By Danlami Nmodu
As Nigerians face the growing use of inciting words during political campaigns,more stakeholders have joined the call for caution to avert negative consequences.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Friday in Abuja , Dr Lanre Adebayo,director general ,Peoples Democratic Institute said “ we need not to remind ourselves on the irreparable damage that dissemination of hate message had done on our fragile country.Our journey towards democratic governance had been truncated several times while we have fought a costly civil war.
“The country had experienced several inter-communal conflicts , religious crises with attendant loss of lives and properties
“These consequences of hate messages had cost our nation several years of development opportunities, exacerbated poverty and created cycle of hatred among peoples who had had several centuries of interaction. Indeed , the post- election violence in Kaduna in 2011 was largely caused by the intense dissemination of hate messages.
Continuing, Adebayo said ”It is therefore worrisome that a lot of our political Leaders and political parties have chosen to deploy hate messages as a major method of campaigning.
“A cursory examination of the current political campaign shows that many political parties have failed to use their Manifesto (if any) as the framework for campaigning for the votes of the people.
“In essence, the current election campaigns are largely short in policy content .We wish to appeal to all Political Parties and candidates to produce their manifesto to the mass of our peoples.
“They are also urged to use the manifesto to conduct their political campaigns.We urge the Nigerian electorate to reject any political party or candidate who fail to undertake policy-driven campaign.
“We urge the mass media to develop appropriate editorial policy to discourage the dissemination of hate messages.
He advised media practitioners thus:”The Nigerian journalists and other media practitioners should identify with Nigerians at this point in our historical evolution by discouraging the publication or broadcast of inflammatory or hate messages.
Adebayo called on “media practitioners and our brothers and sisters in the social media to sincerely reflect on where we are coming from .We should use our power with utmost caution”
He also addressed the difficulties being experienced by Nigerians to acquire their permanent Voters’ Cards,PVC so far.Adebayo suggested that “ in the event that all (the) efforts are inadequate to ensure that all the PVCs are distributed within the available time, we urge all political parties and politic to unite together in a shared commitment to solving an important national problem by discussing on the best way forward.It is in this context that we appeal to INEC to utilize all available structure to ensure an inclusive solution to the problem.
Speaking during the conference, Mallam Mohammed Garba ,national President ,Nigerian Union of Journalists,NUJ expressed concern over the growing breach of due process on the political scene.He equally worried over some acts by some media practitioners which indicate that they are ‘compromising ‘ the ethics of the profession.
“Iam disturbed that politicians are really manipulating the media”Mallam Garba said.He reminded journalists to take their responsibilities seriously and ensure they are fair and balanced always.
Mrs Grace Awodu who represented the DG Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution Professor Osita Osita slammed the increasing use of inflammatory statements.She said the percentage of the trend had really gone up.She appealed to journalists to ensure that they help douse the tension by doing the work according to the ethics of journalism.
The event was moderated by Mr Mohammed B. Attah , a civil society topshot and country director,WANGO.
