CrispNG’s maiden lecture: Hunger protest evidence media can mobilise youths for nation-building -Prof. Anorue
Prof. L. I. Anorue
Professor Luke Anorue, former Head of Department at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has emphasized the significance of the media in nation building, citing the hunger protest as evidence of the media’s ability to mobilise youths for nation-building.
Prof. Anorue, who was a guest speaker at Crisp Nigeria’s maiden annual lecture on Saturday, April 17, 2024, made this known during his lecture titled “Nigeria of Our Dreams: Leveraging the Power of Media for Youth Engagement in Nation-building.”
The event, which was tagged “Nigeria of Our Dreams: Are the Youths Involved?” was organised to celebrate the International Youth Day and featured notable speakers, including Ex-minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung; Niger State Governor’s aide, Aisha Wakaso; public affairs analyst, Dr. Ambrose Igboke; Halima Layeni, founder and executive director of Life After Abuse Foundation; and Busaosowo Bisong, founder of Busaosowo Foundation.
Notes from the lecture
“The youth are at the heart of nation-building. However, for the youth to achieve this purpose, it must be through a medium developed for that specific purpose.
“Since we’re talking about addressing the entire landscape of a geographical entity called a nation or country, it implies that the inclusion of youths nation-building discuss cannot be achieved through interpersonal communication alone. There must be engagement with the media, which is the technology developed for this purpose, especially if you aim to reach everyone simultaneously.
“Looking back, we understand that there are many forms of media, including traditional media like television, radio, newspapers, and others. In addition, we are now in the era of New Media, where the internet plays its own role.
“Given this, we can see the centrality of these vehicles of mass information, mass education, and mass entertainment in the task of building a nation. Therefore, if the youths must be involved, there must be engagement with the media to achieve this purpose.
Why youth involvement in nation-building is important
“The youth are crucial to national development. But first, who are the youth? According to the United Nations, youth are those between the ages of 15 and 25. The United Nations Development Bank also uses this definition. However, in 2019, the Youth Policy categorized youth as those between the ages of 18 and 29. Various levels have tried to categorize who should be called youth, but the bottom line is that those regarded as youth are between the ages of 15 and 35.
“Looking at that age range, you begin to see how important they are and the position they occupy in our social, political, and economic environment. The march towards national development is at their table. Whether we talk about every sector of the economy—artisans, engineers, media personnel, or lawyers—the youth are supposed to occupy a majority of these roles.
“So, when we talk about youth, they are supposed to be given the prime position. However, what we are experiencing today is different. They are important, but in politics, we don’t always remember them until the election period. We don’t remember them when appointing those who will occupy the National Assembly or when assigning positions of authority to ministers and others.
“Nigeria is not operating a gerontocracy where everything revolves around the old. If we must move forward and involve the youth, there must be serious sensitisation that holds that youth should be given their prime place.
“You cannot ask someone to participate in national development when they are either sitting or standing on the fence. The person must be encouraged to be a part and parcel of what is happening within a geopolitical entity.
The role of the media in facilitating youth involvement in nation-building
“The media are channels through which we can reach a large population of people within a geographical entity. I’ve talked about television, newspapers, radio, and now the addition of New Media.
“We know that communication is very important. In fact, I see the role of the media as stemming from the important function of communication in society. If we see communication as that nerve connecting every aspect of social life, we begin to see why it is so central.
“So, the media is here to play the communication and information role. It informs people about what they should know, including what the government is doing. People, including the youth, should be informed about government activities and policies so that they can embrace such policies. If the policies are not in tandem with natural law and justice, it is the duty of the youth to challenge them.
“Additionally, the watchdog role of the media is crucial. When certain things are not going well in society, the media should be in a position to point them out and hold the government accountable to the people. By doing so, the youth, who are part of the populace, are also sensitised.
“Beyond that, the mobilization role is significant. We all understand the role of the media in social mobilization. We witnessed what happened during the #EndSARS movement, and more recently, the #EndBadGovernance movement.
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“These were pure cases of mobilization. When people realize that certain things are not working as they should, the tendency is for the youth—not the old men and women who are already tired—to take decisive action. The only way they will get to know what is going on and begin to form opinions about what to do is through the media, which passes this information around and helps them understand exactly what is happening.
“There are other functions of the media, but the important thing is that the media is central to whatever we are doing to get the government involved in activities where they want the youth to participate.
“The media also plays an educational role by presenting various programs through which the youth can get educated on matters concerning their environment.
“It is pertinent to note that the role of the media in the development of society did not start today. Focusing on Nigeria, we remember what happened during the Nationalist Movement, where the youthful Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe used the media to sensitize the people and make them conscious of the fact that we were ready to govern ourselves. The only way they could have achieved that was by establishing media outlets. We can remember Zik’s newspaper, West African Pilot and the Nigerian Tribune by Awolowo, and so many others. It is hard to achieve a great level of sensitization without the involvement of the media, so the media plays a crucial role in this regard.
Youth Media Consumption
“Let’s turn our attention to youth and media consumption because if we want to make the youth builders of nations, we must consider the kind of media and how to reach them.
“Today, we are no longer just talking about traditional media. We are talking about New Media, and this New Media is more popular among the youth than the older generation. This is why we must be very conscious of the fact that whatever we want to let the youth know, whatever we want to achieve, we must reach them using the appropriate channels.
“Social media has been found to be very friendly to the youth because it is interactive and accessible, given that technology has changed everything. We should think about what media to use in trying to sensitise the youth and make them get involved in nation-building.
“The impact of media on youth cannot be overemphasized. If you want to understand the role communication plays in social existence, you could test it by locking yourself in a room for a day—no access to television, radio, newspapers, or even human communication. Stay there for the whole day, and if you come out alive, we might begin to see you from a different perspective. This would highlight the centrality of information, which, in this sense, comes through the media.
“Then, we have to think about the strategies to engage youth in participating in nation-building. The media must focus on their programs—what kind of programs will draw the attention of the youth and sensitize them, telling them that leadership is not only for the aged, but also for those who are coming up.
“Those who have contributed their quota should allow those who are coming up to contribute theirs. Educational programs should be part and parcel of what the media offers to encourage youth participation in development.
“Social media campaigns should also be considered, as social media plays a significant role in youth participation in the political, social, and economic life of a nation. Although there are dysfunctions and negative aspects of using social media, as long as it makes the youth eager to know what is happening and encourages them to contribute—whether through elections, debates, or suggestions on how to move the country forward—it is worthwhile.
“Social media also provides an opportunity for interaction, which could be another reason why it is very popular among them. Through chats, you send a message, and someone in another location replies instantaneously. This lack of delayed feedback could also be why we should encourage the youth and support social media, as it has become the preferred media for today’s youth.
Challenges
“There are challenges associated with using media in mobilizing youth towards development. One of these challenges is misinformation or fake news. Because everyone now has access to media due to its liberalization, anyone can contribute ideas, send, and receive information. This increases the tendency for these channels to be misused.
“Anyone can fabricate information and, with access to the technology, send it out. Before long, it has circulated, making it difficult for people to discern between truth and falsehood.
“Another significant challenge is the digital divide. We have different segments of our society now. To put it in layman’s terms, there’s the theory of digital migrants and the theory of digital natives.
“Digital migrants are those who were not born into the digital era. We are trying to grapple with it, trying to belong, trying to contribute our quota, and trying to get used to what we are not used to. It’s difficult for the older generation to achieve the same proficiency as digital natives – the youths who were born into it and know how to use it. So, why would we not involve them since they are more educated in the use of social media in this digital era?
“Even as a parent, you cannot compare yourself with your 15-year-old child when it comes to manipulating gadgets like handsets or laptops. While we may attend classes to help us grasp the complexities, little effort is needed by the youth to make use of these channels.
“The digital divide is very important and a serious challenge, especially for those who were not born in this era.
“The lack of media literacy and critical thinking is another issue. While the youth have the upper hand in media literacy compared to the older generation, care should be taken in choosing the channels we use, especially when dealing with information that concerns the general public. Media choice is very important.
“Stereotypes and bias are other issues. When someone is biased and discussing a particular issue, the listener should be able to discern between objective thinking and bias. Therefore, media practitioners, in using media channels to foster nation-building, should also consider this.
“Commercialization of the media is another challenge. When media channels are commercialised, “The Winner Takes It All” becomes the norm. Whatever impresses a particular organisation is what gets published, regardless of whether it harms the larger society.
“In voter education and campaigns, as seen in the 2023 elections, various channels were employed, including interpersonal communication, where people went to villages to inform others. The majority of information about candidates and the way forward was handled by the media, whether traditional or social. In every aspect of life concerning nation-building, the media is indispensable, as it is central to the overall design.
“In conclusion, what we are seeing is that the media is the lifeline of every society. As the media occupies that position as the lifeline, everything we do must be done with an understanding of what the media stands for.
“It is no longer about telling Mr. A or Mr. B what you want them to hear; we are talking about the masses. There are certain numbers of people you cannot reach through interpersonal communication, and that is where the media comes in.
“In addition, things are no longer what we expected them to be. The realisation that the epicenter of development initiatives has shifted is crucial. We should begin to recognise that, and in doing so, recognise the media’s role. The media should be employed aggressively to bring people on board. As I mentioned earlier, technological advances have presented new forms of media that we can utilise to achieve maximum benefits in that direction.”
