Media Empowerment Workshop on the 2007
Elections in Nigeria:
The Role of the Media in Promoting Free
and Fair Elections
Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria
March 5—14, 2007
The United States Embassy and two private sector entities
co-sponsored a two-week media training course for nearly 200 journalists who plan to cover
national, regional and local elections scheduled for mid-April. The
private sector partners were Ruyi Communications and PlatinumHabib Bank (PHB).
Nigeria is witnessing a historic moment. The country, if all
goes as planned, would experience a peaceful transition from one elected
civilian government to another for the first time. This in a nation that
has seen a series of military rulers until as recently as 1999 when a new
constitution was adopted and current President Olusegun Obasanjo was
chosen. Obansanjo was elected to a second term April 19, 2003 and was
expected to hand over power to his successor in national elections scheduled
for April 21, 2007.
The media were expected to play a prominent role leading up to the
vote, prompted this training program.
Our hosts in Lagos were U.S. Consulate Public Affairs Officer, Tim
Gerhardson, and Chief Executive Officer of Ruyi Communications, Soni Irabor. Co-trainers were Steve Coon, Mike Beardsley, and Arnold Isaacs.
Soni Irabor was moderator for both the Lagos and Abuja programs.
U.S. Consul General Brian Browne, opening remarks, encouraged journalists to
work harder and challenged them to meet their responsibility on behalf of the
public trust.
Nigerian speakers for both weeks were Dr. Doyin Abiola and Gold Oruh
. Each is well known and did a good job of describing the
contemporary political landscape in Nigeria.
The Abuja hosts were U.S. Embassy Information Officer, Rudy
Stewart and Public Affairs Specialist Sani Muhammad.
The Abuja program was virtually identical to the one in Lagos.
Chargé d' Affaires Thomas P. Furey opened the Abuja conference with
remarks that echoed Brian Browne¹s speech in Lagos and underscored the
embassy¹s commitment to press freedom as fundamental to democratic
institutions.
The final project was a participant-generated framework that will
serve our Nigerian colleagues as a strong foundation for doing realistic and
compelling election stories. It will also be a good model for continuing
reporting following the election as journalists report polling results, compare
campaign rhetoric with actual performance by elected officials, examine
citizen reactions, and urge government leaders to answer concerns and demands
of Nigerians.