The keynote address discusses the important role of communication and media in building and strengthening democracy. It argues that a democracy cannot exist without a viable media to keep citizens informed and hold politicians and government accountable. The media acts as a watchdog to uncover corruption, ensure politicians fulfill promises, and allow governments to address issues. It also plays a role in mobilizing citizens and building social consensus. However, the media must have the proper skills, independence, and environment to fulfill these roles in a democracy. The address praises the Timex School of Communication for providing training to develop media professionals able to strengthen democracy.

1. THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN BUILDING DEMOCRACY
Keynote Address Delivered 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.
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.

2. 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 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

3. 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.
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.

4. 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 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

5. 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
DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE, NIGERIA.
Kaduna,
Kaduna State, NIGERIA
September 2, 2011