The media in Nigeria have been advised to shun monetary inducement and sensitize Nigerians appropriately over 2023 general elections in the country as bad governance has plunged many Nigerians into poverty and death.
A guest speaker at the just concluded Abia NUJ media summit with the theme, “The Role of the Media and Their Challenges Towards Good Governance” and Umuahia North State Constituency candidate under African Democratic Congress, ADC Rev. Dr. Blessed Uchechukwu Amalambu disclosed this in an exclusive interview after the event.
He noted that the role of the media during this electioneering time “is massive enlightenment campaign in the sense that the first thing is to re-orientate the people on the issue of money politics where the highest bidder takes it”.
“The event is a welcome development because, we need such information that will be educative and enlightening and also help the people to be properly guided, especially with the theme, “The Role of the Media and Their Challenges Towards Good Governance” which is the cry of everybody in Nigeria because of the bad governance we have these days which has brought Nigeria into hardship and suffering.
“The yearning of the people is who will be the savior that will change the narrative and right the wrongs? That is why I see the program as a welcome development and a commendable project.
“Now that everybody is crying for good governance and transparency, it is the duty of the media to pick information and hammer on these vital factors of good governance which is now ‘say no to corruption, thuggery, and ballot box snatching’. These are the works of the media: to make sure that people, both in the rural and urban areas are properly enlightened and educated so that their mindset will be properly corrected.
“Watch the trend of events in Nigeria now. There is a revolution going on, so that is the work of the media to make sure that it will pass such information even to the rural areas where people will key into the system of quest for good governance”, he said.
In terms of electioneering information, Amalambu who is also the Secretary, Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria, PFN Abia State chapter and the State Coordinator, National Anti-Volunteer Corps, NAVC/ICPC said the media has been trying a lot, noting however, that most of the time, monetary inducement has made some of the practitioners to go for falsified information “as there are a lot of sycophancy where people sing praises of sitting politicians that are not performing well and which is obviously clear that a particular politician is not doing well”.
“However, because some media practitioners are working for the government, you see them playing along, trying to praise a poor-performing government and that is the area I indict the media”, he further pointed out.
He advised the media “now that everybody is crying for good governance, the media should also join in the cue to make sure that there is no falsified information, no matter the inducement. It is better you die doing the right thing than being compromised, hence plunging many into hardship. That little mistake, falsification of results or inducement can now lead to deaths like the present government in Nigeria is doing.
“So, people who didn’t pass the election, because the journalists, INEC and stakeholders in the process of electioneering campaign now join hands to enthrone the wrong people. Everybody is suffering it today and many have died”, he said.
