FETTERS TO EFFECTIVE MEDIA POMOTION OF SDGs IN NIGERIA
A number of scholars, writers and commentators, among them (Wole-Abu, 2018; Oso, 2012; Raufu. 2003; Akeem et al, 2013; Nwuneli, 1980, 2019; Oyelaran, Agbese, 1990; and Sowemimo, 1996) have written extensively on the SDGs from different perspectives with a view to raising public awareness about the Project 2030 programme vis-à-vis the role of the mass media. Such commentators have however, identified a number of issues which may serve as obstacles in the way of the mass media to effectively deliver on their task of helping to promote the goals of the Project 2030. Among those fetters are the issue of media ownership and control, absence of free media, elitist programming and content, over concentration of the media in the urban centres to the exclusion of the rural areas and low literacy level, etc.
Wole-Abu (2018) while speaking on these obstacles argued that in order to effectively assess the state of the mass media in Nigeria today, it is pertinent to take a critical look at the media in the last two decades from the broadcast media deregulation era of 1992. According to her, the media since then, has been plagued with what she calls the good, the bad and the ugly. She noted that while the deregulation process ushered in competition, job opportunities, professionalism and specialization, the exercise has however, contributed to low productivity and a reduction in the quality of media content produced, as the focus is on foreign content to the detriment of locally produced content. Similarly, news which used to be a huge source of information for the people has been downplayed for entertainment. The impact of this on the SDGs is less communication about the project and this will affect the propagation of the programme.
For Oso (2012), the Nigerian mass media have become agents of powerful elites, as many media organizations have become dependent on government because of economic constraints. Given such dependency, media organizations tend to express the opinions of the social groups that dominate them and this, according to him, is detrimental to the masses that rely on them for information and protection.
In his own assessment of the mass media, Raufu (2003), noted that for the mass media to perform their functions effectively and efficiently, they must be independent of the government. Such independence, he added, enables the media to provide unbiased and objective information to the people as well as place them in a position to make the government responsible and accountable to the governed. The dominance of the broadcast media and the press by the government according to him, leads to manipulation. For Akeem et al (2013) a rich media practice is the only way to help the media play its development role well.
Nwuneli (1980) argues that the exclusion of the larger population, especially the rural dwellers, from access to the media affects their social and economic status. Nwuneli (2009) noted that most of such vulnerable and disadvantaged groups do not participate in national development because of lack of exposure to adequate media information. He reasoned that since the SDGs are geared towards the eradication of poverty and addressing other developmental goals, it is only an informed populace that can strive towards achieving the goals. This calls for greater media visibility and focus on the target audience, in this case, the poor, the marginalized, and the downtrodden.
Oyelaran (1990) argues that development connotes the continuous enhancement of the wellbeing and security of people in a manner that enables them to reach their maximum potentials. This is only achievable through the equitable distribution of the nation’s resources. This means that the political, social and economic activities of a nation should be focused on achieving such goals. While noting that the SDGs if well implemented and monitored have the capacity to take the nation to greater heights, Oyelaran maintained that this cannot be possible without the use of the mass media in their propagation. He averred that giving priority to information and education by the media is a key role of the media in national development, adding that since news has a coercive force and power to bring people together, the media should make use of news belts when propagating the SDGs.
According to Agbese (1990) information is power and it is the centre of all human interactions. He argued that without information people would not know about the things that happen around them and therefore, would not be able to make judgments that are beneficial to them. Lack of information breeds ignorance. He lamented that only a small fraction of the country’s population has access to media-driven information. It is for this reason that he asked, rhetorically: how then can we achieve success with national projects like the SDGs if information which is a key strategy to driving national and international projects cannot be made available to people especially those in the rural areas?
There is a grave implication whenever a vast proportion of the population is left out of the information process. Such a lacuna, of information blackout, Agbese noted, is a major setback to development particularly in the rural and sub-urban areas and this is often the case. This is why most national development projects do not succeed in those areas.
The high illiteracy rates in these areas do not also help matters because even where information is available assimilation is difficult. The nation’s media seems to be restricted solely to disseminating information in the cities. There is no proliferation of media organisations in rural areas and these areas could benefit immensely if community media are available.
Another major drawback is that most of our media outlets have moved on from speaking the language of the people. Sowemimo (1996) observed that prior to the deregulation of broadcasting in 1992, local language programmes were frequently used. That is no longer the case as most of the post deregulation radio and television stations run programmes that have no place for broadcasting in indigenous languages.
The use of indigenous languages in the broadcast of messages in promoting the SDGs will definitely contribute to clarity and effectiveness in information dissemination and strike at the cord of those who really need such beneficial information. The propagation and achievement of the SDGs is totally dependent on the ability of the mass media and their practitioners to disseminate communication that is development laden and people-centred. For this approach to succeed, there is the need for all stakeholders in the SDGs’ information dissemination and reception value chain, made up of the government, the media and populace at large, to work together.
Despite the aforementioned obstacles to effective media promotion of the SDGs, Wole-Abu (2018) has demonstrated how the key functions of the mass media which are to inform, educate and entertain, can be effectively deployed to actualize the SDGs as elaborated below:
(a). Information
The mass media play the role of information dissemination to keep the people abreast of all that happens in society and in that regard, it is their responsibility to do so objectively and ethically. The information provided by the media affects all aspects of human life, socially, politically or economically. To a very large extent, people depend on the mass media to make important decisions regarding their lives. Although it is often said that the media is a reflection of the society in which it operates, the media is still a very powerful social institution that exerts influence on the society. This influence can help in the propagation and attainment of the SDGs.
(b). Education
The media plays the role of an educator. This happens when people depend so much on it and they start to internalize the messages or the ideas which the media propagates. The fact that the media has the power to change people and societies is observable in the influence of the western media on people’s culture. The western media has been able to erode the culture of people in the world through the content it generates. Media content constructs reality and the people must know how to deconstruct media constructions. The mass media as a major communication tool can be effectively deployed to educate people about the objectives and implementation processes of the SDGs.
(c) . Entertainment
Of the functions associated with the mass media, the entertainment function can be said to be most popular and recognized. Media contents can be packaged in the form of film, music, cartoons, drama, humor and general interest and pushed unto the public for its consumption. People are mostly drawn to this function because it helps them manage or cope with stress. These entertainment pieces are drawn from local, national and international themes. Given the attraction to the entertainment function of the media, the SDGs can be portrayed in our Nollywood movies which have gained popularity with the people. Similarly, local musicians could also include the SDGs in their music as their songs, as a veritable vehicle for spreading the message. Talented Nigerian comedians with large followership could be engaged as SDGs brand ambassadors to help in spreading the message.
CONCLUSION
In the course of this presentation, we examined the nexus between the mass media, sustainable development and the promotion of the SDGs in Nigeria. The discussion has shown that the relationship between the mass media and sustainable development are mutually inclusive and self-reinforcing. We however, noted that while the goal of sustainable development is to create room for equitable development and even distribution of development growth across the developed and developing nations, many developing nations are not yet fully part of the sustainable development process due to several factors identified in the literature. We further demonstrated that given the indispensable role of the mass media, as change agents and setters of agenda for public debate, they constitute the best channels for promoting the SDGs globally and in Nigeria, particularly.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The critical role of the mass media in issues of sustainable development as well as in the promotion of the SDGs is not in doubt. It is in the light of that, that we think that the following recommendations are worthwhile:-
The concept of ‘sustainable development’ has been experiencing a shift from being considered an exclusive subject of interest for the academic, institutional and scientific communities, to a familiar term and an issue of concern for the general public. Information and public awareness campaigns are indispensable tools in making the general public understand the concept and be aware of its importance. The media is a key vector that can help give practical meaning to such endeavour.
A free media is a sine qua non for effective dissemination of information while the safety of journalists is a precondition for freedom of speech. If journalists cannot report unhindered and without fearing for their own lives or welfare, or those of their loved ones, then society loses out on vital information flows. Furthermore, when the people who attack or kill journalists go unpunished, the prevailing state of impunity for their actions leads to self-censorship among both journalists and society at large. Therefore, everything must be done by all concerned to safeguard the lives of media practitioners and create the necessary enabling environment for members of the Forth Estate of the Realm to effectively deliver on their core professional mandates which are to inform, educate and entertain.
The mass media should design programmes or contents in local languages to create adequate awareness and educate the people on the SDGs and their prospects.
Participatory development communication from the media should be encouraged as this gives people a sense of belonging in the project. It is also a way of identifying and satisfying the communication needs of the people especially those in the rural areas. For example, the media should involve rural dwellers while recording some of the programmes for promoting the SDGs by being given the opportunity talk about their expectations and aspirations.
The establishment of community media in the rural areas will go a long way in keeping the people informed of government policies and projects as well as aid community development. Meaningful development can only take place if people are mobilized. For mobilization to take place, there must be free flow of information. Since the primary duty of the media is to inform the public, the public must also strive to be informed. If this is properly done everyone will be aware of the place of the media in the society. People will also be able to contribute their quota to national development,
There is a need to strive to attain a balance in media content. To this end, 50% of media content should be information-centred as this will help in the surveillance of the environment and 30% for education and correlation of responses while 20% should be devoted to entertainment. If this is done, there will be more enlightenment in the rural areas as people will become exposed to contents that they can relate with and become better informed.
For the educational function of the media to be impactful, it is advisable to develop jingles and short videos about the SDGs in local languages. This will assist in the mobilization of the illiterate and semi illiterate segments of the population to key into modern developments.
The government, media and educational institutions should work together in developing SDGS-focused adult literacy programmes. This has the advantage of mapping a large number of people into the SDGs’ implementation process. In addition, being better informed gives them a better chance of taking decisions.
In addition, the media must have a conductive environment to operate. The media that encounters problems such as a domineering government which is usually the case with state owned media cannot perform its functions freely. Independent public service media should be encouraged to have more objective and unbiased assessment of national projects. Similarly, the influence of the political or business interest on private media may also mar their ability to function objectively. These problems can limit the mass media from playing their role. The consequence of the media’s inability to play its role could affect the success of the SDGs. No country, including Nigeria, wants to be left out of global developmental projects because being excluded portends a major setback.
Nigeria is currently going through very difficult times. The country is plagued with enormous economic crisis, threat of disintegration, terrorism and general insecurity. Such atmosphere of instability does not create the enabling environment for practising effective journalism as most media practitioners may not be able to access volatile areas to carry out their duties or even assess developmental projects in those areas. The government must make effort to address issues relating to insecurity, as well as political and economic instability as no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of rancour, terrorism, corruption, disaffection and disunity.
I thank you for listening.
Dr. Akor is of the Dept of Sociology, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria.
Email: linus.akoryusuf@fugusau.edu.ng
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