Development refers to an improvement in the economic situation of the people where the basic necessities of life such as food, housing, education, good income and health care are met at affordable cost and where the society is safe, peaceful, secure, attractive and worth living.
The media have big roles to play in helping our people come up in the Human Development Index as popularised by the UNDP and its Sustainable Human Development (SHI). The media can pursue reportages that promote people-centred development through people’s empowerment; encourage popular participation that put the people first, a bottom- up development model from the grassroots that also promotes shared environmental responsibilities.
In most parts of Africa and indeed Nigeria, mass media activities have remained urban enterprises to the neglect of people living in the rural areas where 70% of the population lives. When the story of the agricultural breakthrough deal brokered by the Anambra State government broke in 2016, rather than explore further by climbing boats and using other means to get to the locations where the Ugu and Onugbu farms are located, many of our colleagues chose rather to report ‘convenient falsehood’ which were regurgitated and fallacious stories bordering on scandalous falsehood copied from bogus and fake internet websites and off the face book pages of sworn enemies of the Anambra State government.
The attitude of many point to a growing culture of cynicism bordering on hate, if not dislike, of the activities of the present administration in the state. Such narrow- mindedness tends to preclude purveyors of such vile and hate-filled narratives from seeing anything good in what the government is doing. Since when did journalism become anti-progress and anti-development to the point that a journalist who probably is sitting in this auditorium did not find any single thing good to write about the Willie Obiano administration after going round the state for 2 days.
John and Olusola (2015) opine that Development-oriented messages are largely elusive in the rural areas of Africa. According to him, Media, as custodians of development, have done little or nothing in the dissemination of development messages in the rural areas. The fate of the rural African people in the face of urban- centric media practice and elusive development-oriented messages still hang in the balance with regard to information, mobilisation and education.
What could be the reason for this? Don’t we find reporting rural communities of Anambra State attractive? Is it dangerous to report from the rural communities? Are there no stories to be told from the rural communities of Anambra State? Is it difficult to access rural communities? Why is journalism practice in Anambra State majorly an urban phenomenon? I am aware that the Anambra State Ministry of Information and Communication Strategy has Information Officers at all the LGAs and communities in Anambra State but the question is, to what extent do their reportage make it to mainstream media? Also to what extent are the information officers effective in taking back developmental news and information from the city centres to the rural communities?
One may conclude that modern means of mass communication have not lived up to expectation in terms of adequate coverage of newsworthy events in the rural areas where Wilson (1999) notes “seventy percent of the people live without access to modern media of communication.”
It is my view that if media practitioners in the state are guided by the theory and principles of development communication, it would serve us better. Development media theory which is recommended for countries at lower levels of economic development and with limited resources takes various forms but essentially proposes that media freedom, while desirable, should be subordinated (of necessity) to the requirements of economic, social and political development.
To empower rural dwellers, there has been a push in the advocacy for the establishment of community radio. Individuals, as a matter of right, should have access to media and the right to be served according to their own needs. Therefore, the siting of rural community radio stations and even viewing centres in most rural areas for education, enlightenment, and information becomes imperative. The same goes for the establishment and shared ownership of local community newspapers in native languages and the continued use of other traditional media forms.
Media organisations operating in Anambra State should increase the Igbo language content of their offerings. This is to help promote the dying language, promote Igbo language, culture and identity and also carry the rural dwellers along by giving priority to news and information links with rural areas for balanced and unbiased news reportage and analyses.
We expect that journalists operating in Anambra State take further interest in helping to sensitise Ndi Anambra on ecological and other issues facing us. As men of conscience, we need to review how we reported the aftermath of the rainfall in some parts of the state last week, the rains washed up debris on the roads from blocked drainages but some of us chose to blame the government for this. In encouraging the efforts of the state Ministry of Environment and the state waste management agency (ASWAMA), the media can help in campaigning and informing our people on good waste disposal manners.
We appear to be much fixated on reportage of government activities to the neglect of other issues. Why is this so? Is it much more ‘lucrative’ to praise or criticise government? There are too many stories we are not yet telling which are begging to be told, for example, the plight of widows in our society and other such stories.
Other areas that media practitioners can help in the socio-economic development of Anambra State are: (1) Promoting government’s developmental strides (2) Sensitisation of the people in health and related matters (3) Voter sensitisation, registration and voting to discourage apathy in the coming gubernatorial elections (4) Promoting Anambra State’s shared values, anthem etc. (5) Promoting the investment opportunities that abound in Anambra State, the works of Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) and Anambra Small Business Agency (ASBA) (6) Promoting the language and culture of Ndi Anambra (7) Promoting peace and inter-community relationships (8) Highlighting the ills in the society with a view to suggesting accepted norms and sharing best practices etc.
As media practitioners, when we partner with the government and Ndi Anambra in these areas, we are helping to promote socio-economic development in Anambra State.
- Excerpt of a paper presented by Uche Nworah, MD/CEO, Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), at the Anambra Media Summit organised by the Anambra State Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, March 28 – 29, 2017
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