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Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung has expressed urged governments at all levels to set up a commensurate reward system for journalists in view of their roles in entrenching democracy in the country.
Dalung, who bemoaned the working conditions of practicing journalists in the country, said there was the need to review their pay and terms of service in appreciation of their contributions to the development of the country.
Addressing State House Correspondents after he signed the condolence register in honour of the late Channels Television Reporter, Chukwuma Onuekwusi, the minister described the reward system for journalists in Nigeria as fundamentally faulty.
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He stressed the need for legislations that would entrench what he called “a very solid reward system that will guarantee greater contributions of journalists.”
He said, “Nigeria as a country does not take care of its journalists. Looking at the role they play even in entrenching this democracy, I don’t think that they have actually been accommodated in the structures they have struggled hard to build.
“Anybody who participated in the struggle for democracy in this country should know the role journalists played and still play. Many lost their lives in the struggle but unfortunately, when democracy finally came, what has actually become of journalism is the Wheelbarrow Theory.
“The wheelbarrow is a very important tool that has no garage. It is kept in the sun and in the rain but when there is the need to convey any bag of garri or rice, it is dusted, used and dumped where it was kept and that is unfortunate!
Dalung advised that the country must look at its laws and entrench a solid reward system to guarantee contributions of key actors like journalists.
