Politicians use ethnicity, religion for political gains - Maku

The Minister of Information Labaran Maku has identified ethnicity and religion as the two major problems facing Africa. The minister, who was speaking at the 8th Ordinary congress of West African Journalists Association (WAJA), said politicians used them as platform to gain political advantage.

He called on the African media to have the professional independence in order to withstand the pressure that arose from religion and ethnicity as this would discourage the use of any inciting language that would in turn lead to communal conflicts.

Maku also urged journalists in the region to unite against terrorism, saying terror has no boundaries.

Speaking earlier, the president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), and also the outgoing president of WAJA, Muhammad Garba, during his welcome address said WAJA had been working for the protection of journalists in the region.

He also added that WAJA secured facility funding from African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), which helped in extending support to about 60 journalists in distress including Nigeria and Mali.

He also stated that WAJA secured some grant from Norway which female journalists in the region are expected to benefit from.

The African Regional Director of UNESCO David Kayaja, said in 2013, the region lost 92 journalists while between January and April 2014, it lost 31 journalists, describing it as a big concern.

Kayaja said media has a crucial role to play in admonishing the public to desist from using hate speeches.