The media has been described as a veritable tool in peace building and vehicle for. development in the society through good governance and participatory decision making.
Other means through which the media can achieve this is budget tracking.
The observations were made by Dr. Terfa Abraham at a 2-day training for media professionals on Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE), organized by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN,) in partnership with Global Peace Development (GPD,) and Dispute Resolution and Development initiative (Formerly Democratic Action Group) held in Kaduna on Wednesday, February 21.
In his presentation titled: “Media, Fiscal Responsibility and Good Governance” Dr. Abraham said fiscal management is a vital component of delivering good governance and viewed the budget as a vital component of a nation’s fiscal management or public financing management system.
According to him, the budget reflects the priority of the government for projects and programmes in all sectors of the economy.
“The budget is a vital aspect of a nation’s fiscal management process and a tool for attaining national development objectives.
“If you can’t see any projects captured in the budget, then, the government does not prioritize it,” he said.
He opined that one sure way the media can enhance good governance outcomes and build cohesion among communities is through its reports and tracking allocations that are targeted at preventing violent extremism.
This, he said could be done by understanding and following the budget process which is often classified into four phases: preparation, enactment, implementation and monitoring/evaluation.
Corroborating Dr. Abraham, a Facilitator, Seun Akioye, while speaking on the “Role of Media for Peace-building and Conflict Resolution” said the media play an important role in conflict prevention, management and post-conflict reconstruction.
He urged media professionals to build cohesion by reporting that which promotes tolerance, and understanding between communities while imbibing the principle of “Do No Harm”.
While noting that the media can be a big propaganda tool for conflict, and could equally be used as a hate tool for incitement against communities and people, Akioye said, the media should focus on the positives to build community unity.
“Give voice to peacemakers, tolerance seekers, counter misinformation through fact-checking and interrogate narratives,” he further urged.
Speaking on “Skills and Methodologies of Reporting in Conflict Prone Environments” another facilitator, Bivan Magoni, tasked journalists and other media professionals to not only harp the views of the elites in the society, but also report issues affecting the common man.
He urged media professionals to avoid defining conflict by quoting leaders who make familiar demands, rather they should “Go beyond the elites, and report the words of ordinary people who may voice the opinions shared by many,” Magoni said
The training with the theme: “Strengthening Media Advocacy for Fiscal Responsibility and Good Governance to PVE” aimed at equipping the media professionals with essential skills and knowledge to play their roles of policy influence towards good governance to prevent violent extremism, at the community, state and national levels.
This is in according to the ActionAid Nigeria’s System and Structure Strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE III) project being implemented in Kaduna and Kano, funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, (GCERF).
The SARVE III project seeks to raise awareness of the dangers of violent extremism, develop new, and nurture existing effective response systems, promote peaceful coexistence, encourage shared positive alternative narratives, and build social cohesion among vulnerable groups in 24 communities in 12 Local Government Areas of Kaduna, and Kano States.
