Remain faithful to God, Cleric advises journalists

 By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI— Nigerian journalists have been urged to remain focused and faithful to God in their dogged battle against evil and criminality in the country.

The Vicar in charge of Saint Cyprain’s Anglican Church, Federal Housing Estate, Owerri, Rev. Chukwunyere Chukwuocha, gave the charge during a thanksgiving service organized by Imo State Council of Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, to give thanks to God for rescuing their colleagues who were held hostage by dare-devil kidnappers in Abia State recently.

Describing journalism as “a sacred profession,” the Vicar prayed God to continue to protect journalists from evil-minded people and their un-godly machinations, even as he lamented that Nigerian journalists were poorly paid and sadly wallowing in abject poverty.

“I would like to use this medium to passionately appeal to employers of these journalists to make sure they are properly taken care of. When we see them on television, we celebrate them as great men but we shudder to discover that they are wallowing in poverty and nobody is taking care of them,” Chukwuocha said.

“During the NADECO era, journalists stridently helped in fighting the military cabal that held Nigeria hostage for decades,
back into their barracks.

“Our leaders should also remember the welfare of our press men to make sure that things go well with them,” the Vicar pleaded.
Chairman, Imo State Council of the NUJ, Chief Fidel Onyeneke, explained that the Council was in church to appreciate God for rescuing four of their members from the clutches of kidnappers.