Dr Nasir Danladi-Bako, former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has stressed the need for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to continuously train its reporters.
Bako made the call in an interview with the NAN on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that the training and retraining of reporters would enhance productivity and enable the agency to deliver on its mandate.
According to Danladi-Bako, constant training and retraining will build capacity to enhance speed and accuracy in reportage.
“They have to be up to date. When I took over as DG of NBC in July 19,1999, between July and December, I trained about 60 per cent of all officers between Grade Level 13 and 17.
“I trained them. While some went to abroad for more training, others had theirs within the country. Some went to Centre of Management Development, University of Jos consult. I made sure that everybody got trained and was up to date.
“Today, some people buy phone worth over N70,000 and don’t know how to use it to edit a story. Some news stories happen without notice and you have to be up to date to report it as it happens.
“Retired staffers could come and do the training; because, they know what is obtained locally .
“Their experiences are not found on a text book shelf. What I told you today is not found in a text book; these things are not found in text books, because you are dealing with people.
“When Malam Wada Maida was here in NAN, he used a lot?of his former bosses to train staff. NAN must set an agenda. I set some quarters for various reporters, announcers, editors and marketers.
“So, there has to be an agenda; there must be an internal system for where you trained. External training requires the budgets from National Assembly,” he said.
Danladi-Bako, who birthed the Morning Ride Talk Show on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), many years ago, recalled that at NBC, he allocated N180 million for training in the year 2,000.
He said in trying to achieve that, he went to the National Assembly.
“I followed the members one by one. Sometimes, you have to be a slave, sometimes you have to drop your ego and go out there and beg.
“Today, I am being remembered for so many things. Nobody remember that I went from house-to-house at Legislative Quarters in Apo to beg members and senators on the need to increase our budget.
“Nobody remembers that I went to beg some people, that by 7:00 a.m., I would be in front of their houses. What they remember is that within a year, I bought two coaster buses, and all staff on GL 10 and above went to training abroad.
“That is what matters, so NAN management should go all out, get funds, train and retrain staff so that they can build capacity, improve themselves and deliver on the mandate of the agency,” Bako stressed. (NAN)