The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) will, on Monday, host the June edition of its Journalism & Society Twitter Spaces with the theme, Media and Democracy: How has Nigeria fared?
The centre in a press statement by the Executive Director/CEO, Motunrayo Alaka, on Friday, said the panellists would assess how the media has progressed or regressed under democracy and how the media has supported the growth of democracy since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999.
“The panellists are Publisher of Premium Times, Dapo Olorunyomi; Director of News, TVC Communications, Stella Din-Jacob; and Founder of the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Hafsat Abiola-Costello. “Others are former Special Assistant on Digital/New Media to former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Tolu Ogunlesi; CEO of Hostwriter, Mercy Abang; and Legal Compliance Officer at Spaces for Change (S4C); Patrick Allam.
“News editor at Nigeria Info, Cool FM and Wazobia FM, Port Harcourt, Chioma Ezenwafor, will moderate the event,” Alaka stated.
He noted that June 12 commemorates the democratic election of the late Moshood Kashimawo Abiola (MKO) on 12 June 1993, which the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida cancelled.
“On June 6, 2019, the former President, Muhammadu Buhari, changed Nigeria’s Democracy Day from May 29, the day the military handed over power to civilians in 1999, to June 12,” he added.
According to the executive director, “The WSCIJ Journalism & Society Twitter Spaces, held monthly, serves as a platform for conversations and debates about the role of the media in society.
“It brings together journalists, civil society organisations, human rights advocates, students of communication, political science, and journalism, and members of the public.”
