara was more closer to states in Zone B and its placement there would ensure administrative convenience for the council.Majority of the delegates insisted that the NUJ should act in accordance with the constitutionally recognised geopolitical setting of the country, regardless of how far one state may be from another state in its zone. The matter in the end dragged for too long with heated debates and it therefore had to be subjected to voting by the delegates. The result was 145 votes in support of retention of Kwara in the geopolitical it belonged, based on the recognised geopolitical zones in the country, while 96 votes were in support of the desire of the Kwara council to be moved to Zone B, rather than to remain where it naturally belong under the nation's zoning arrangement.Another article that should have been easily passed was the motion for granting NUJ membership to local government information officers. Because the NUJ national convention was expected to come up by May next year, the attempt to grant membership to the information officers was met with resilience by some of the delegates. In fact, it had to attract over ten interventions of serious claims and counter-claims by the delegates before it could be duly passed. The implication of its passage was that candidates who wished to seek for election into any of the national offices of the union who hail from zones with states that had many local government areas would be at advantage over those whose regions which had states with fewer local government areas.Soon after its passage, the NUJ president called for the motion in support of the adoption of the new NUJ constitution as amended in and which should become operational in May, next year, before the union's national convention. The motion was moved and seconded.
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