Governor Kashim Shettima
Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, has urged the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), to set up an endowment fund to cater for families of deceased editors.
Shettima made the call at the weekend, when he had an interactive session with editors of newspapers and senior broadcast journalists in Lagos.
The Governor had earlier narrated to the audience his experience with the family of a late editor, whom he said, happened to be his friend, years before he became Governor in 2011.
Shettima, who got emotional midway, however, concealed the identity of the deceased editor as a mark of respect.
He said: “The reason I gave this story which I had never told anyone before now, is to offer a suggestion to the Nigerian Guild of Editors and thank God, my very good brother and friend, President Femi Adesina, will get my suggestion and all of you that make up the Guild.
“You see, the editor is an unsung hero, he is the masquerade, he is the fixer, the panel beater of whatever the reporter files, yet the reporter gets all the credit and the editor bears the risk if the reporter happens to get his or her facts wrong.
“Some editors are known only when they pen columns but most often, the reporters are those known, hence they are with the most goodwill.
“I have a suggestion that you come up with welfare programme for editors who pass on. Nobody wants to die, we all don’t, but the fact is that, death is a sad change of event that is permanent in our existence as mortals.
“My advice is that you come up with something you might call Fallen Gate-keepers Endowment Fund or Fallen Editors Endowment Fund, which you can launch to attract support and possibly invest whatever is raised through a group of Trustees.
“Such funds can be used to support families of editors who pass on, to ensure their children feed, continue their education, get jobs after school, help in managing issues that might affect their welfare and all that so that we support the families of whoever is gone amongst us.
“Life is too short. It was someone’s turn to pass to the great beyond yesterday, it might be another person’s today”, the governor added.
He, therefore, made a donation towards the take-off of the fund.
“We will make a token donation of N10 million for take-off of that fund. I am very passionate about it”, he stated.
Shettima begged the Guild to accord his advise the urgency it deserved.
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