Journalists have a crucial role to play in ensuring positive and professional coverage of the coming 2023 general elections – they need to avoid sensational and fake stories and to work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure voting is free, fair and credible.

This was the main message at an event held in Maiduguri from December 19 to 21, organised by the Dar al-Andalus Centre, a non-profit non-governmental organisation (NGO) that promotes peace through conflict resolution.

RNI reporter Aisha SD Jamal spoke to some of the journalists who attended the event.

Abdullahi Mustapha, a journalist at Radio Hadin Kai, said: “Journalists are an important part of society and play a major role at election time, particularly. They need to ensure that the public is educated about peaceful elections and given the knowledge to make informed choices.

“The first step should be prayer and then they must give vital information to public. Borno State has faced serious problems for many years because of the insurgency. It has been a long time since the people in the state have enjoyed the relative peace that now exists. The public needs to know that. It’s the only way to avoid problems during political campaigning and the elections. People should not carry weapons and should avoid confrontations or misunderstandings.

“They need to be tolerant even if they do not agree with another person’s views. They need to realise that others might not share their views and that, when this is the case, they need to be tolerant and not turn to violence.”

Mustapha said journalists needed to use the media – whether print, online or radio – to educate people to ensure law and order during the run-up to the elections, as well as on election day and the days that follow.

“As the 2023 elections draw closer, we know many political issues will come to a head. Some political aspirants will include hate speech; others will use different ways to win the votes of the public. Some will even try to bribe people to vote for them. As journalists, we must provide information about the law and the provisions set out in the constitution. People must realise that if they break the laws, they will be prosecuted.

“Journalists must use their voices to ensure free, peaceful and credible elections. We just hope the authorities will do the right thing and complement our effort to ensure that campaigning for the elections will be free of hate speech and violence.”

Iya Maa’aji, a woman journalist with the Nigerian Television Authority, told RNI that the most important thing journalists should do was to “fight unfairness”.

“During campaigns, politicians often make house-to-house calls looking for the votes of homeowners. They make promises they can’t keep or don’t intend to keep. But as soon as they gain power, they don’t allow people to get near them and send them away. The next time the public sees the politicians is before the next election.

“I believe this is unfair. People vote for the politicians hoping they will stand up for their rights if and when the need arises. Politicians should be available to the electorate and to fight for their rights,” she said.

“The other thing that concerns me is safety. Journalists need security. We cannot cover meetings and other events if we fear for our lives. We must be protected so that we can work diligently without any threat. I call on my colleagues in the media to expose anything suspicious, particularly at the time the politicians are campaigning for votes.

“Politicians should realise that the public needs solutions, not empty promises.”

Maa’aji said one of the major problems in past elections was that people “sold” their rights to vote, giving others the power to use their votes. She said she knew of some people who sold their votes for as much as ₦1,000.

“People must be told that this is not the right way to hold elections and that it is quite disgusting to sell their votes and for others to buy them. This practice needs to be stopped. It is up to us journalists to make this known to the public. Someone’s vote is not a commodity that can be bought in a shop. It is a constitutional right that is given freely to people so that they can vote for whomever they choose and have a say in what the government is doing. It is inexcusable for someone to sell his or her vote to anyone else.”

Adamu Aliyu Ngulde, a journalist from Al-Ansar Radio, said that in the northeast, and particularly in Borno State, the broadcasting world was continuing to expand and it was time that journalists got together to ensure the elections – before, during and after – were covered in a way that was beneficial to the public.

“During the election period, a lot of things are going on. We need to ensure that we know as much as possible what it is that is actually going on. There are some journalists we know of who support certain politicians or follow political parties. Sure, we are all entitled to our own thoughts and feelings about politics and politicians. But no matter what our own beliefs are, we need to remain objective, provide information and encourage people to use their vote for the person they believe will stand up for them.

“If journalists show bias, they are guilty of corruption, because their reports might favour one politician over another. And that is not our job. Our job is to inform, to give all the facts, to allow people to make their own free choices. If we don’t do this, we will be seen to be easily corruptible and we will lose all credibility. People need to be able to trust what we say.

“We need to avoid issues that will trigger or divide the public. Our reports should inform the public of its rights and allow voters to make their own decisions, whatever we might think about them. This does not only apply to when we are covering elections but to all our reporting. We are there to add value to the public’s decisions,” Ngulde said.

“I advise journalists to be cautious and to realise that our contributions go a long way to shaping the society in which we live. We are part of a privileged group who have the power to change things. It is imperative that we do not abuse that power.”

AISHA SD JAMAL