Protocol . Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is most gratifying to stand before you today to be honoured by this great body as pioneer President of MARAN. This clarity has become imperative because it is on record that i succeeded my brother and friend, Pastor Alban Opara ,who was the founding caretaker Chairman ,who ran the body briefly at a time we had no constitution. May the soul of Late Ubon Akpan, who headed the constitution drafting committee, that saw my emergence as the first democratically elected President , rest in peace .
I cannot thank the organisers of this event enough for their foresight and goodwill in putting together such a brilliant idea. There is no gainsaying the fact that the 1999 constitution as ammended recognises the unique role of the media as the 4th estate of the realm. As the watch dog of society , our primary responsibilty is that of holding all arms of government accountable.The hallmark of every successful democracy is measured by its vibrant and independent media.But in doing so , we must be guided by the ethics of our profession ,key among which is giving all sides fair hearing. Unfortunately, the advent of social media seems to have negatively affected the mainstream media .
This notwithstanding ,we must rise above acts and actions that may bring us to disrepute by being responsible in our reportage. On the part of agencies and stakeholders in the maritime sector, they owe the media a duty to partner with us in our drive to make Nigeria occupy her rightful place in the comity of maritime nations.We all must appreciate and give kudos to MARAN for its pacce_setting role where all maritime reporters got their first baptizm in maritime journalism. That is why it is often said that if you didnt pass through MARAN, dont ever parade your self as a maritime journalist.
As maritime journalists, unity is key if we must continue to assert ourselves as the eyes of the industry.That is why we must condemn, in its entirety ,the current proliferation of maritime media beat associations, which at the last count is between 7 and 8, if not more.As a house divided among itself , this development has dealt a big blow on our welfare and perception among stakeholders. For instsnces ,who pays for the press releases shunned out daily for our use? Who pays for our data? Or does the basic tenets of the law of contract not say that once there is an offer and acceptance, a contract has effectively taken place? For instance, once NIMASA sends a press release to my email box, and i accept to publish same, a contract has been established for which such a service must be paid for. But here we are doing ” osho free”, with hardly any show of apprecation. How often are we remembered when the big parastals like NPA, NIMASA, Nigerian Shippers’ Council and lately, SIFAX embark on Corporate Social Responsiblity projects? All we do is masage their egos daily with no commensurate appreciation.
May God bless Customs CG, Wale Adeniyi for being exceptionally kind to maritime journalists. And again, If covering football world cup is the ultimate dream of every sports journalist , the question to ask is when was the last time a maritime journalist covered an International Maritime Organisation( IMO) Council Meeting?Last ,November, one of us was lucky enough to get his state government to sponsor him to attend the IMO council election in London . But guess what, his application for visa through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy which was filed about four months prior to the trip ,the letter did not go beyond the precinct of Bukar Dipcharima House ,Abuja , until those who went for the event returnded That was how our colleague missed the trip.
This is just one in several examples ,as opposed to how sports journalists, energy or finance correspondents are treated Ladies and gentlemen, today is certainly not a day of long speeches, but one for merry making.I thank you all for your attention.