The Dangote Group has trained no fewer than 50 Abeokuta-based journalists on digital reporting to enhance efficiency and service delivery.
The Plant Director, Dangote Cement, Ibese, Mr. Azad Nawabudden, said at the opening of a training programme for journalists in Abeokuta on Thursday that the media has remained a reliable ally to the company.
At the two-day programme facilitated by the Centre for Financial Journalism, Nawabudden said that the training was the company’s way of reciprocating the support of the media.
The programme with the theme "Ethics, Skills, and Personal Qualities for Reporting in the Digital Age" gathered journalists from print, broadcast, and new media outfits.
The plant director commended journalists in the state for their support of the operations of the company, especially in showcasing its support for a healthy environment.
"You have remained committed to reporting the company’s efforts towards promoting a healthy environment.
"You have relentlessly featured Dangote’s strides at minimising the greenhouse effect and restoration of the ecosystem through our alternate fuel project," he said.
Nawabudden said that the alternate fuel project adopted by Dangote cement plants across the country had helped to reduce carbon footprints in the environment.
Also speaking, Mr. Francis Brown of the Corporate Communications Department expressed the need for journalists to harness opportunities in digital technology to do their jobs.
He urged journalists to look beyond the traditional ways of performing editorial functions by effectively utilising the array of opportunities that technology had brought to their job.
"It is time to adopt existing digital technologies; this will help enhance your careers and make you marketable," he said.
The Director of the Centre for Financial Journalism, Dr. Ray Echebiri, urged participants to take the lessons learned from the programme seriously in the interest of their personal development.
He further urged journalists to seek newer ways of improving their financial fortunes by tapping into available online opportunities.
"I urge you to hone your skills in writing, reporting, and analysis. Tap into the technological tools that are now available for journalists," he said.
The Bauchi State Police Command on Wednesday tasked members of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) to redouble efforts in reporting all cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
The state Commissioner of Police, Musa Auwal, gave this charge at a one-day capacity building organised by the state chapter of the association in Bauchi.
Auwal said that increased SGBV reportage would help in creating awareness about the ugly trend.
"Amplifying the acts will serve as a vehement tool for eliminating the scourge.
"Increased public awareness will assist in exposing perpetrators of such negative acts, thereby providing a safe environment for residents," he said.
The commissioner reiterated the commitment of the police in the state towards detecting, arresting, and investigating all reported cases of gender violence in the state.
"Through sensitization, NAWOJ should enlighten women to expose SGBV cases by breaking the culture of silence that covers the culprits.
"The command will ensure that all SGBV procedures are adhered to to eliminate and punish offenders," he said.
In his contribution, DSP Ahmed Garba, the Gender Officer in the command, said that between January and June 2023, no fewer than 1,501 cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) were reported in the command.
Earlier, the Chairperson, NAWOJ Bauchi Chapter, Mrs. Rashida Yusuf, said that the training was to further equip women journalists with tools and new ideas on reporting GBV issues in the state.
"Twenty-five journalists drawn from existing media organisations are attending this training," she said.
In her presentation, Mrs. Esther Patrick, Gender Officer, Bauchi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Development, said that a dashboard had been established and domiciled for proper coordination of SGBV data in the ministry.
Patrick said that the state also inaugurated a technical working committee and gender desk officers to oversee all the line ministries, agencies, and parastatals.
"The impacts of SGBV include physical, sexual, emotional, and spiritual violence and trauma.
"Others are cultural, economic, financial, and verbal violence, among others," she said.
Patrick called for synergy between stakeholders and the general public to eliminate all forms of gender violence in the state.
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