Media literacy, informed citizenship vital to good governance, nation building — Stakeholders

Media stakeholders have emphasised that media literacy and informed citizenship are essential for effective governance, the promotion of accountability and justice, and national development.

The stakeholders made this known on Saturday in Ibadan during the grand finale of the 2025 Media and Information Literacy for Nigeria’s Youth Advocates Fellowship, facilitated by the Black Girl’s Dream Initiative (BGDI) in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and DUBAWA.

The project manager of the fellowship initiative, Fatimah Adebimpe, stated that Nigeria would be a better place if its citizens were slower to believe falsehoods, quicker to seek the truth, and tell their stories with care, without it being at the cost of others.

Adebimpe added that false reporting and misinformation have negative ripple effects on people and society, which is why Nigeria deserves a society built on truth.

The project manager further added that this was the reason for the fellowship: to train selected Nigerians on fact-checking, community storytelling, research, new media and artificial intelligence journalism, and data journalism.

She urged the fellows to apply what they have learnt to build a Nigeria where information empowers rather than divides.

The keynote speaker and chairman of the Oyo State Union of Journalists (NUJ), Demola Babalola, stressed that if the public is not well-informed, they will be misled because informed citizenship is the cornerstone of a progressive society.

Babalola stressed that information is only power when it is properly and responsibly propagated, adding that while media literacy is a social responsibility for all Nigerians, the youth have a vital role to play in its effective use.

The Oyo NUJ chairman said that a click of the button can spread falsehood, warning that falsehood and misinformation are a threat to security and democracy.

While urging collaboration between media practitioners, citizens, and the government, Babalola added, “Verify before you amplify. Use your voice to enlighten, not to vilify. Let us build a Nigeria where truth is louder than falsehood.”

In the course of the event, Oluwatobi Odeyinka spoke on ‘Access, evaluation, and use of information’, Tijani Abdulkabeer spoke on ‘Undercover stories and the future of investigative journalism in Nigeria’, and Temiloluwa Oyeniyi spoke on Leadership and civic engagement in the digital age.

Before the grand finale of the fellowship programme, there was a virtual training that spanned several weeks, through which Odewale Abayomi, Godson Nwankwo, Oluwabukola Adimula, Kehinde Ogunyale, Temiloluwa Oyeniyi, Andrew Munganga, Bolawa Pelumi Solomon, Adesola Ikulajolu, Sunday Awosoro, and Lois Ugbede trained the fellows on various aspects of media, journalism, and civic engagement.

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