He said this during his paper presentation titled “Introduction to Civic and Voter Education (CVE)” at the Workshop for Community Radio Broadcasters, held on Wednesday 15th May, 2024 at Hawthorn Suites, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.
Speaking on Civic and Voter Education (CVE), Dr. Akingbulu noted that according to the NB Code, Community Radio broadcasting stations are agents of democratisation. He added, that in the delivery of CVE, the media contributes to building democracy greatly.
He went further to state that the broad goals of CVE includes providing citizens with knowledge about democratic rights and practices, encouraging responsible and informed political participation, introducing basic rules and institutional features of democratic systems, as well as, convey a specific set of values essential to democratic citizenship.
Some of the importance of CVE highlighted by the speaker are, to ensure that citizens are informed about their rights, understand the democratic institutions and electoral processes, equip citizens to make informed decisions during elections, foster civic engagement and accountability of political institutions and strengthen the legitimacy of the elected government.
In conclusion, Dr. Akin Akingbulu pointed out that as agents of democratisation, Community broadcasting stations in Nigeria should prioritise Civic and Voter Education in their programming and ensure they fill up the void that exists urgently in a very professional way.
Dr. Abiodun Ogidan also pointed out that there is a strong linkage between Community Radio and grassroot mobilisation while speaking on ‘Radio Broadcast Formats For Civic And Voter Education’.
Stressing, she said that in understanding broadcast format, Community Radio stations must make deliberate effort to analyse each radio format, and deploy creatively, in order to cater for information, educate rural dwellers and promote the needs of disadvantaged people.
She further added that it is also important to acquire various formats function in creative and conventional ways for appropriate civic and voter education messages.
Highlighting some of the different standard radio formats, Dr. Ogidan discussed radio formats that can be used by Community Radio Stations which includes Radio talks, Interviews, the Magazine programme, Jingles, slogans and public awareness messages. She also noted some of the basic principles for voter/civic education.
Finally, the speaker added, that a good understanding of different radio formats by Community radio stations is vital towards contributing to building a strong and effective democratic society.
While holding a brief discussion on “Dealing with Misinformation and Disinformation in Civic Voter Education ( CVE)”, Mr. Timothy Bamidele, Program Manager, CEMESO, speaks on the rate at which misinformation and disinformation spreads fast.
Mr. Timothy Bamidele emphasized that broadcasters need to pay more attention to their content and news due to the ripple effect it has on the society.
Noting that broadcast stations are supposed to be guided by the broadcasting standards in the NB Code and other extant laws as stipulated in the Constitution of the country.
Mr. Bamidele further noted that the main impact of broadcasting is education, entertainment and information. Consequently, he stated that broadcasters must consider the importance of societal growth, since misinformation can be detrimental, if not warded off.
He also added that it is crucial to fact-check content before transmitting. Mentioning ways to stop the negative trend across board, the speaker emphasized on how important fact-checking information is, before it is disseminated to society as a whole.
In conclusion, participants were encouraged to ensure that they verify their stories before going on-air, and whenever they are in doubt, they should desist from broadcasting such stories.