THE WHISTLER Awards: Publisher James Ume Champions Supporting Men Of Integrity In Government As Reuben Abati Seeks Partnership With Media

THE WHISTLER Newspaper’s Chairman and Publisher, Chief James Ume, said the media can be partners in building a better Nigeria and not just adversaries of the government.

Ume stated this at the maiden annual dinner/awards of the newspaper held on Saturday at the Wells Carlton Hotels and Apartments in Abuja.

While acknowledging the important role of journalistic accountability, Ume called for a balanced approach.
“We don’t just expose bad things,” he declared. “We also shine a light on good work and integrity within government.”

Ume explained that his position stems from recognising the human cost of negative reporting.

“Imagine,” he said, “government officials crying because one paragraph published against them destroys their reputation. Their families and friends are affected too.”

“This is why THE WHISTLER is pioneering a new path. We hold people accountable, but we also celebrate those who do well,” Ume emphasized.

“We don’t give awards, we call it a commendation plaque. If you’re a man of integrity, we’ll recognize you.

“What we do in our place in THE WHISTLER, is, we have taking integrity to another level because we believe today in Nigeria, so many persons do not respect the job that journalists do.

“You know why? Because journalists only say the bad things about people in government, it’s a default statement that once you are in government, you are a thief. So the moment you go to government, you become a thief, somebody wants to see the kind of job you did before you got to Government.

“But we have taken another aspect, another way to look at it; how do we support those who are working for government? To support those who are doing well and not scandalize them because we have come to find something about people in government; they have families, they have friends and I have seen persons in government cry because of one paragraph publication against them.

Beyond celebrating individuals, the ceremony is a tradition of appreciation for THE WHISTLER‘s members of staff and management.

“This year was amazing,” Ume said, “we have done a wonderful job and I give thumbs up to all THE WHISTLER staff. Congratulations to all of you.”

The guest speaker, a renowned media scholar, Dr. Reuben Abati, echoed Ume’s call for a new chapter in media-government relations.

He pointed out that while professions like lawyers can advocate for better conditions, journalists often get overlooked. “Nobody asks, ‘How can we help journalists?'” he observed.

Abati urged a paradigm shift: “Instead of viewing journalists as troublemakers, see them as stakeholders in building a good society.”

He highlighted the media’s constitutional role as the “fourth estate” and noted the growing demand for partnership and support from media institutions.

Abati commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing journalists to his cabinet and for creating an enabling environment for free exchange of ideas.

“Under the Tinubu government, I have not heard that they have locked somebody (journalist) up for expressing an opinion.

“Beyond that, the Nigerian government can help Journalism by providing the enabling environment that can help exchange of knowledge and ideas to flourish,” Abati advised.

He suggested further steps, such as providing support for journalist training and development.

Abati said if the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) can approach the federal government to say there should be a better welfare for judges, there ought to be discussions on how to help Nigerian journalists.

“When they discussed all these, nobody says what can we do to help journalists, media houses?

“This year, in the face of all the challenges, government is saying support us, even the media is saying support us too. So , how can government and the media work together to forge a good partnership going forward,” Abati said

Abati observed that the attitude of people in government is to look down on journalists and say they like to make trouble, saying journalists should be seen as stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

“But journalists don’t think so, journalists are convinced that the media and government are involved in the business of building a good society and that the media has a constitutional responsibility; after all, it’s called the fourth realm of the estate within the purview of Section 39 and 22 of the 1999 Constitution,” he said.

In his welcome remarks, the Chief Operating Officer of THE WHISTLER, Christian Chukwu, expressed pride in the newspapers commitment to “truth and the sanctity of facts.”

He praised the newsroom’s dedication to “informing and engaging our community.”

Chukwu said the organisation’s team did exceptionally well this year.

“Today is a special day to not just recognise and celebrate all the exceptional achievements that we have been able to get this year.

“I just want to say that this year, our newsroom has been a beehive of activities especially in the pursuit of truth and also to preserve the sanctity of facts.

“There is something that breathes in us everyday we wake up and decide to do the job that we do; it is because we want to stand out, we want to inform and at the end of the day, we want to engage the community that depends on us for us to be able to keep them abreast of what is going on,” Chukwu said.

The COO added that THE WHISTLER considers fact-based reporting as a responsibility.

The event drew top government officials, security agencies, media personalities, including Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, the NNPC GCEO, Mele Kyari, politicians, and other business leaders.