By Demola Akinyemi, Ilorin

The Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman, has urged Nigerians to shun money politics in order to get the nation’s leadership recruitment right.

This is just as he explained that monetary inducement in the nation’s polity has made the citizens to forfeit the opportunity of interrogating the capacity of aspiring politicians put forward to lead them at any transition period.

Sulaiman stated this while playing host to the leadership of Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the state chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) at his Ilorin country home.

He expressed concern over the degree of evil money is wreaking on the politics with admonition to members of the political class to eschew monetary inducement in politicking.

Sulaiman, however, challenged the media to lead the campaign of educating the citizenry to be wary of repeating past mistakes on the choice of leaders they entrust with power.

“Our society is undergoing serious challenges. We have responsibilities as Journalists to educate the people, do some narratives in line with the tenets of the organization.

“Journalists also owe the society a responsibility to do reportage with the fear of God and patriotism to the society.

He also commended the kwara state government under the leadership of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq for various people oriented Programmes which include urban renewal project that has changed the faces of the state capital to meet its folks in the federation.

He called on NUJ to educate its members on the ethics of journalism profession and marry the fear of God with the ethics of the profession.

Sulaiman noted that Journalists should make it a duty to critically examine the goings in the country vis-a-vis societal goal and development.

He said, “I want to reiterate the fact that Journalists are the eyes and ears of the society. Nigeria’s history as a sovereign country is incomplete without the media as the fourth estate of the realm after the three tiers of government.

“That shows how important the media is in the society. Any government or individual that wants to operate without the media is bound to fail”.

The NILDS DG commended the federal and state governments for the various measures implemented to alleviate the suffering of the masses, noting that these efforts demonstrate a commitment to addressing pressing socio-economic challenges and ensuring the well-being of citizens.

He emphasized that these initiatives are critical in fostering stability and progress, adding that the country is steadily moving in the right direction towards sustainable development and improved quality of life for its people.

The state NUJ Chairman, Abdullateef ‘Lanre Ahmed, who spoke earlier, called for a synergy between NILDS and the union in areas that are mutually exclusive, particularly in the training and retraining of Journalists to be able to deliver in line with the prevailing trends in the profession.

Ahmed emphasized the importance of stemming the tide of preponderance of fake news in the society arising from the danger that is associated with it.

He congratulated the Director General of NILDS on his reappointment, describing it as a reflection of the trust and confidence the National Assembly leadership reposed in him.