How the media can deepen democracy —Prof Mustapha

Professor Lambe Kayode Mustapha is of the Mass Communication Department, University of Ilorin. He spoke with BIOLA AZEEZ on mass media and democratic governance as the nation prepares for the 2027 general elections. Excerpts:

Democracy as a form of government is about representation. What is the import of this in today’s Africa’s contemporary democracy, particularly Nigeria?

Democracy is a system of government in which the people govern themselves, indirectly, through the instrumentality of representatives, who they have elected in a free and fair election. The question we now ask ourselves is how free and fair are our elections? How truly representative are our representatives? And how knowledgeable are people about even their power to govern themselves? So, these are the fundamental issues that really put democracy in Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular, in a state of continuing exploration.

Do you think Nigerians are freely disposed to democracy?

Ideally, democracy presupposes existence of informed citizens. This is the basic assumption of democracy, that the citizens are informed and knowledgeable about their power, their role as well as their ability to govern themselves through representation and through representatives. When you now have a situation where a substantial majority of people are not even aware of these rights, then the big question is that how can they value what they don’t even understand? So, the beginning is asking people to first and foremost understand the power that is inherent in self-governance. And of course, if this realisation is not there, then we have a lot of work to do. Because as citizens, we must be in the know of the rights and privileges that are accruable to us by functioning as a democratic society. So, if these are not there, then the question of whether they are ready or not is not even the issue. Because when people are battling with putting food on the table and what concerns them is meeting basic necessity of their life, you have boxed them into survival status. Then, I mean, you have a lot to do to establish whether they realize the importance of democracy in their life.

Would you say our leaders intentionally box these people into these basic needs of their lives just for them to win elections?

Yes, of course, the leaders and the system. Democracy presupposes existence of structure, order, and governance. These are ethos of democracy. And when the structures are not there, when the order is not there, and when governance is not meeting the parameter of democracy, then we can put all the blame on leadership. Of course. People, ordinarily, wouldn’t behave in a normative way. That is why we have selected some sets of people to lead. That is why we have given them abundant privileges so that they can be in the right and proper mind to take up the mantle of leadership. But when leaders are not rising up to the responsibility of elevating people to that pedestal that they will be partner in progress, then there is a problem. And that is the real question of democratic deficit that we are having in Nigeria.

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Has Nigerian media been up and doing as a critical agent of the state and watchdog of the society?

 It is neither here nor there. Because there is no clear-cut philosophical orientation of media practice in Nigeria. Media, by nature, are supposed to be watchdog. And by watchdog, it is meant that they are supposed to bring the government accountable to the governed. And when we have a media system that is doing this in a society where other parameters of ensuring adequate professionalism are not there, then we are weakening the media to take on its constitutional as well as philosophical roles. And that is the question we have in Nigeria. When we look at the trajectory of Nigerian media in terms of its democratic role, we realize that at the outset of democratic emancipation in Nigeria, the media system was at the forefront. Our independence was won through the pages of newspapers. And when we slipped into military interregnums, the media led the assaults to ensure that the military guys were forced back to the barracks. But with the advent of democracy since 1999, the media system felt like, oh, we have achieved something great, so there is no more enemy. And the so-called leaders, who took over the mantle of our leadership after the military totalitarianism, wear garb of being civilian and democrats, but deep within them are authoritarian practices, which are meant to serve majorly their parochial interests and not the interests of the states. And of course, we have episodic responses from the media. We have seen instances where the media will rise up to the occasion of challenging excesses and abuses that are coming from this corner. But it has not been done in a continuous way to establish the institution as the fourth estate of the realm, standing at par with other realms of power.

Media has been an active participant in the Nigerian project. So, what areas do you think require full intervention of media in our democratic processes?

It is about the media, but it’s about the totality of the system. A society deserves the kind of media it gets, because the media system cannot work in a vacuum. The media needs to work in an environment where people are knowledgeable about the institution, role, responsibility that is laid on this institution. So, to really single out mass media as not doing enough will be a kind of injustice to the media system. However, the greatest area we need the most, as far as media practice is concerned, is extreme professionalism among the practitioners Two, independence, and three, philosophical orientation.

Citizen journalism, social media journalism, would you say this has been a curse or blessing to Nigeria’s democratic governance?

The entirety of the media system is a double-edged sword. It can be used for good and for the bad, depending on their utilisation. When we have citizen journalism, it is not meant to displace traditional journalism. It is supposed to complement and supplement it. However, when you are in a society that is as complex as Nigeria, battling with a lot of primordial sentiments, then we need to tread with caution in assuming that citizen journalism will fulfill that which is supposed to be the constitutional role of professional journalism. The reasons are many. We have to question the intent of citizen journalism. Is it for market orientation or for public interest orientation? So, the fundamental question is, those who venture into citizen journalism, are they in it for the benefit of the masses or as a means of economic survival? These are a lot of things that we have seen at play; where emphasis is more or less on click baiting. You see a lot of stories, bogus headlines, with a kind of disparity in the content with the headline. Like I mentioned, the best form of journalism will exist in a very informed society. So, when you have an informed society, a society that is peopled by largely uninformed people, anything can sell. And that is where citizen journalism in Nigeria, of course, there are pockets of cases of some of them doing well and pursuing what we mentioned as public interests. But with due respect, substantial majority are out there for their own self-benefit.