Former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged media practitioners in the country to take the lead in championing the much-needed change in Nigeria. He stated that as critical stakeholders in nation-building, the role of the media could not be relegated to the background.
Dr. Kalu, who made the remarks in Abuja yesterday, during the inaugural conference of Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), urged participants in the event to use some of the things identified as divisive agents, for the good of the nation.
Represented at the event by the Managing Director of The New Telegraph Newspapers, Mr. Eric Osagie, the former governor emphasised the need for media practitioners t
o collaborate to move the industry forward. He said practising journalists and those in the classroom must find a meeting point in the best interest of the profession.
He said there was need for an exchange programme between practitioners and teachers and suggested that those who practiced could spend their sabbatical in the classroom, while classroom teachers should do likewise.

“Today, everything has become centrifugal force in Nigeria.”  Language divides us, religion tears us apart, and culture renders us asunder. Yet, these could be sources of strength and cohesion.
‎”They could be centripetal influences that could help us forge a true nation-state, a land where no man is oppressed, where there are no fears of ethnic domination or suppression and where peace and justice truly reign.
“There is nothing that says a communication scholar cannot have his sabbatical in a media house, while professionals on the field can also go into classrooms once in a while to add practical flavour to the curriculum. I charge the ACSPN to work out the framework and modalities,” Dr Kalu urged the participants.
He re-echoed a troubling trend that has dominated the country’s educational space for a while now, decrying the instability of graduates of Mass Communication to excel in the profession.
“As an investor and stakeholder in the media industry, I have heard it said that students trained in our Mass Communication departments are hardly suitable for the job market.
“Hence, they have to be trained all over, when they get into the field. This is a challenge for the gown. It must produce what the town can use. There must be complementarity,” Kalu noted.