The Photo Journalists Association of Nigeria (PJAN) has been urged to collaborate with major stakeholders, particularly the Ministry of Information and other relevant agencies, to establish a photography bank that will preserve their works.

This call was made at the weekend by the former Director of Tell Magazine, Babarinsa Dare, during a yearly symposium and award ceremony organised by PJAN, held at Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Dare, who was speaking as the guest speaker on the theme “Restoring our Pride: The Role of Photojournalists in National Discourse,” regretted that pictures and images of past events were not kept properly due to a lack of a photo bank.

“You are the keepers of national memories. Photographs tell more stories than reporting. There is a need to create national picture archives to preserve our memories,” he said.

He regretted that some of the works of legendary photographers, like Peter Obe and others, had been lost due to non-preservation.
Dare reminded photojournalists that they are an important part of journalism.