Election: Lecturer Urges Media To Educate Electorate
The media has again been called upon to step up its responsibility of educating the electorate on the importance of exercising their franchise during elections.
Professor Godwin Oboh of the Department of Mass Communication, Benson Idahosa University, BIU in Edo State made the call in Asaba, Delta State capital on Thursday.
The Professor of Media Studies spoke at a one-day Media Capacity Building, organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Delta Council, in collaboration with the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission, DSIEC.
The event is themed: “Ensuring a Successful Electoral Process through Effective Coverage and Reportage”.
Report says the programme is convened to educate and enhance the capacity of Journalists to effectively cover the Delta state Council election slated for July 13.
Speaking on the theme, Oboh described it as worrisome having international observers monitor elections in Nigeria because of the nation’s doubtful reputation for free and fair elections.
Proper Reportage
He therefore, urged the media to rise and change the narrative through proper reportage of political activities.
The professor, while advising media practitioners against partisanship, urged them to always report electoral umpires, politicians, and the government truthfully.
“Citizens’ participation is very key in an election, so the media should educate the people on the need to cast their votes. If the media plays its role very well, the DSIEC cannot scuttle the election.
“The media should not ignore the roles of the traditional rulers and religious leaders in the success of the election.
“They should expose the profile of the political party aspirants to enable the citizens to know more about them,” he said.
According to him, how election results are reported by the media determines the reactions it will elicit from the public.
Oboh warned the media against trading blame with the government or DSIEC; urging them to rather focus on peace resolutions.
Peace Accord
Earlier, the Chairman of DSIEC, Dr Jerry Agbaike, said the commission had initiated a peace accord with the 10 participating political parties in the forthcoming election.
Agbaike frowned at the violence that had characterised successive elections and called for a paradigm shift.
“The media has a significant role to play.
“The social media has robustly triggered misinformation, the sharing of falsehood with deliberate intent to mislead and promote selfish political agenda.
“Misinformation orchestrated as rumours on WhatsApp or X-handle are often picked by the mainstream media or influential political figures to perpetrate pre-existing political cleavages,” he said.
According to Agbaike, DSIEC is driven by strong ethics of equity, justice, fairness and high integrity as impartial arbiters to deliver its mandate of free, fair, transparent and credible election on July 13.
Collaboration
however, said security and law enforcement agencies were already collaborating with the commission to neutralise and reduce political threats, while ensuring adequate security during the election.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of NUJ, Delta State Council, Mr Churchill Oyovwe, said the role of the media in a smooth electoral process could not be overemphasised.
According to Oyovwe, covering elections goes beyond mere reporting but involves educating the public and holding all stakeholders accountable.
He added that the workshop was aimed at equipping media practitioners with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively.
NAN
