Campus Journalism: An Additional Degree You Shouldn’t Carry Over -By Ola Suleiman

Like this popular aphorism, school should pass through you, don’t just pass through school. In Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), Journalism is an extracurricular activity which students run to. This zeal for writing together with running a race of excellence in our academic pursuits is so vital beyond the four walls of the university.

In praise of the great pen pushers that have been produced by this prestigious citadel, I am writing this piece with a sense of pride.

A final year student of Law, Abdulrasheed Hammad doubling as the current Vice-President of the National Association of Campus Journalists (NACJ), UDUS chapter once said, “Today’s educational system is beyond having sound results alone. As long as you are a student at any given university, you should engage yourself in some other activities aside from your primary assignment.”

BUT, why Campus Journalism?

The answer to this is not a puzzle to tackle as I’m going to enrich you with enough rationale. Hammad told me that: “journalism is a skill on its own to create waves and make life, yet, many students regard it as a total waste of time.”

Proud to tell you that campus journalists in Nigeria (specifically, UDUS students) are doing vibrantly well in this path of career and are creating big waves with zero hindrance in their excellent performance in their school results. “Only if the students could realize that journalism is a skill that equips and sharpens one’s writing skills apart from the monetary aspects of it, maybe many of them will take it more seriously,” Hammad noted.

Journalism is not an impediment but a privilege

You would want to question why journalism is a privilege perhaps with the tons of unemployed graduates of Mass Communications out there. Yes, I understand you, I had this peculiar thought before but did you recall what I stated about writing skills earlier?

Writing has become a necessity that everyone does daily and this means that to be relevant in today’s world, you need to cultivate a potential composition skill to give a credible expression about your work and beyond it.

In the words of Hayatullahi Mudashir, the Editor-in-Chief of Pen Press UDUS, he said: “Being a student journalist gives so much opportunity to be outstanding and relevant among others; it is  something of inner peace to serve as the voice which students can speak with”

“You will definitely be different among them (students) even in the way you will dismantle questions at examination period because of the writing techniques that one has already developed in ways of penning ideas and jotting beautiful expressions which become permanent as you continue to practice journalism” Hayatullahi explained.

So are you ready to give your life to Journalism?