Nigeria: US envoy spotlights greatest strengths of democracy

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Dec 5, 2021

APA– Lagos The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, has said that the greatest strength of democracy is the ability to improve upon and reinvent itself. Delivering her keynote remarks at the opening programme of the Press Freedom Town halls, Workshops for Nigerian Editors on Thursday in Lagos, the envoy discussed the challenges faced by Nigeria and…

APA – Lagos (Nigeria) The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, has said that the greatest strength of democracy is the ability to improve upon and reinvent itself.

Delivering her keynote remarks at the opening programme of the Press Freedom Town halls, Workshops for Nigerian Editors on Thursday in Lagos, the envoy discussed the challenges faced by Nigeria and other democracies across the world and noted that “When the citizenry’s belief in democracy, good governance and elections are restored, invariably they will want to be a part of that system and will defend it.”

“Our hope is that in this forum today is that you will lead and serve as catalysts for further discussions on countering disinformation; increasing transparency; solution building; and encouraging media literacy and their contribution to a democracy that is accountable to its people,” she said.

According to her, in recognition of the vital importance of a free press and ‘the fourth Estate” to democracy and good governance, the U.S. Embassy and the Nigerian Guild of Editors co-launched in Lagos the first of six media-focused Town Halls and Workshops that will take place across Nigeria in the next several months.

The ambassador explained that the capacity-building programme will provide a forum for more than 200 participating Nigerian editors and leaders of the independent press to discuss and share best practices, and to also hear from U.S. experts on topics such as journalistic standards, identifying bias, and conducting fact-based investigative reporting to better inform the Nigerian public.

Earlier in his welcome address, the President of the NGE, Mr. Mustapha Isah, said that the Town Hall meetings would examine how well the media in Nigeria has been playing its role of holding the government and its officials accountable to the people and ensuring good governance.

He noted that good governance is facilitated by strong and independent media and stated “Freedom of the media allows for the creation of a public space in which a wide range of debates and expression of variety of viewpoints can take place.

“A free and critical press is essential for the growth and development of any democracy.

“The media as a watchdog of society owes it as a duty to monitor governance and hold public office holders accountable to the people who elected them.”

According to him, good governance is simply an essential framework which serves as a means of achieving wider goals, including security of life and property (which is the primary goal of government, according to the 1999 constitution), prosperity and the general well-being of the citizenry.

In his remarks, the General Secretary NGE, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, said: “At the end of the project, we expect to see a pool of Nigerian editors, senior journalists and media managers, who will be galvanized and committed to the highest ethical standard and to take robust actions to “Editors who will be committed to the promotion and protection of the right to independent press, freedom of expression and deepening democratic space; and constantly projecting issue-based governance in defense of the mass of the Nigerian people.”

He explained that the Town Halls and editors workshops are supported through a grant from the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section in Abuja to the Nigerian Guild of Editors and that the programmes would take place in Kano in January 2022, Yola, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Enugu.

Speaking on the theme of the Town Hall meeting, “Consolidating Nigeria’s Democracy: Citizen’s Verdict and Outlining an Agenda for the Future”, a Nigerian lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, frowned at the attempts by the Lagos State government to cover up the killings at the Lagos Tollgate during the #EndSARS protests in 2020 by issuing a White Paper on the report of the judicial panel set up by it.

Falana said that it was wrong to set up a committee to review the report of the judicial panel and the report of the panel was as good as the judgment of a High Court in Nigeria and that anybody, who was not interested in the report should approach the court.

He disclosed that he and some notable lawyers in Africa would soon set in motion the defence in both national and international courts all the persons unjustly treated and murdered by some African leaders, including the former Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh.

GIK/APA