Media practitioners have been asked to play an unbiased role towards a violent free 2023 election.
A media practitioner, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Thenigerianpost Newspaper, Mr. Abu Michael, gave the charge as a guest of the Prime FM 101.5 weekly sponsored Radio Program, ” My Neighbor, My Friend”, tasked the media to be unbiased and discourage hate speech in there reportage.
Mr. Abu was speaking on The Role Of The Media In Ensuring Peaceful And Violent-free Elections (A Conflict And Gender Sensitive Approach To Election Reporting), is a program under the Community Initiative for Promoting Peace, with funding by USAID.
While pointing out that the media should make it a point of duty to debunk misinformation, rumours, hate speech and false propaganda, factors he identified as push factors to Violence in Election.
The Media Practitioner urged the media to be sensitive and weary of the languages they use when reporting the 2023 election, tasked journalists to play peaceful roles in the 2023 election.
The Media Practitioner urged the media to be conflict and gender sensitive, was emphatic that the media must address women with dignity and respect in the electioneering process.
Mr. Abu described the media as the major link between the voters to get information, update on electoral process, before, during and after the elections, charged the media to be responsible for whatever information they put out to the public.
The Media Practitioner urged the media to cover the 2023 election with a high sense of responsibility in line with ethics of the profession, pointing out that electoral violence can occur before, during and after the election, urged the media to be vigilant.
The Publisher called on the media to be mindful of ethnicity, religion, key ingredients he mentioned that can easily spark electoral violence, insisting that it is a must when reporting two or more opposition political party’s, the media should ensure that they balance their views, with good sense of judgment on information passed, and without compromised by the brown envelope syndrome.
As a way of standing better equipped to report conflict and gender sensitive reportage as well as a violent free 2023 general election, Mr. Abu Michael sue for training of the Media Practitioners, pointing out that the political process is dynamic, reason why they need more skills and knowledge from what obtained in the past.
He added too that the media should encourage electorates to vote peacefully, discourage vote buying and selling, help build faith in the electoral process, charged the media to encourage citizens on how to channel their grievances during electioneering as well as to share INEC contact and social media platforms with the public.
The program My Neighbor, My Friend is a phone in program, saw callers from across the State calling on the media to sensitize the electorates on the dangers of vote buying and selling, urged the media to be unbiased in reporting the truth.