US Commends Nigerian Journalists on 2015 Election

Muhideen Adedeji The United State has commended Nigerian journalists for their constructive role in ensuring successful conduct of the 2015 general election. US Consul General, Jefery Hawkins, said this at the opening remarks to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day in Lagos.

“The last few days have shown the world the strength of Nigeria’s commitment to the tenets of democratic principles”, Hawkins said. He added that the world has indeed watched Nigerian successes; and that for him experiencing the historic elections first hand has been a highlight of his career as a diplomat.

He gave kudos to the media for providing to the Nigerian electorate timely, factual, analytical, and objective information that helped them understand the issues and where the candidates stand. ‘’In cases where some journalists were trying to get factual information about the election, most of the journalists were injured and most of them were arrested for doing their jobs’’, he added.

Hawkins challenged the media to continue to play an effective role in amplifying important issues that affect citizens, saying such can improve governance by raising citizens’ awareness of social issues, and enabling them to hold their government accountable.

Before the election, the Public Affairs Section of the United States embassy in Nigeria organised media training workshops in cities across the country including Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ekiti, Abeokuta, Osogbo, Kaduna, and Abuja. “We also conducted training for the INEC press officers months before the elections to prepare them to be responsive to the news media in order to inform the general public about voter education, registration and polling information”, Hawkins added.

“Publishers are not totally in charge of their publication, they often set a rule, draw line which no employee can cross”. How journalists and editors behave are often determined by the tendency of the owner, very few journalists can run against the position of their owner”, said Mr Femi Adesina, president of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, while speaking at the event.