By Christiana Ekpa
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, has said democracy will not long survive without a vibrant, independent, innovative and patriotic press.
Gbajabiamila said this at a capacity building workshop for members of the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said the media is the fourth and last pillar of democracy and has the role to ensure that the exercise of state and economic power is fair and proper and in service of the greater good.
He said democracy is a fragile construct, which depends on the support of the electorate, requires active participation by an informed citizenry, demands competence, capacity, and integrity from those who oversee the affairs of the state.
He said, “The role of the press in a democracy is multi-faceted. You inform the public and you educate them about the law and government, politics and governance. You record history as it happens and preserve the national memory as a guide and warning for the future. And you hold power to account, ensuring that those who are chosen to serve the public interest keep faith with the citizens who depend on them. Democracy will not long survive without a vibrant, independent, innovative and patriotic press.
“Through the years, technological advances, the rapid increase in access to internet services, and the growth of social media has changed the way we receive and interact with news and information. What we understand as the professional press – newspapers and magazines, television and radio – are now in competition with every member of the public with a smartphone, access to the internet and the inclination to participate in the public discourse.
“While the landscape within which the press operates has changed in dramatic ways, the duties of the press and the public expectation of them remains the same. We expect journalists and media organisations to maintain a high level of professional conduct; we demand accurate reporting and detailed analysis of public policy and expect the media to continue to defend citizens’ rights, hold the powerful to account and promote the public good through the honourable practice of journalism.
“Often lost in the conversation is the fact that after all is said and done, media is a business. Quality journalism doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it requires resources to train and equip staff, and invest in technology to improve content quality and broadcast capabilities, amongst other things. For generations, these resources have come from the sales of newspapers and magazines and from advertising and subscriptions. For the last two decades, the proliferation of online sources has decimated sales and precipitated a drastic and rapid decline in advertising income.
“Like all other businesses, the imperatives of commerce and profitability cannot be ignored as they are critical factors affecting the quality of service and the utility of outcomes. Consequently, we are called to confront an existential question – how do you finance a quality press without access to the income sources that ensured viability for so long? This is a question that media managers all over the world are struggling with, and are trying to answer through innovation and experimentation, with different degrees of success and inevitable failure. However, the essential functions of a free press in a democracy, demand that all of us – citizens and leaders alike – must participate in helping to find answers to this question.
“For us in Nigeria, the obligation is ever more powerful, and the consequences of failure are potentially too high to contemplate. Ours is a complex and complicated country where an inaccurate public broadcast, whether done maliciously or carelessly, can just as easily spark public debate, or lead to blood on the streets. In fact, a broadcast doesn’t need to be false to lead to bloody conflagration. Sometimes, it is merely a matter of timing or misunderstanding.
“The surest safeguard against such dire outcomes is to have media organisations that are unbiased purveyors of objective truth. We need journalists we can rely on to be our islands of accurate information and context in a sea of misinformation and propaganda manifesting as journalism. Having such organisations and individuals may in time to come, prove the difference between progress and regression and between peace and strife.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I do not have the answers we seek. But I assure you that it is my fervent desire to participate in the collective search for solutions that serve the public good. And that is one of the reasons we have gathered here this morning. Another reason for our gathering this morning is to provide an opportunity for us to speak freely and frankly, without judgment, in the interest of helping each other do better and achieve more.
The media is the fourth and last pillar of democracy. It is the role of the press to ensure that the exercise of state and economic power is fair and proper and in service of the greater good. Unfortunately, far from giving voice to the aspirations of our nation, or holding the powerful properly to account, sections of journalism in Nigeria have become an endless pursuit of clickbait through the careless writing of falsehoods and malicious publication of half-truths. I understand the commercial pressures that result in such outcomes. However, you will agree with me that this too has led to the devaluation of the press and the media in the eyes of the public.
We can all do better. And we are obliged to try especially in this defining moment in our nation’s history when the choices we make today will determine if we get to have a country and what kind of country we get to have. Our highest task and our most pressing ambition must be to safeguard this democracy. If we fail in this regard, nothing else will matter, nothing else we do will count in our favour when the tally of history is settled. We have it in our power to improve our nation’s future and leave this world better than we found it. So, let us do that, and let us do it together.
The Clerk of the House, Dr Yahaya Danzaria, said the media is central to the success of any democracy and indeed any legislature.
He said without the Media, there cannot be a functional democracy or political participation in any democratic society.
He said, “The media is the eye and voice of the people in a democracy. The legislature is often regarded as Freedom Square because it is the only institution in a democracy that the people have rights at any time to interact directly with their representatives. The media is central to the success of any democracy and indeed any legislature, because the Media represents the people when it provides them with information and report of activities in governance and representation. Without the Media, there cannot be a functional democracy or political participation in any democratic society.
Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep Benjamin Kalu, said the press is a vital component of democracy with the explicit capacity of advocacy and the implicit capacity to frame political issues, not just for social discourse but also, for the information and consideration of the legislature and other policymakers.
He said the press is at the centre of a successful governance overseeing the synergy of governance and communication.
“In the practice of policymaking, it is a standard rule that public policy must be evidence based. The legislature, like all other policymakers, is guided by press reportage on the pulse of the nation when making laws. The media’s investigative reportage is often a tool for evidence gathering to help in formulation of laws, policies and oversight of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government.
“Simply put, media reports serve as a whistle blower which we leverage for efficient delivery of our mandate. Therefore, beyond its responsibility as a watchdog, as enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, the press also serves an important role as a veritable source of information in the context of government policy making and that is what I expect to be the major take home from this workshop,” he said.
He said the workshop benefits not only the press corps of the House of Representatives, but also the legislature as the fulcrum of our democracy, and the entire Nigeria.
“It is my expectation that by the end of this capacity building workshop, the press corps would be empowered with improved skills for responsible, ethical, efficient and holistic reporting in a manner that enhances Nigerians’ knowledge of the legislature, and more importantly, deepens the legislative knowledge of the House of Representatives.
“In addition, as we enter the election season, the press should centre its reportage around issues and not persons. The press should avoid being misused as tools for character assassination. The press in this period should only project things that advance the trust in our democracy. The press should showcase only campaigns that tell the electorate about the candidates, their antecedents and their objectives to enable electorate get educated on why they should vote for any candidate,” he said.
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Press Corps, Grace Ike, expressed gratitude to the office of the Speaker for organzing the workshop.
She emphasised the need for the continuous training of Journalists to carry out their duties effectively.
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