Strong, national institutions: Panacea for national electoral challenges

The theme ‘Strong National Institutions: Panacea for National Electoral Challenges’ chosen by the Osun state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists for her 2022 annual week is both apt and timely. It encourages all actors, stakeholders, and institutions in our democratic and electoral process to self-examine and review the role of our national institutions and actors in our electoral process as well as in democratic governance.

As a nation, we have significantly evolved in our democratic journey. Several years ago, democracy had only the voice of its actors and elites. It had yet to engage citizens and grassroots in any process of dialogue that required consensus building and the voices to the last mile. This is no longer the case. The electoral process is a multi-stakeholder means to an end, going well beyond voting to responsiveness of the elected to citizen’s voices, accountability to stakeholders and good governance.

Engagement, participation, and people-centred actions have been at the core of my personal democratic journey. In this journey, the media and journalist have remained valued allies. One of the main institutions that has contributed meaningfully in my efforts to achieve inclusion across the diversity of actors and stakeholders. I recall that after I was discharged and acquitted of all complicity in sad murder of Chief Bola Ige, the media was instrumental to public information of my innocence and went further to present the key elements of the judgement to public. This independent intervention of the media was very impactful. The media provided the public with the jurist position that the case had no merit for court consent to prosecute. As a consequence of this, the Oyo state government, who I had at the time sued for three billion naira as damages for malicious prosecution, had to apologise. Several others have sought to mischievously exploit this unfortunate incidence in our political history. The media response has remained the same – independent, objective, sharp and decisive.

The media remains a critical institution and multi-professional voice across many platforms, traditional and new, reaching diverse stakeholders, including the electorate. Journalists own the media and provide information to everyone, citizens and politicians alike. As the adage says, ‘there is power in the pen.’

However, with the rise of social media, fake news has become a major challenge to the value and credibility of journalism and the media. Social media has provided unscrupulous journalists as well as unpatriotic citizens the ability to use aliases to rapidly share fake news to a large number of people. Fake news is cheap to produce, and sadly its destructive impact on persons, organizations, and the very institutions that journalists and institutions must protect can be far reaching with long lasting undesirable impact.

Without doubt, the media, and its and journalists, are key in the management of fake news, and will contribute significant value to all institutions in our electoral and democratic process. I am delighted to note, that the institution of journalism in Nigeria is poised to take on the challenge of transparent myth bursting news and position its institution as a credible source of information in a balanced way across all actors.

Allow me to begin to close as I join you in the celebration of the Osun state NUJ chapter for its open, transparent, and visionary stance on electoral and nation building issues. I leave you with the charge to hold the baton of free speech and to strengthen our electoral processes by combating fake news. This will reinforce credibility in the practice of journalism as all political parties and aspirants reach to the electorate through your various platforms and pens.

Finally, please allow me to leave you with the Journalist Creed and Code of ethics developed by Walter Williams in 1914. I quote.

• I believe in the profession of journalism
• The public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.
• I believe that clear thinking and clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism
• I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true.
• I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.
• I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that bribery by one’s own pocketbook is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions or another’s dividends.
• I believe that advertising, news, and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.
• I believe that the journalism which succeeds best — and best deserves success — fears God and honours man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamour of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance and, as far as law and honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.

Senator Omisore, National Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC), delivered this speech at the Opening Ceremony Annual Week of the Osun state National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

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