1. OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR
Keynote address, titled the role of communication in building
democracy, delivered by
Her Excellency Mrs. ‘Funmi OLAYINKA
Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria,
At the opening of the 2nd National Communication Summit of the Timex
School of Communication, Kaduna, held on September 12, 2011.
PROTOCOLS
I bring you good tidings from the Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Dr.
John Kayode Fayemi and the entire people of the Land of Honor, where
we hold so dearly to integrity, sincerity of purpose as exemplified in the
provision of accountable and transparent leadership.
I am particularly pleased to be here this morning at this auspicious time
of building Nigeria’s democracy and ensuring that the people as owners
of political power get the best out of their democratic experience, to
speak on the press as a major stakeholder in making democracy worth
its while.
The sixth edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary says
democracy is a system of government in which all the people of a country
can vote to elect their representatives. It also defines communication as
the activity of expressing ideas and feelings. Whichever meaning any of
us here would want to give to those two key words, it is important that
we see democracy and communication as inseparable ingredients of any
successful government of the people, by the people and for the people.
The Media, which has often been described as the backbone of a
democracy, plays a crucial role in shaping such a healthy democracy.
Fact is there can be no democracy without a viable media, which makes
us aware of various social, political and economical activities happening
around us and the larger world.
1 | Page Keynote address at the 2nd National Conference of the
Timex School of Communication, Kaduna on September 2, 2011.

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The media operates like a mirror, which strives to show us the truth
about our existence and the realities of life. The media reminds
politicians about their promises at the time of elections and coverage of
campaigns helps people, especially illiterates, in electing the right person
to the power by explaining to them the manifestoes of the candidates.
This reminder compels politicians to live up to their promises in order to
remain in power.
Communication is actually the live-wire of any society as it is the vehicle
through which ideas and opinions are shared and understood. It serves
as the bond between disparate parts of a society and enhances people’s
culture and profession.
Today, we live in the exciting age of information technology, which has
shrunk the world onto our palms via smart phones and the internet. We
are daily bombarded with information and can get the pulse of the world
with just a click of a mouse. The blend of technology and human
resources (in the form of media practitioners) has brought rapid changes
to societies in unearthing rampant corruption in politics and society and
galvanizing pressure groups.
We all are well aware of what new media has done in the overthrow on
long dictatorships in North Africa and that Nigerian groups have also
used it to organize protests against perceived official laxity and high
handedness.
The media identifies loopholes in the democratic system, which
ultimately helps government in filling the vacuum and making a system
more accountable, responsive and citizen-friendly. A democracy without
media is like a vehicle without wheels.
In the 1700s, the French political philosopher Montesquieu, unhappy
with the secret accusations delivered by palace courtiers to the French
King, prescribed communication (publicity) as the cure for the abuse of
power. Other western thinkers have also underscored the importance of
the press in making officials aware of the public’s discontents and
allowing governments to rectify their errors.
One of the founders of American democracy, Thomas Jefferson, for all his
bitterness against criticism levelled against him by journalists, argued
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that only through the exchange of information and opinion through the
press would the truth emerge.
He proclaimed the famous Jeffersonian declaration: “Were it left to me to
decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or
newspapers without government, I should not hesitate to prefer the
latter.”
Today, the notion of the media as watchdog and not merely a passive
recorder of events is widely accepted. It is understood that government
cannot be held accountable if citizens are ill informed about the actions
of officials and institutions. When legislatures, judiciaries and other
oversight bodies are powerless against the mighty or are themselves
corruptible, the media are often left as the only check against the abuse
of power.
Eminent contemporary thinkers like Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, in the
seminal work, Development and Freedom, ascribe to the press the same
cleansing powers. Sen outlined the need for “transparency guarantees”
such as a free press and the free flow of information.
Information and critical public discussion, he said, are “an inescapably
important requirement of good public policy.” These guarantees, he
wrote, “have a clear instrumental role in preventing corruption, financial
irresponsibility and underhanded dealings.”
Sen sees the media as a watchdog not just against corruption but also
against disaster. “There has never been a famine in a functioning
multiparty democracy,” he said. “A free press and the practice of
democracy contribute greatly to bringing out information that can have
an enormous impact on policies for famine prevention… a free press and
an active political opposition constitute the best early-warning system a
country threatened by famine could have.”
In growing democracies such as ours, the media have been able to assert
their role in strengthening democracy. They have been able to do this by
a number of practices which students of TIMEX will do well to
understudy.
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4. OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR
There are: (a) Investigative reporting, which unveils shady deals in high
and low places and makes the media an effective and credible watchdog
with credibility among the public. Investigative reporting also helps build
a culture of openness and disclosure that has made democratically
elected governments more accountable.
There are various manuals that arm reporters with research tools and
awards for investigative reporting have helped ginger a corps of
investigative journalists. You should also be aware that Nigeria now has
a freedom of information law that should help reporters to access official
documents and make their work easier.
Ekiti State is the first state in the country to domesticate the Freedom of
Information Bill of its own, and even made it more robust than the one at
the federal level.
(b) There can be no democracy without active participation of citizens.
Ideally, the media works by keeping citizens engaged in governance by
informing, educating and mobilising the public. The strongest medium is
radio, which is less expensive and more accessible.
The expected upsurge in community radio should also help to promote
grassroots democracy by airing local issues and reflecting ethnic and
linguistic diversity. Of course the Internet is also playing this
mobilization role, because of its interactivity, relatively low costs of entry
and freedom from official control.
The press, wrote U.S. television journalist Bill Moyers in the early 1990s,
should draw citizens to the public square and “provide a culture of
community conversation by activating inquiry on serious public issues.”
(c ) The media also helps to build peace and social consensus. The
platform offered by the media provides the mechanisms for mediation,
representation and voice so that various contending groups could settle
their differences peacefully.
Of course, it is also tragically true that the media have sometimes fanned
the flames of discord by taking sides, reinforcing prejudices, muddling
the facts and peddling half-truths. Excessive coverage or hype of
sensitive news has led to communal riots at times. The drive for profit
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has created stiff competition in media. In order to outdo each other,
media organizations often struggle to go one step further in publishing
breathless articles on sex and crime. Some media experts say although
this might work to attract readers, it is at best a cheap form of
journalism.
Mercifully, Nigeria is an open society where the press is allowed to
operate freely within the law. What had been lacking in some respects
have been mechanisms to ensure they are held accountable to the public
and that ethical and professional standards are upheld. The media do
not always live up to the ideal because they are hobbled by stringent
laws, monopolistic ownership and, sometimes, the threat of brute force.
Moreover, they are sometimes used as proxies in the battle between rival
political and social groups and foster suspicion rather than social trust.
As important as the media is, it can only play a positive role in
democracy if there is an enabling environment that allows them to do so.
But media operators also need the requisite skills for the kind of in-depth
reporting that a democracy requires. That is why I marvel at what is
being done at Timex School of Communication towards building the right
caliber of professionals and an enduring situation for future practitioners
in this all important field of human endeavour. I am convinced that
future communicators can get such training at a Communications school
such as this and learn the rest on the job.
Media independence is equally desirable, and this is guaranteed if media
organizations are financially viable, free from intervention of media
owners and the state, and operate in a competitive environment. Our
government is also keen to help the media to function optimally and
some of these efforts include: the protection of press rights, enhancing
media accountability, building media capacity and democratizing media
access.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, participants at this conference, once
again I thank you for listening and wish you successful deliberations as
you proceed in this conference. God bless.
H.E. MRS. ‘FUNMI OLAYINKA
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Timex School of Communication, Kaduna on September 2, 2011.

6. OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR
DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE, NIGERIA.
Kaduna,
Kaduna State, NIGERIA
September 2, 2011
6 | Page Keynote address at the 2nd National Conference of the
Timex School of Communication, Kaduna on September 2, 2011.