By Samuel Oyejola
Elections in Africa is said to be one of the dangerous and democracy is expensive. Nigeria, the light of the continent and the most populous black nation in Africa and the world in general is at the verge of conducting the first election after an incumbent peacefully relinquished power to the opponent in an election that polarized the country.
Before the 2015 general elections, there were various permutations that the 2015 general elections would mar the configuration of the country. A think-tank group in the United States predicted that the country would break up in 2015. This did not happen.
The 2019 general elections is around the corner and there are various cross-carpeting and horse trading ahead of the elections. The federal government has been on its oars sensitizing Nigerians on the need to be sensitive about the news and information the spread about the polity and the country in general.
Recently in Abuja, the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed accused the opposition of being behind the spread of fake news across the country to discredit the achievement of the federal government. He pointed out that at the center of all these spread of fake news is the online media and bloggers.
To this end as the elections becomes more visible ahead, the International Press Centre (IPC) organized a capacity building workshop for online journalists and bloggers on election coverage and conflict sensitive reporting in Abeokuta and Abuja recently.
The Director of the International Press Center, Lanre Arogundade said the training become necessary considering that the online environment now occupies central place in media operations. “We simply cannot ignore what goes on online in the name of journalism especially against the background of growing perception that online media and social media platforms are the major harbingers of hate speech and stokers of inciting flames.”
He explained that findings from an online survey the IPC was involved recently confirmed that online platforms are instrumental to promote hate speech and discriminatory ideology.
He also said that the online platforms are contributing to the shrinking of the political space for the inclusive participation of women and vulnerable groups in the electoral process and elections. “It is believed that this is contributing to the shrinking of the political space for the inclusive participation of women and vulnerable groups in the electoral process and elections, as well as the political and governance structure in Nigeria.”
Also a onetime Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Ogun state, Niran Malaolu told journalists and bloggers at the Abeokuta training to carry out their duty with boldness and responsibility. He said that journalists needed in Nigeria today are those who can report issues without fear or favour even in the face of intimidation.
Arogundade stated further that online journalists and bloggers needed to inculcate professionalism and ethics of journalism in order to remove hate narratives from political communication in order to develop a healthier political environment.
“Online journalists and bloggers need to strive to do better so they could be part of efforts that seek to remove hate narratives from political communication as a way of making the electoral environment healthier.”
He therefore advised them to understand and imbibe the principles of fairness, diversity and objectivity in reporting the electoral process and the elections. “Our expectation is that the online media would be used as a platform for fair, balanced, language sensitive and conflict sensitive reporting of the elections.”
Dr. Nathaniel Danjibo of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies of the University of Ibadan who spoke on the Media and Contemporary Conflicts in Nigeria, and Conflict: Its Nature and Character noted that although conflict is an inevitable interaction among humans he warned that the event making the story is more than the dramatic foliage and journalists must endeavour to look beyond the symptoms of the conflict, examine issues and sub-issues in the conflict and probe the sources of the conflict.
“As a journalist you must look for symptoms of peace and cooperation, consider issues on which parties have negotiated peacefully and look for any reason for any peaceful or cooperative activities” he said.
He reminded participants that people rely on journalists to help them orientate themselves to in the world around them and respond to shifting social and political environments.
He also advised that journalists should write conflict related reports in a way that does not worsen the situation by avoiding inflammatory language and seek out ideas about how the conflict can be resolved.
Professor Nosa Owens-Ibie while taking the participants on Understanding Communication in the age of Conflicts explained that fake news breads hate speech, he said that online journalists and bloggers must be sensitive about values that drive their coverage and reportage of issues and events, and never make the mistake of spreading fake news and hate speech.