…says it’s handiwork of hungry bloggers desperate to draw traffic to their space
Wole Balogun
SA media to VC
This morning, we read another devilish report from evil reporters who parade themselves as bloggers and write trash and fake news in their desperate bid to draw traffic to their digital space.
The fake news was entitled: “No Fuel, No Lecture: FUOYE Lecturers Demand Fuel Money from Students to Teach” and it turned out to be one of the worst reports anyone could write about a prestigious University like our Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE)!.
But we are not surprised as media team of the University because we now live in an hostile environment and at a perilous time when hungry, frustrated and desperate guys have chosen an ignoble path of deliberately spreading bile in the guise of fake news against renowned institutions like FUOYE.
The Purveyor of this fake news who failed to even put his by-line on the report (perhaps to hide his identity since he knows he was on a devilish mission), grossly violated several professional ethics of journalism which include failure to balance his report by contacting the media unit of FUOYE for reaction/responses, failure to disclose certain specifics like mentioning the lecturers’ name, his department as well as mentioning the students’ full names and their departments among others, to authenticate his cooked up report and convince discerning members of the public.
The truth of the matter is that no lecturer of our great University would stoop so low as to be asking his students to pay for his fuel money. (Perhaps, such situation could have happened on a joking note and such students make an issue out of it as students are fond of misquoting lecturers).
It is not also true that the University authorities were reported to and they did not take action on it. The FUOYE management under the incumbent leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina , prioritizes students’ well being and welfare on campus and frowns seriously at any practices against the students. He has zero tolerance for indiscipline and takes urgent actions to deal with any issue raised against the well being of students. Instances of the VC’s no-no nsense stance against indiscipline abound and they include the sack of a lecturer found guilty of sexual harassment against a female student two years ago and on-going probe of another. Also, most students have the VC’s phone no and easily call him to lodge complaints which he promptly attend to.
Besides, the VC and University management make available stipends to lecturers for online lectures across board. With this magnanimous attitude of the administration, no lecturer will stoop so low as demanding transport fare from students.
The evil reporter who spread the fake news on his blog, newsflash Nigeria, is obviously being economical with the truth and he or she is welcomed and challenged to bring forth his facts or remain silent forever!
On a conclusive note, we also wish to advise bloggers like Mr. Lere Olayinka to grow beyond primitive and immature practice of journalism by conducting proper investigation about issues raised against government institutions like FUOYE that benefits his state, before rushing to post fake and damaging reports on his Facebook wall.
