Professor Isaac Olawale Albert of the Department of Peace, Security and Humanitarian Studies, University of Ibadan, has urged media practitioners to be circumspect while reporting acts of insurgency and terrorism which Nigeria is currently battling among other forms of conflicts in general.
Prof Albert, who is a professor of African History, Peace and Conflict- Studies, made the call weekend, during a presentation entitled ‘Understanding Conflict, It’s Nature and Character’ at a 2-day training for journalists on Peace and Conflict- sensitive Reporting, organized by Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) in collaboration with Premium Times Academy.
Albert urged reporters to first understand the context under which they operate, in order words put the Nigerian context into consideration in their interventions.
“Understand the interaction between your intervention, that is what you report, and the context within which you operate, and acting upon this understanding, in order to, minimize the negative impact of conflicts and maximize the positive impact of conflicts” urged the expert.
Also, during the event, Kadaria Ahmed, Founder of Radio Now, spoke to the topic: ‘Hate Speech and Fake News; the imperatives of Ethics and Professionalism in reporting’ tasking reporters to take an introspective assessment of their articles with a view to reducing ethnic profiling in their reports.
Ahmed noted that Southern Kaduna and Plateau State that used to be very cosmopolitan are now divided along ethnic lines due to consistent ethnic profiling.
According to her, reporters can inadvertently turn criminal violence into political violence through ethnic profiling in their reportage.
She pointed out that the danger in ethnic profiling is the likelihood of endangering the lives of innocent people who share the same ethnicity with the criminals.
According to Ahmed, there is also the tendency of forcing people who share ethnicity with criminals to rally around in protection of bad elements when the crime is profiled along with ethnic groups.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Asishana Okauru, the Director-General of NGF, noted that the workshop was organized ‘to respond to the new dynamics which have again brought the media to the fore in the types of reporting that would either keep the country together or drive us all apart.
Okauru tasked media practitioners to use their platforms to enhance the wellbeing of Nigerians.
“The scope of our mandate cuts across the following areas: Health, Education, Agriculture, Security, the Economy, and Infrastructure. We expect that as the team that reports our activities, you will use your platform to enhance the wellbeing of Nigerians. The objective at this Forum is to build a country where no Nigerian feels left behind” he said.
By Chidi Ugwu,
Independent