A two-day election reporting training programme organized by the United States Mission in Nigeria has ended in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, with a commitment by the US Government to ensure free, fair and credible elections in Ekiti, Osun this year, and the 2019 General Elections.
The US Government also tasked journalists in the South-South geopolitical zone to give adequate coverage to all parties and processes leading to the 2019 elections while working round the clock to uncover threats to free, fair, credible and non-violent electoral process in the region.
Speaking during the closing ceremony at Golden Tulip Hotel, Port Harcourt, last Tuesday night, Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, Darcy Zotter, said that the commitment of the US Government to credible elections in Nigeria informed the mission’s decision to train journalists across the country with a view to retooling them on global best practices in election reporting.
Zotter noted that the press was extremely important due to its critical role in shaping electorate’s choices before, during and after elections, adding that it was also important for journalists to protect themselves against violent forces who may want to take advantage of the period to unleash harm on innocent citizens.
“We have confidence that the key in achieving set goals is the press. Looking forward to the next election, we know that you are going to play important roles. The books have stated what exact roles you are going to play. But we think your role is difficult to measure.
This is why we have decided to put together this training opportunity to refresh your skills and competences to enable you do better for Nigeria and Nigerians”, Zotter told the journalists, drawn from both print and electronic media outfits in the region.
Zotter emphasized that the training module was designed to give both the US and Nigerian perspectives to elections, adding that it was expedient for reporters covering elections in Nigeria to get it right this time around.
In her remarks, one of the guest lecturers, and Director of International Media Training, Voice of America, Ms Joan Mower said it was critical for journalists to know what the laws governing elections in Nigeria were and report based on informed knowledge, while giving all political parties equal coverage.
Mower observed that a year to Election Day, all media houses were expected to have firmed up their election coverage plans, trained and positioned journalists to begin reporting on Independent National Electoral Commission’s preparation processes, parties’ candidates, and the issues bordering the electorate and their preferences.
Also speaking, another guest lecturer and former Dean of Communications, Lagos State University, Prof Lai Oso charged Nigerian journalists to get out of their comfort zones and go all out to expose corrupt politicians in the country, adding that this can only be achieved if journalists dwell more on investigative journalism and play down on promoting hate speech as well as sensational reports capable of dividing the country.
Oso frowned at the poor attitude of some journalists who have failed to take full advantage of the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and rather chose to promote violence and division in the country, and charged Nigeria Press Council (NPC), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) to collaborate to ensure discipline, professionalism and good ethical conduct of journalists in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the 25 trainees, Regional Editor, BusinessDay, South, Ignatius Chukwu expressed delight at the opportunity offered Nigerian journalists by the US Mission to sharpen their competences and skills preparatory to the 2019 General Elections, and challenged other stakeholders in the country, including media outfits, to play more significant roles in efforts to train and retrain journalists to ensure credible outcome in the 2019 elections.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana