The Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) have applauded Grammy Award-winning musician, Damini Ogulu, also known as Burna Boy, for his generosity in paying for the medical bills of all patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), and also commended The Guardian Newspaper’s report on the health facility that drew public attention.
The Guardian, in its report on June 1, drew the attention of the public to the nightmares going on in the apex hospital.
Barely two weeks after the report, Burna Boy paid a visit to the hospital and paid the medical bills of all patients in the hospital.
Reacting to the development, yesterday, the state NUJ, in a statement signed by the Council’s Secretary, Ike Wigodo, said that the union is happy with the musician for his kind gestures.
The union advised the management of UPTH to ensure that the required standards of a teaching hospital are met.
The statement reads in part: “As journalists, we must at all times set an agenda for the development of institutes, the nation, as well as to protect and advance the socio-economic interests of the society, as well as other objectives that are lawful and consistent with the spirit and practice of journalism.
The union commended The Guardian correspondent, Ann Godwin, for adhering to the ethics of Nigerian journalists, as approved by the Nigerian Press Organisation. “Without the trending reports, this wouldn’t have happened”, Wigodo said.
On its part, the Executive Director of YEAC-Nigeria, Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, said that reports like The Guardian’s are what is needed for a better and egalitarian society where the poor and needy can express themselves.
Fyneface noted that it is through the media that succour comes the way of those who ordinarily would not have been heard.
