By Femi Ogunshola
The global public will be presented with a book, The Journalist, The Woman and Her Faith, authored by Mrs Grace Yussuf, a Deputy Editor-In-Chief with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
A statement issued by the organising committee on Sunday said the event would take place on May 9, at the National Press Centre, Radio House, in Abuja.
The statement described the book as a memoir of a female Nigerian journalist and would precede her retirement from service on May 16.
According to the statement, the presentation will be chaired by Prof. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo (SAN), the Founder, Women Aid Collective (WACOL).
Mr Femi Adesina, a veteran journalist and Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, will be the Book Presenter, it said.
The book will be reviewed by Mr Joe Bankole, who is a media consultant, author and former Managing Editor with NAN.
The revered Orodje of Okpe Kingdom and Chairman of Delta State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Orhue 1, will be the Royal Father of the occasion.
Other special guests expected at the event are Mr Buki Ponle, the Managing Director of NAN and Amb. Shri Gangandharan Balasubramanta, the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria.
Similarly, Dr Ibrahim Goni, the Conservation General of the National Park Service, and several veteran journalists who have made impact in the journalism profession, will grace the event.
The event is expected to be a major gathering for stakeholders in the media industry as well as friends, associates and well wishers of the author.
On her part, Yussuf said the decision to write the book came out of a desire to document her experiences as a female journalist and a practicing Christian who promised herself that doing so would serve posterity well.
I believe that it will not only be a good reading for many but will also go a long way towards encouraging younger female journalists, who may be finding it difficult to cope, especially if they have had to hold on to their faith and values.
It is my intention, too, that this book will serve as a story of resilience, hard work, moral rectitude, a journey of faith and adherence to Christian virtues even in the practice of an utterly socially-relevant profession as journalism.
I say this because there is this general belief that journalists are unserious and frivolous. This puts women in a precarious position as it makes them more vulnerable than their male counterparts, she said.(NAN (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola
DD/Website