Panelists and participants at the 14th Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism Media webinar have said that stronger subnational media were needed to strengthen democracy and facilitate development in Nigeria.
The webinar, which brought together journalists, media scholars, proprietors and civil society to review and streamline the role that subnational newspapers, radio and television can play in sustaining democracy and holding government to account, was organised with the support of the MacArthur Foundation.
The panelists who spoke on the theme, “Can Democracy Work Without A Strong Subnational Media, were made up of managers of subnational media organisations, top journalists, media scholars, civil society activists and representatives of donor agencies.
One of the panelists, Ibiba DonPedro, Managing Director of National Point, the Port Harcourt-based subnational Newspaper which covers the Niger Delta said lack of support for the media at the subnational levels was stifling democracy and development.
“We need strong media staying the course at this level to strengthen democracy and enhance public accountability in the states and local governments,” she said.
She recalled how she and Chief Constance Meju, two women took the chance and started publishing the National Point when things were volatile in the Niger Delta in 2007 when the struggle in the region needed to be brought into perspective.
DonPedro, the international award winning journalist, said the imperative of having strong media at the subnational level could be better appreciated given that the national media do not have strong and adequate presence in the states and local government areas and therefore cannot effectively play the role required of the media to strengthen democracy and public accountability.
The Host of the Webinar, Uduak Amimo, said the programme was organised to share their experiences and suggest ways of strengthening the media at the subnational level.
Dr. Chiedo Nwankwor, who delivered the keynote address, said democracy is a living reality, which provides a framework for citizens to actualise their aspirations and ambitions. She said life becomes difficult when there is no democracy, saying, “Democracy is the most realistic solution to human issues.
It is journalism, she said, that provides the mechanism to hold public officials accountable to the people. She said the media gives voice to the people on issues of development and calls attention to government policies and how they are impacting society.
Nwankwor said the National Broadcasting Commission should depoliticize the issuance of licences and make them affaordable so that communities can own their own broadcast stations. Similarly, she said more newspapers should be opened at the subnational level too.
Disclosing that the resilience of democracy in India was the handiwork of the media at subnational levels, Dr. Nwankwor declared, “If we cannot build a sustainable media model, then we cannot have a thriving democracy.”
Olajide Oladayo, the Deputy Director of MacArthur Foundation, African Service, who represented Kole Shettima, the Director, said democracy cannot work effectively without the subnational press.
He said since 50-52 percent of Nigeria’s resources are expended at the subnational levels, it is expected that half of the development efforts should occur at the subnational levels. “Our failure with democracy can therefore be captured at the subnational level. Journalism serves as a catalyst to activate democracy to deliver development,” he said.
Oladayo explained that the weak oversight and regulatory system in Nigeria has placed more burden on the media to monitor public institutions and keep them under check.
He called on media regulatory bodies to remove overbearing regulations, and on corporate bodies and citizens to join hands to sponsor the media because of the critical role the media plays in the democratisation process.
Motunrayo Alaka, the Executive Director and CEO of WSCIJ said the press must be free, independent and protected by the Constitution so that it can help democracy deliver development to the people.
She said the press should focus on accountability, development, investigation and education at the subnational level. “We want to amplify the voices of people we often do not hear about in the media. Local press report stories and community-based media can amplify them,” Alaka said.
Haruna Mohammed, the Co-Publisher of WikkiTimes, said most rural people are struggling with with maternal mortality, child abandonment, access to school, water, collapsed infrastructure and many other development issues.
“I want to use information to and knowledge to answer the questions that my village raises,” he said, adding that the challenges facing the media include lack of capacity of media practitioners to engage the right issues and the dearth of funding.
Fisayo Soyombo said investigative journalists covering local governments should ensure that they leave out no loopholes in the reportage of issues, and should cover all sides to their stories. “It’s also about not fraternising with people you are covering so that you do not fight the politicians’ war,” he said.
Adaora Onyechere, the Executive Director of Gender Strategy Advancement International, noted the first duty of the media is the watchdog role, but lamented that the pervasive noninclusion of women and people living with disabilities in the media space. “Policies on gender equality need to be broken down to the women and people living with disabilities,” she said.
Mansur Liman, the Managing Director of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), said public media have issues because of the lack of understanding by the public about how the public media operate. However he disclosed that a lot of government officials expect public media organisations to do their own bidding.
He noted that there had been less interference in recent times from government, only that journalists in government media had failed to push the boundaries. “If you are accurate in what you do, you have no reason to fear.”
Gade Adeyemi, the Executive Director of Watura Centre for Gender Rights and Social Development, said investigative journalists could reach out to people they meet in the course of their work but, without developing personal relationship with them.
During the question and answer session, DonPedro advised investigative journalists to take their safety and security serious. “You don’t go to any community you don’t know well enough. You have to be very clear about what you are going to do and let everyone know that you are just a journalist.”
Mohammed said though WikkiTimes does not pay salaries, “we train our journalists on how to source for funds.” He noted that capacity of the journalist is at the heart of the argument. “Do we have the capacity to consistently ask questions,” he asked.
Chief Constance Meju, the Managing Editor of the National Point said, “The subnational media helps to track and verify policy effects on the grassroots and projects the needs and concerns of the people to those in decision-making.”
Prof. Ropo Shekoni, the Chair of the Board of WSCIJ, said the centre had been holding these sessions for over a decade. He added that despite the challenges of the centre, it has been able to sustain its awards and meet with communication needs of the society.
One of the participants, Pauline Onyibe, who reports from Bayelsa State, listed some of her takeaways from the webinar to include the point raised by Haruna Mohammed that journalists should engage more in community journalism and get creative about having alternative sources of income, including diversifying into agriculture as DonPedro said the National Point was exploring.
She echoed the advice given by DonPedro that investigative journalists should get familiar with their terrain before setting out to work for safety and security reasons.
Adumbrating what Soyombo said, Onyibe saw the need for journalists to extend their focus on the federal government to the states and local governments, and concluded with Onyechere’s submission that the media should continue to push for the voices of the community people to be heard, doing so with the collaboration of other stakeholders.
