By Ishaya Ibrahim
The United States has said it would provide the assistance to ensure that Nigeria’s 2019 elections are credible.
At the 2018 World Press Freedom Day held in Lagos, the United Sates Consul General, John Bray said the U.S. has since 1999 been helping to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Working with Nigerian and international partners, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria has also engaged diplomatically and publicly to prevent violence and increase accountability, contributing significantly to the goal of free, fair, credible, and peaceful elections in Nigeria,” he said.
The Consul General said in the nearly six years he has been in Nigeria, and since 2015 when he became the Consul General, he has visited each of the 17 states in southern Nigeria, almost all of them on multiple locations.
“I have spoken with hundreds, perhaps thousands of Nigerians about democracy, elections, and the history of Nigeria.
“These conversations have confirmed my belief that Nigeria has a vibrant democracy. Democratic societies are not infallible but they are accountable, and the exchange of ideas is the foundation for accountable governance,” he said.
He said peaceful and credible elections are essential to Nigeria’s continued economic, political, and social development.
He said as the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s stability is crucial to the security and economic prosperity of the rest of the continent.
He said the U.S. government is dedicated to supporting Nigerians in ensuring that the 2019 elections will be transparent, credible, and peaceful.
He enjoined journalists to be professional in the discharge of their work.
“Before I joined the Department of State I was a reporter. Based on my experience, I know that as reporters and editors, each of you has an important role to play in the electoral process.
“You will foster active debate, provide investigative reporting, and serve as a forum to express different point of view. When people don’t have the facts, they make them up and that creates unstable environments, rife with rumors, gossip and lies,” he said.
He said Nigerians rely on the journalists’ unbiased and accurate coverage of the campaign season for the elections to be successful.
“As the 2019 election draws near, the U.S. Mission supports your efforts to provide objective and balanced reporting to the Nigerian people. To this end, my Public Affairs team here in Lagos led by Darcy Zotter is putting together an election reporting training for 100 political reporters and editors,” he said.
The 2018 World Press Freedom Day was attended by former chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, Professor Femi Mimiko, Professor of Political Science and Former Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State, President Nigeria Guild of Editors, Ms. Funke Egbemode, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Dr. Qasim Akinreti and Zonal Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command, Superintendent of Police Dolapo Badmus.
