ExpdonaLoaded.blogspot.com (+2348097205188): Expdonaloaded News; My vision for NUJ

Thursday 23 July 2015

Expdonaloaded News; My vision for NUJ –Aladenika

Otunba Mike Aladenika, former chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, NUJ, Edo State council was at the NUJ Press Centre, Ibadan last week to canvass for votes from his colleagues ahead of the fifth triennial delegates conference and election of the union. The four-day conference, which commences tonight will climax on Sunday, with the election of new officers that will pilot the affairs of the union for the next three years.

For over an hour, the pint-sized Ondo prince who is one of the contestants for the union plum office spoke eloquently about his dream for the union and media practitioners. Aladenika explained that he planned to provide an alternative style of administration that would guarantee an enhanced welfare package for journalists. The alternative style of administration, according to him, would help in solving the problems of quackery, under payment of salaries, non-payment of salaries, irregular payment of salaries and job insecurity in the media.
He noted that he has the experience to be the national president of NUJ because he would bring his competence to bear in proving a better leadership for the union, adding that he has experience as an NUJ congress member and also served as a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) for three years, when he was a state council chairman.
He promised that he would rightly position NUJ to effectively defend journalists against the myriad of challenges such as non-payment of salary, irregular salary payment, under-employment and so on.
How does he plan to solve the problems in the media industry peradventure he wins? “I will convene regular media summit, where all stakeholders will come on-board to discuss this industry. What are we going to do so that this industry will not die? What have we been doing before that we need to agree to do differently in the interest of the industry and the country? This is the base of my aspiring to be the president. If we are able to do all these and a number of sequences, most of the other problems will collapse.
“I don’t need to carry a placard to say I want to picket a company for non-payment of salaries, because the proprietor of the company must have understood from the summit that it is a crime for him not to pay salaries. Then, by nature, he will do it, and the journalists working in such companies will put in their best because they know the company must make money to pay their salaries,” he said.
Aladenika, however, warned the government against its perceived stand not to intervene in the problems rocking the media industry in the country, saying the crises in the media industry would have negative impact on the country if not effectively checked.
“At this stage and time, Nigeria cannot afford to let the media industry derail. Even, the journalists are complaining that the media industry is having crises. The government at various levels should be prepared to salvage it. If they pretend as if they don’t know that things are wrong in the industry, it’s too bad for all of us. Foreigners will tell our stories.”
He is squared against other opponents, most of them in the corridors of power in the union. They include Waheed Odusile, Dele Atunbi, U.S.A. Usaka, Mustapha Lamidi, and Rotimi Obamuwagun. He is quick to tell you that they do not scare him one bit as he believed he would sing the victory song at the end of the day. Reason? “The most important thing is that the delegates now know what they want. The delegates have listened to all of us and are more enlightened now. They have come to understand that gone were those days when power brokers would force them to vote in a particular direction. The delegates will make the right choice. They know that what I am offering affects their daily performance and welfare. We have about 700 delegates from 37 councils. Certainly, they will vote for me.”
But who is Otunba Mike Aladenika? He responded: “Some 22 years back, I came into the profession when I got an employment in the Nigerian Observer as a features writer, which I did for about three years, after which I moved in search of greener pasture to the Independent Television Benin (ITV), as a reporter, and I rose to the rank of Controller of News. I was there for about 10 years. While I worked there, I became the NUJ chairman in Edo State. While I was NUJ chairman, I sought further greener pasture and I applied for a transfer of service to the African Independent Television (AIT). I was employed as a senior reporter in AIT. I have served as head of radio services in Ray Power. Currently, I am serving as the Head of News in AIT.”