Director-general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman has said that Nigeria had over the years undermined the freedom that comes with democratic governance.
Sulaiman made the comment at the opening ceremony of a two-day training workshop for journalists ahead of the 2023 elections in Abuja.
The DG said it was a general notion that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria, but observed that events in the last few years in the sub-region demonstrate how fragile democracies can be and how easy it is to experience democratic reversals.
“For the last two decades, we have taken the freedoms that come with democracy for granted. Indeed, it has become widely accepted that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria. Yet, events in the last few years in the sub-region demonstrate how fragile democracies can be and how easy it is to experience democratic reversals. Moreover, at the internal level, the capacity of democracy and democratic actors and institutions to deliver on development, security, economic prosperity and national unity has been seriously questioned.
“A few weeks before the general elections, the very essence of our nationhood is being questioned. Nigerians are now asking whether a nation built on a fragile but optimistic foundation can long endure,” Suleiman said.
While speaking to the context of the workshop organised by NILS in conjunction with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Sulaiman said the workshop was premised on the notion that the media was central to the survival of democracy, particularly in the way it frames and report on the myriad challenges it faces.
“If there is ever a time the media is expected to report responsibly, the time Is now because a lot is riding on the way the media covers and reports stories ahead of the elections,” he added.
The training is expected to guide journalists, especially those covering the House of Representatives and the Senate on the role they are to play when covering the elections.
Resident representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Marija Peran, in her remarks said it was critical to preparing the media for the task ahead.
She noted that strong media coverage is needed to x-ray the election and strengthen democracy in Nigeria.
“It was really important that we hold this training before the election. The next four years will shape the political direction that Nigeria will go. One of the mandates of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung is to support all democratic institutions. And the media is very important to us,” Peran said.
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