2022 NIPR National Summit: The Media, One Nigeria and My Takeaway.
Attending the 2022 Citizens Summit on National Integration, Peace and Security organized by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) was a very good outing for me and many other participants I suppose, not to only think about Nigeria, but to also dialogue about our beloved nation. In a country where you have trust deficit and lack of communication, it would be indeed possible to sing the national anthem and forget what is on the crest. Given the importance I always attach to any discuss that touches our national lives, I departs Ilorin on Monday 22nd to attend the annual event at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja. Beyond the fun of meeting respected people of different professions and other side attractions, I thought I mustn't only go home with my Take-Away, I should also share it with others too.
The citizens summit on national integration was no doubt an event organized to foster peace, bring Nigerians together and build the Nigerian of our dreams. The event, which formally commenced on 23rd August 2022, ended on Wednesday 24th and it had "Reopen Conversation, Rebuild Trust" as it theme. However, it is important to thank the organizers of the summit for giving participants accross the country ( one of which I am) the opportunity to learn and share our thoughts on this most important topic: “Reopen Conversation, Rebuild Trust".
I referred to the topic as important because the media was mentioned as key player in building one Nigeria and it has been empirically established that the media play a big role in what people think about, how people think, how people behave and how they perceive reality. For that reason, the media is more than a constituency. It is a channel to many other critical constituencies.
That notwithstanding, the dominant issue that is actively challenging our nation and political leadership as discussed by different brilliant speakers, is the spate of insecurity.
The media, I suppose comes in here because in many fledgling democracies including Nigeria, the media have been able to assert their role in buttressing and deepening democracy. Investigative reporting which in some cases has led to the ouster of important personalities and posed a potent challenge to corrupt government, has made the media an effective and credible watchdog and boosted its credibility among the public. Investigative reporting has also helped accustom officials to an inquisitive press and helped build a culture of openness and disclosure that has made democratically elected governments more accountable. But the nature of the times we live in, especially now, demands that the media be more vigorous in dealing with security threats.
The word ‘insecurity’ in Nigeria today largely automatically evokes images of suicide, banditry, kidnapping, bombing, Boko Haram and general danger to limbs and lives. While this may be accurate, insecurity also goes beyond this, but such is the nature of the challenge we face in our country today and some of them actually boils down to perception which may be far from reality yet these are the things that now define us as a people. With that, one make bold to say our diversity is a blessing that should be harnessed at all times. But collectively, we seems to have failed to realize this fact.
But, before I go further in the beef of my intervention, I would like, to the credit of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kwara state, Mallam Abdulraman Abdulrasaq mention that, the turnout of NIPR members from Kwara was not only impressive, but also historical as three of our members meritoriously attained the prestigious Fellow stage in the institute and these worthy ambassadors of our dear state are Alhaji Sa'adu Salahu, the Special Adviser to His Excellency on Strategy, a former Commissioner in the state and a major stakeholder, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin and our own Amazon who also doubles as the NIPR Chairperson in Kwara, Dr. Mrs. Saudat Salah Abdulbaqi. However, other attendees are Adewoye Oluwaseun a..k.a Daraibo, Mrs Rachel Olubanke Solomon and this writer.
With the submissions from brilliant speakers such President Muhammadu Buhari who was ably represented by the Honourable Minister for Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Muhammed fnipr, Dr. Mrs. Dare Awosika MFR who is also the Chairperson Access Bank Plc, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello, the Honourable Minister Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo fnipr, the President Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Chief Audu Ogbe, elder stateman and a former Minister of Agriculture, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu who is also a brilliant columnist with Thisday Newspaper and many others to mention but a few, it is important to note here that insecurity, especially internal insecurity is not a problem that is peculiar to Nigeria alone. The US, the UK and many other countries, face the challenges of insecurity within their borders on a daily basis.
The difference between these countries and Nigeria is how they manage the threats. How knowledgeable and prepared they are. How they deploy resources against the threats. How effective they are and how patriotic and united their citizens are against such threats. But there is a flip side.
In every country, it is the responsibility of the leadership to protect the political, social, and economic interests of the citizens in the process of nation-building while journalism helps to remind those in authority of their obligations to the people which include finding solutions to difficult problems, stabilizing the polity and guiding the society to peace and prosperity. But because regime protection is deemed to be the same as national security by a large number of the political leaders who lack the vision, the passion, and the character to effectively deal with the challenges confronting us as a nation, it is no surprise that there is constant tension between them and the media. That has led to the accusation that journalism in Nigeria is not only adversarial but also that it does not serve the end of nation-building, just because the media choose to play it's role for the advancement of the society.
What most of our political office holders forget is that it is the responsibility of journalists to shape the national conversation by providing insights on critical issues as they affect their various audiences. The essence of this value-added role is to help overcome the tendency for people to focus on issues that do not advance their cause but help politicians to divide and conquer, but given the foregoing, a summit like this from the NIPR could not have come at a better time. It is therefore my hope that our society will benefit greatly from the ongoing conversation initiated by the NIPR. It is also my hope that the convergence will generate the relevant synergy to enlighten and leverage genuine efforts that will aid the resolution of many of the crises that are now tearing us apart as a nation.
For a fact, most Nigerian politicians, especially those in positions of authority at practically all levels, believe that the interaction moderated by the media is skewed against them and that the Nigerian journalists do not always promote mutual understanding between government and the people. Our media, as far as majority of the people in government are concerned, serve only the interest of the opposition.
For instance, the challenge of insecurity in our country today manifests on several fronts. From the activities of kidnappers and armed robbers to the violent encounters between farmers and pastoralists in many theatres across the country to the perennial settler-indigene sectarian violence. To compound the situation, we now have the banditry problems that threatens the corporate existence of our country. Given such a state of affairs, it is the duty of the media to report the reality even while promoting only issues that will aid the resolution of many of the crises that are now tearing apart the fabrics of our society. But we can only do that effectively by reminding and challenging those in positions of authority of their onerous responsibilities to the people and many of our politicians do not always take kindly to that.
The security situation is also compounded by the seeming hopelessness of a vast majority of young graduates who cannot find jobs. These are some of the issues that ordinarily should dominate discourse as we move towards the 2023 general election
and I think it is the responsibility of the media to bring these issues to the fore. Whatever happens next year and regardless of the antics of our politicians, it is how we play our role as journalists (in the selection of topics, distribution of concerns, framing of issues, filtering of information and in keeping debate within the bounds of acceptable premise) that will help shape the direction of the nation for good or for ill.
Leadership, as we're taught during the summit, involves finding solutions to difficult problems, ensuring stability of the polity, and guiding the society to prosperity. But a large number of the political leaders of Nigeria today lack the vision, the passion, and the character to effectively deal with the security challenge confronting us. However, the purpose of this piece of intervention is not to pass judgments but to enlighten and to light a candle in the darkness of national self-doubt in a country where citizens have experienced failed promises.
For sure, we all dream in one way or another of what we envision for our country. So, I also have a Nigeria of my dreams, like everybody else. I am sure every one of us would love to see Nigeria achieve its aim of becoming one of the most developed countries in the world in the not too far future and I am talking of development that we will all be able to see and measure in shared prosperity rather than the product of another statistical efforts in the name of lies.
Speaking for myself and perhaps many others, I believe the Nigeria of our dreams would be one that is scientifically, educationally, technologically and agriculturally advanced. A Nigeria where logic and ideas, rather than blind faith and fanaticism, rule. A Nigeria where there is no threat of violence associated with terrorism. A Nigeria where girls can go to school without the fear of being abducted by some criminal gangs who would turn them to chattels of pleasure. For most, if not all, of us here, the Nigeria of our dreams would be a country that is self-sufficient in food and can take care of the health needs of citizens such that our people would not have to be going on medical pilgrimage to India. The Nigeria of our dreams would be a nation where the gap between the rich and the poor is not so wide.
I feel emboldened to take the liberty to say that for the greater majority of the people reading this piece, the Nigeria of our dreams would be one with an excellent net work of roads and bridges connecting even the remotest parts of our country from North to the South; a Nigeria where sustainable growth and development go hand in hand; a Nigeria where there is no corruption; a Nigeria where there is no crime like kidnapping, armed robbery or ritual killings; a Nigeria where market places and roads are spotlessly clean; a Nigeria where teachers are respected as much as any other professional; a Nigeria where citizens are not superstitious.
So, there is a Nigeria in our consciousness that we want to see, a Nigeria that would take her rightful place as the leader in Africa and a global power. Yet as lofty and legitimate as those dreams are, I regret to say that nothing will change in our country until we stop dreaming and begin to take responsibility as citizens. Therefore, NIPR is simple: No country gets changed by a bunch of dreamers who do not match their dreams with positive actions. The Nigeria we all envision will only come about through the actions of everyone and not necessarily by our dreams. Nations don’t develop by accident, they develop because there are men and women who are determined to leverage their talents and the power of community; and are ready to face the challenges that come their way in pursuit of the actualization of their dreams.
We must work together collectively to fight insurgency because there is no politics in insurgency, there is no religion in insurgency. We must advise our political leaders at all levels to shun political leanings when dealing with insurgency. It will not help us as a nation and it has never helped any nation anywhere in the world. We have seen nations coming together to fight terrorism so we must come together and in doing this, government must carry everybody along. We have seen how when faced with challenges, we rise up to be a bigger country. We have seen how we cametogether to fight the Ebola, COVID-19 Lassa Fever and other maladies as one people and we succeeded. When Nigerians unite, we will win and overcome any challenge no matter how tough it looks.
Meanwhile, it is important for one to point out that the failure is at all levels and nobody, not even those in the opposition can claim any moral high ground on the issue and in the political season that we are in, it is no surprise that many have, at least in the past, tried to take advantage of the insurgency before it exploded on all our faces.
At a time the Church and the Mosque should stand up to preach love, the messages in the holy books are being perverted to serve the partisan agenda of some pastors and Imams who give the only God we worship a bad name. More than ever before, we need peace in our country and for that reason, Christians and Muslims should be discerning about the kind of messages we listen to, especially in the build-up to the 2023 general elections. No matter the pretensions to the contrary, and regardless of whatever party they associate with, Nigerian politicians worship on the same altar and they know where they meet. So let no pastor deceive you into believing some politicians are better than the other because of the faith they profess.
A piece of this nature cannot be concluded without calling on all our politicians, men and women of goodwill and other stakeholders to please close ranks and work for Nigeria. All of us must work together irrespective of our political, tribal and religious differences to salvage our country. We know the problems we are facing, especially the issue of insecurity particularly in the North-East and in other parts of the country also. However, to some extent, we have seen some changes but more needs to be achieved because when you hit your enemy in one area, there is tendency he will relocate to another place. The primary purpose of the NIPR organizing this national summit is to propagate and support the visions, ideas and philosophy of good democratic practices in our country. These are lofty ideals but they would take commitment and sacrifices on the part of all of us to realize them as we seek to build a better society for Nigeria. So for that reason, I urge readers to also have this as their Take-Away: Be honest and trustworthy. Obey the laws of the country. Respect the rights of others. Volunteer to be active within the community you find yourself. Be compassionate and take responsibility for your actions.
At the end, a committee of 24 wise men and women, chaired by Prof. Andrew Haruna was inaugurated. They're to within three months, work out an implementable report that will work for Nigeria. Prof. Haruna was a member during the 2014 Nigerian Confab. He was one of the selected 18 members who wrote the Confab report.
One summarily puts the above to the fore because today, our country is at a most critical period in our history. The challenges are enormous but so are the opportunities. Yet for those of us who still retain our dreams of a prosperous Nigeria that will fulfill all its potentials, the only way to achieve those dreams is to take deliberate and faithful actions. And the time to begin to do that is now.
Ishola Gbenga works with the Kwara State Ministry of Communications. He is also an associate member of NIPR.
gbengaishola44@gmail.com or
isholagbenga@yahoo.com
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