Setting media agenda for 2023 general elections
The media attempts to effect processes that will result in what will be perceived as the most important discourse on issues affecting a society, influencing and establishing the spate of news occurrence.
Agenda setting has formed a cardinal component of public opinion and accurate evaluation of such news has become important to public policy consideration.
The recent second annual GYB seminar for Nigeria's political and crime correspondents was aimed at looking at the roles of the media in agenda setting, especially as it affects politics.
So, political and editors gathered recently in Abuja for two days and brainstormed on the theme "Setting the agenda for 2023''.
The sessions took more than 200 participants through the route of the roles the media ought to play prior to and during the 2023 elections.
The participants also did a diagnosis of the score sheet of the programmes of Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi.
Reviewing the seminar, the Editor-in-Chief of Leadership Newspapers, Mr Azubuike Ishiekwene, said that the media prioritised what was reported by giving salience.
According to Ishiekwene, the media has a gate-keeping function and the exclusive capacity to control what is reported.
He, however, noted that the way some media would set agenda would depend on ownership influence.
He said: "Media should know more about the political candidates; have a knowledge of economics; use available resources to check facts; provide a platform for debate on all sides; and also reflect the news about the weak''.
Ishiekwene, however, noted that for the country to remain afloat, for accountability, the journalist must deliver on the responsibility of holding government accountable to the people.
He noted that as the watchdogs of the society, the media were expected to listen to what the politicians are saying and draw a conclusion as to the reality on ground.
A former presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, talked about Constructive Journalism and how it could make people understand the subject to report well.
Abati said that it was the responsibility of the media to hold government accountable to the people, making reference to Section 22 of the Amended 1999 Constitution.
He also cautioned that both texts and graphics could drive recipients of information, hence the need to be careful in dissemination of materials.
Abati advised that a journalist should stay by the sacred principles of the profession to avoid misinformation.
The President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Chris Isiguzo, spoke on " 2023 Elections: Journalists As Watchdogs''.
According to him, the media must be watchdogs in truth and spirit and display patriotism
"The media must ensure that it is that person that will take us out of the woods that will emerge as president in 2023.
"We should not be sensational in our reportage. Journalism must be done with sound judgment,'' the NUJ president said.
Isiguzo thanked the organisers of the seminar, saying that learning was very important as a stagnant journalist was like a poison to the society.
"You are eliminating poison from our landscape to have a new breed of professional journalists who will speak the language of developments,'' the NUJ president said.
He said as the country marches into 2023 election, two issues of security and the need to build journalists capacity-wise became imperative.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr Mustapha Isa, said that training of correspondents on both crime and political beats could not have come at a better time.
Isa said it was commendable that Bello had declared to run the post of president.
Bello, while fielding questions from journalists said that the nation was at the threshold of getting Nigeria either right or the nation returned to the past.
He noted that to do this, Nigerians must be educated properly and evaluate each other.
The Kogi governor advised that the media should set the tone of discussion and put merit into consideration for Nigeria of our direction come 2023.
"No country, no government can succeed without the media through a just reportage,'' Bello said.
Bello, who had declared his intention to run as president, was passionate that Nigeria would have a society that would be free of crime if he assumes office as president.
He solicited good leadership and urged the media to set the agenda that would portray the kind of leadership the country should have, saying that the media should display patriotism in their reportage.
Bello said that he threw his hat in the ring to give hope to Nigerians, the hopeless and the hopeful ones.
The governor recalled that Kogi used to be the, hitherto, crime capital of Nigeria but presently, this had been reversed.
He noted that he had brought the rate of crime totally down in Kogi and promised to replicate same if given a chance to emerge as Nigeria's president in 2023.
He said that President Muhammadu Buhari was doing his best in terms of security.
Bello noted that he had done a lot for the All Progressives Congress (APC), having mobilised 41 million members of the party and still counting.
Bello said that it was his intention to make 20 million Nigerians millionaires if he comes on board as Nigeria's president.
He pointed out that within the limit of Kogi resources, his administration had made 2,000 millionaires.
He explained that he had a lot of respect for the founding fathers of APC but noted that he would build on the foundation the founding fathers had laid.
The governor said that Nigeria could record more success if the younger generation would be allowed in the saddle of affairs of the nation.
He added that his campaign team was already communicating with more than 21 million Nigerians with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Bello said if given the opportunity, he would wish to have the first female vice-president.
Going by the various papers presented by Kogi government officials, terrorism, armed robbery, kidnapping, communal clashes and other problems, have become things of the past in the state.
The Director, Research and Strategy, Yahaya Bello Campaign Organisation, Mr Moses Okezie, said that the residents of Kogi could now sleep with their two eyes closed.
According to Okezie, the Igala, the Ebira and the Okun are united as well as 10 other minority tribes.
He explained that Kogi was being tagged the "most gender sensitive state or government'' in Nigeria in carrying the women along.
Okezie said that Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) were also well represented in the scheme of affairs of the state.
He added that 54 Nigerians not of Kogi origin were appointees of the governor.
Women appointments cut across all cadres, constituting 45 per cent of appointments, including all the 21 vice-chairmen of local governments in the state.
Yahaya Bello Campaign Organisation, led by Sen. Jonathan Zwingina, said the example of success recorded in Kogi is a shining example of the today.
The organisation noted that those who had not visited the state's website or visited the state would not know what is happening in the state.
The organisation predominantly a resuscitation of the late MKO Abiola's "Hope '93'' campaign team, said that Bello attached more importance to effective education.
The campaign team noted that it saw a man who was committed with dreams and this was why everyone that worked in "Hope '93'' is now working for Bello.
The Vice-Chairman of the campaign organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said the team had done its research on Bello and overwhelmingly convinced that "he is a man who is courageous, decisive, strong, focused and very clear about what he wants to achieve.''
Fani-Kayode said that Bello's emphasis had been on the youth and on the women.
The Commissioner for Information in Kogi, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, said that the governor had restored unity, peace and security in Kogi.
Analysts, however, noted that in setting an agenda for 2023, the media have a number of hurdles to scale and this includes contending with the ownership influence of "he who pays the piper calls the tune''.
Analysts also explained that the poor welfare of most journalists might also be an impediment in objectively setting an agenda for 2023 as most journalists are either not on regular wages or are poorly paid.
Finally, pundits also pointed out that inadequate capacity building on the part of journalists might hinder good performance or brilliance in setting an agenda for 2023.
All these are germane issues that should be properly looked into in a future seminar so that the media can set the right agenda unbiased and do their work the way it should be done, they observe.
