Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has said that no group of people in any societal setting is better prepared by their profession to lead than journalists.
Speaking in Bauchi while receiving national officers of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) during a courtesy visit, the governor said women journalists are trustworthy and careful in handling societal issues.
“Media men and women are generals in management and leadership because they know all the multidimensional problems and challenges in all the sectors for them to be able to report very well.
“I am proud to say that I am a journalist, anytime, at any moment, and that profession has prevailed on me to conquer fear and develop my confidence.”
The governor said as someone who believes in the federal government he developed a modest capacity to lead by interaction and healthy competition with his counterparts at the federal level from all parts of Nigeria.
“I am always excited to see an array of leaders from nooks and corners of Nigeria coming to discuss issues, discuss Nigeria. I know a lot will come out of your meetings here in Bauchi. So, I want to let you know that you have a profession that has to be protected too,” he said.
He urged the women journalists to ‘hold the mirror very well’ so that it doesn’t blur when criticising governments, institutions and authorities, stressing, “There is no way we will come out of our problems without the media, because you are the conscience of the nation and its people.
“You educate the people, you entertain them, you let them know how to develop their sensibilities, their sense of judgment, their capacities to surpass from wrongs to rights, and to choose wisely, so we must continue to do that.
“We here in Bauchi have come up with a template, with a programme for development from the day we started campaigns so that we will live with the hindsight of knowledge, planning, execution with a timeline with modest and affordable costs”.
