NIJ hoists flags of professional bodies, unveils code of ethics

The Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) has hoisted flags and unveiled a code of ethics for professional bodies that make up the communication industry.

They include the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Institute of Public Relation (NIPR), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and International Press Institute (IPI), which provided the seed fund in 1963, in its campus.

At the event, which held yesterday in Lagos, former Governor of Ogun State and Chairman of the institution’s Governing Council, Chief Segun Osoba, hoisted the flags of Nigeria and that of IPI.

While hoisting the flag of Nigeria, Osoba said his hope is to see the country bounce back.

“I pray that Nigeria will be great again in my time,” he said.

The Provost of NIJ, Gbenga Adefaye, who welcomed guests, said the goal in this assignment was to provide
linkage and identification of these professional bodies with NIJ.

“Our hope is that whoever passes here will appreciate our connectivity when he sees the flags flying. In all, we hope the hoisting of the flags and the unveiling of the code of ethics plaques will open a new chapter in the transformation and repositioning of the institution as we transform to digitally impact our profession,” he said.

Adefaye said: “We unveil the plaque of the code of ethics of these professional bodies at strategic locations on our campus to constantly remind ourselves — faculty, students, and visitors — of the ethical requirements of our noble profession. This, we hope, will serve as a constant reminder and consciousness builder for us in integrating the values and ethical standards required for professional practice. As we are aware, theory prepares you for practice, ethics sustains you in practice. The foundation of professional practice is ethics. Our flag must fly at full mast.”

Mallam Muktar Sirajo, President of the NIPR, considered the flag hoisting as a process of reconnection to the school, saying, he would “commit the NIPR in the discharge of its responsibility as a member of the Fourth Estate of the realm.”

Also speaking, the registrar of APCON, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, said the event was a call to service and an opportunity to help the institute develop. He said he would ensure that “APCON contributes its quota to the institute’s growth.”

Ray Ekpu, who stood in for the President of NPAN, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, hoisted the flag of the association, saying it represents, “progress of the institution and progress of mankind.”

The NIJ is a public trust of dual heritage: academic and a professional institute and its mandate is to train aspiring and budding journalists and others in the media and communication discipline, as well as retrain practitioners in media and communication discipline of journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations, marketing communication, and others.