The Commissioner for Communications in Kwara State, Mrs Bolanle Olukoju, has emphasized the need for Journalists to take advantage of the state-owned Innovation Hub to technologically improve their productivity.
Mrs Olukoju dropped this hint at a One-Day Impactful Workshop on Human Capital Development for Media Industry in Kwara State organized by National Office of Human Capital Development, Abuja in collaboration with the Kwara State government tagged “Empowering Minds Changing Narratives: Advancing Human Capital Development Through Media and Technology” held at NUJ Hall, Press Centre, Ilorin.
She encouraged Journalists to be innovatively minded as some of the facilities in the Innovative Hub constructed by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq would be of great benefits to media professionals.
The Commissioner expressed deep concern over preponderance of fake news in the society and tasked the Journalists to be objective as enshrined in their professional ethics.
In her welcome address, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Maryam Nnafatima Imam, posited that exploration of media and technology would go a long way in educating more people about their rights, opportunities and how they can access government programmes.
Mrs Imam explained that Human Capital Development is about people by ensuring that they are healthy, educated and empowered to contribute meaningfully to the society and acknowledged Governor AbdulRazaq’s giant strides in the education sector with increase in school enrolment to ensure more children have access to quality education.
The Governor’s aide therefore appreciated her principal for his dedication toward enhancing Human Capital Development in the state.
The Keynote Speaker, Dr Aisha Imam-Omoloso, of the Department of Mass Communication, Faculty Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, tasked media professionals to be technologically savvy and undergo relevant trainings that could boost their Human Capital Development.
Dr Omoloso, who spoke through Dr Oba Abdulkadir Laaro, advocated stringent media regulation of traditional and online media to guard against unethical professional practice.
The Don condemned disinformation in the society and called for strong media literacy among the practitioners to insulate them against deficiency.
In his speech, the Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Comrade Issa Aremu, commended Mrs Maryam Nnafatima Imam for her commitment to the Human Capital Development for journalists in the state.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ Kwara State Council, Mallam Abdullateef ‘Lanre Ahmed, said the seminar was organized to strengthen productivity of journalists in the state.
Mallam Ahmed noted that the workshop would serve as eyeopener for Journalists to be firmly in tune with journalistic ethics in an era where fake news and falsehood propagation spread rapidly like wildfire in the harmattan.
