By Babatunde Ayedoju

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Journalists have been charged to be more zealous about their profession and make their impacts felt by the society more than before.
This charge was given by members of the League of Veteran Journalists in Ondo State, in an interview with our correspondent, shortly after their meeting at the NUJ Press Centre, Alagbaka.
Asiwaju Banji Kuroloja lamented over the state of the journalism profession in Ondo State and said the essence of the meeting was to discuss how they would socialise, revive the association, promote welfare of members and the union in Ondo State as father figures.
Kuroloja said, “In Ondo State today, it looks as if journalism is dead. I am sorry to use that word. Why it is so, we don’t know. Maybe the organisations that employ journalists in Ondo State are not taking care of them, so they are not as hardworking as expected ”
Also speaking, Otunba Sehinde Omokoba said, “Journalism in Ondo State is a reflection of what is going on at the national level. Just as it was said earlier, it is in a state of coma. That’s why we are reviving it and we will be giving fatherly advice, because this was not how it was when we joined. We want to go back to the basics.”
Otunba Omokoba noted that passion for the job kept him and other journalists going in their own time. His words, “We kept our passion irrespective of whether we were paid or not. We would not sleep until we got our stories. Our joy was in seeing our bylines in newspapers and stories on radio. Television was not so common then.”
He also pointed out a downward trend in investigative journalism when he said, “Nowadays, people focus on government stories alone. No investigative journalism.
Investigative journalism should involve thorough investigation about the matter in view, not just mere criticism. In those days, we criticised and also proffered solutions.”
Otunba Omokoba encouraged upcoming journalists to love their job. While buttressing this, Asiwaju Kuroloja said, “Love your job. Do your work and damn the consequences.”