Veteran Journalist, Yusuf Alli, Tasks Reporters on Self Development 

By Udora Orizu 

Veteran Journalist and investigative reporter, Alhaji Yusuf Alli has urged journalists to seek self development to sharpen their skills, while working to create a legacy for themselves.

Alli who recently marked his 60th birthday also called for mentorship of younger generation of journalists, saying a collaborative effort was needed to save the profession which he said was currently in trouble.

Speaking when the House of Representatives Press Corps led by its Chairman, Grace Ike along side the editorial team of Green Sentinel Magazine published by the Corps visited him as part of his birthday celebration, Alli said a good name is worth more than silver and gold.

He said self development was one of the ways to earning self-respect in the profession, stressing the need to sustain the professional ethics above immediate gains.

While expressing concerns about the declining independence of the fourth estate of the realm, Alli said there was need to come together to salvage the profession through individual and collective efforts.

He said, “They know that they can even buy spaces in the media. They throw advert at you to kill a story and the following day, you will not see the story. They are beginning to understand the game and gradually they are beginning to erode our skills, our independence and the fourth estate of the realm is losing its beacon. The most important thing is that whatever you do in life will always live after you in life and that is my appeal to you. Work for legacy. Have you ever seen a rich man or a billionaire that was buried in the cemetery and they wrote on the grave, this is a billionaire?

“You have thrown a challenge at me, that we need to bring up the younger ones. I am a super mentor. I am not always happy that when we call for story ideas, out of about 20 reporters, only one or two will respond while others will even submit anything and that showed that the profession is sick. Some reporters are not well dressed. Secondly, many are not well trained or are not trained at all. The third aspect is that the perseverance is not there. They want to survive at all cost. A journalist of one or two years standing would want to build a mansion. In those days, we were respecting seniority on the job. We also got it wrong in our institutions. In most of institutions offering Mass Communication, you will be shocked to find out that most of the Head of Departments or Deans have never practised journalism before”.

Earlier, the Chairperson of the Press Corps Ms. Grace Ike said they were at the celebrant’s office to felicitate with him.

Ike noted that Alli had not only been a super mentor to many young journalists in Nigeria, but also a beacon of hope who always reminds colleagues that journalism is still a worthy profession that shapes the mood and views of the society.

She recalled his moral support in bringing younger journalists at par with their counterparts in other climes through his mentorship and leadership qualities.