ActionAid Nigeria, (AAN) with support from Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and System Structure and Strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE III) has appealed to media practitioners to embrace solution Journalism as catalyst to prevent violent extremism in northern Nigeria.
The Country Director, AAN, Mr. Andrew Mamedu, made the appeal in Kaduna at the 2-day Media Master Class on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in Kano and Kaduna States, said the need for Journalists to focus more on reportage capable of bridging peace for sustainable growth can never be overemphasized.
The Country Director, who was represented by the programme and consortium Coordinator, AAN Mr. Aliyu Adamu identified the watchdogs as critical stakeholders in the society and as such urged them to be deliberate in giving more prominence to peace builders against conflict entrepreneurs.
He further added that the theme, “Strengthening Media Advocacy for Fiscal Responsibility and Good Governance to Prevent Violent Extremism,” is apt considering the current realities in the country, even as he noted that injustice, poverty and lack of good governance are good drivers of violent conflicts in every society.
In his presentation, one of the Facilitators at the Media Advocacy Masterclass, Mr. Seun Akioye while speaking on “the power of narrative: Fostering social reorientation through human angle storytelling,” appealed to newsmen not to be carried away by their passion just to get the work done but to always bear in mind the principle of “Do no harm” when telling their stories.
He advocated that the role of media is not to be a mouthpiece or propaganda tool, but to approach reporting as seekers of truth, social cohesion prioritising reports that promote tolerance and understanding between communities by giving peace lovers and the common man voice for sustainable growth and development.
Another facilitator, Beevan Magoni, urged conflict reporters not to take the issue of violence lightly but to approach it very seriously by proffering amelioration to every emerging issues using the concept of Early Warning Early Response, (EWER) to mitigate violent extremism, rather than waiting until the conflict get down to their doorstep.
One of the participants, Jemiila Yakubu who is the communication manager for Global Peace Development, (GPD) said the training is an eye opener for her because lessons learnt will be applied appropriately at the course of discharging her duty.
Jemila asserted that the training has given her the opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn in the world of peace building, explaining that she is fully equipped with relevant skills and methodologies needed to report conflict related issues especially in a conflict prone environment.
