Nigeria Parliament: Plenary proceedings, House of Reps, Tues, Dec, 3rd, 2024
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen presided.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen presided.
By Ejiro Umukoro
Rethinking victimhood, Umukoro advocates for a culture of mental resilience and emotional empowerment.
Press freedom and literature are interconnected in several ways, and foremost of which, is Freedom of Expression. Press freedom is a fundamental right that allows journalists and writers to express themselves without censorship or fear of retribution. Literature, as a form of creative expression, also relies on this freedom to explore ideas, themes, and stories without restriction.
Press Freedom and literature also interconnects with regards to Access to Information. A free press ensures that citizens have access to accurate and unbiased information, which is essential for informed public discourse. Literature, in turn, can provide unique perspectives and insights into the human experience, fostering empathy and understanding.
Press Freedom and literature is about Holding Power Accountable. Press freedom enables journalists to hold those in power accountable for their actions as clearly directed by Section 22 of the Nigeria constitution as an important requirement of journalists.
Literature can also serve as a means of social commentary and critique, challenging societal norms and political systems.
Press Freedom and literature is also about Cultural Preservation and Promotion. Literature is a vital part of cultural heritage, and press freedom helps ensure that diverse voices and stories are represented and preserved. This allows literature to continue shaping culture, influencing public opinion, and inspiring future generations.
Journalism as Literature allows the creative mental space for some journalists and writers to blend the lines between reporting and storytelling, using literary techniques to convey complex issues and human experiences. This intersection highlights the importance of press freedom in enabling writers to craft compelling narratives that inform and engage the public.
It is this reason, we believe inspired the United States Agency for Global Media to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day focused on bringing journalists from across the continents to discuss the book, DISTORTION by Ejiro Umukoro.
Due to the recent Cholera outbreak in Lagos, our reporter, Collins Odigie Ojiehanor, investigated the general levels of awareness and response in mitigating the spread of cholera amongst residents in Okosofe and Lagos Island. Our findings left us more disturbed.
Threat to life is a criminal offense provided for in Section 56 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. It states that a person who threatens to carry out the violence of attacking another person is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be jailed for one year.
While the criminal defamation under the Nigeria law clearly states that a defamation matter is defined in section 373 of the criminal code as a matter likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing the person to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or likely to damage any person in his or her profession or trade by injury to his reputation.
Despite these clearly defined laws, Nigerians across the 6 geopolitical zones are not spared the extreme tactics used by loan app operators on clients considered to have defaulted in their loan repayment.
However, loan app operators can not claim ignorance in their approach, resorting to high-handedness as the solution to loan recovery when they break the law to do so. Ignorance of the law does not afford any excuse for any act or omission which would otherwise constitute an offence, unless knowledge of the law by the offender is expressly declared to be an element of the offence.
As the yuletide season gear up and the end-of-year fever heightens with the drop in conscientious consumerism, LightRay Media carried out a survey to feel the pulse of Nigerians regarding the upsurge of extreme tactics by loan app managers and operator’s and their disregard for the rule of law.
The sexualisation of children is more rampant than ever before. In this report, by Ejiro Umukoro, a follow-up to her Pulitzer Centre Outbreak series, we trace back how the lockdown of 2020 recorded a spike in the surge of grooming and sexualisation of children.
While April 11 is marked every year as the day to protect the child, in 2023 however, child porn, sexual grooming and sexualisation of children continues to persist. This investigatve report uncovers the root causes, triggers, enabling factors and solutions to meeting the deadline for the prevention and stoppage of child abuses of all forms as mandated by the UNDP SDG goals on gender equality, peace, justice, and strong institutions.
The Food Crisis across the globe is real. With hike on fossil fuel, palliative are no longer the solution. The root of the food crisis is admitting the role that politics and bad governance continues to play in deliberately not bridging the gap between the rich and the poor.
While Debate Rages over the selecation of Principal Officers of the Senate, Hon. Ukodhiko Jonathan Ajirioghene Gains Traction in the Green Chambers of the #NASS.
Bukola Coker is a journalist whose gentle mien could easily fool you, but don’t be mistaken by it. As a presenter, reporter, and producer with Channels TV, her media trajectory across national TV stations in Nigeria is a blazing trail of success one media story at a time. An Award Winner of the Report Women Leadership Programme by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, she takes us on her journey in the media space, how she tackles on-line harrasment, exposes how many journalists are their own self-saboteurs, and a wealth of other great tips in this Special Exclusive Series on Nigerian Women in Media Project by LightRay Media.
Campus Journos in Nigeria are seizing the day. Many are no longer waiting to get a meager paid salary with legacy media organisations in the country as they set their sights on more audacious international fellowships, grants, and opportunities to hone their skills in raising the bar for themselves in the practice of media, communications and journalism.
One of such seasoned campus journo is Adesola Ikulajolu who recently was announced as the only Nigerian selected for the prestigious DART Centre Fellowship for the 2023 Early Childhood Global Reporting, a project by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New Yourk United States.
In this Special Edition of Nigerian Men in Media Project #NMiMP Series by LightRay Media, Adesola speaks from a place of burning hunger, his embers fueled with an unquenchable goal to outdo himself while also serving as a stepping stone to others. To know him is to immerse yourself in his journey into the media space in Nigeria.