The United States of America has advised existing and prospective political office holders in Nigeria to steer clear and work against cheap blackmail, name-calling and all sorts of personality defamation ahead of 2019 and subsequent general elections, saying socio-economic issues should be the political yardsticks for all polls.
The United States, which is one of the oldest democracies in the world, declared that cheap black, name-calling and character defamation were profusely used against President Donald Trump in the build-up to 2016 US electioneering but Americans were swayed by negative campaigns and rather voted for Trump as US President.
Speaking at the United States Consulate Election Reporting Workshop in Osogbo, Osun state capital on Wednesday, Joan Mower, Director of International Media Training, Voice of America, encouraged Nigerian politicians to focus on issues such as economy, infrastructure, health system and other key socio-economic issues as campaign of calumny are gradually phasing out all over the world.
Mower, who gave a participant’s account and overview of the US general elections held in 2016 at a session with the press men, noted that almost all Nigerians just like Americans are much more interested in the issues that could attract economic growth and development and not cheap blackmail and name calling and all sorts of personality defamation which some political parties always resort to before and during electioneering.
“In 2016 general elections in the States which involved Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Americans didn’t focus on the personality, blackmail and all sorts of things people said about Trump, they did focus on issues. In America, people don’t care about personality; they care about issues that were why Trump won.
“In Nigeria too, people are now thinking and talking about key issues and not the personality. If Donald Trump should go to the poll today, he will still win because our economy is doing great right now and issues such as that are coming up in Nigeria. People are now asking about the health system in Nigeria for instance.”
Also speaking at the workshop, Lai Oso, professor of Mass Communication at Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, stated that polity is hitting up by various biases of different media houses and journalists who are considered as key gate keepers in news reporting going by the news they report and broadcast to the public.
Oso, who lamented negative impacts of ethnic, religious and other biases had done to nation’s unity and development, declared that it was high time, Nigerian media play its role as fourth estate of the realm to uphold public trust and national interests especially as general elections are drawing nearer, saying objectivity and professional ethics should be used by the media to save Nigerian democracy.
The United States Consulate in Nigeria on Monday, began a two-day media workshop for journalists drawn from print, broadcast and online media platforms in five Southwest states which include Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti, having organised such a media training in Rivers and Enugu states.
