2023 Election: Arise Africa Call on Media To Unite For Free, Undisputed And Peaceful Elections In Nigeria

Free and fair elections are indispensable in any democracy that seeks to be functional, credible and sustainable.

It is fair to say that for us in Nigeria and indeed all other viable democracies, national elections are the starting point of measuring the quality of the process for contestation for political power.

The quality of elections therefore is crucial to the establishment of any credible representative government. Whenever elections has been proven or perceived to have been rigged as a result of being shoodily conducted or shabbily administered, the consequences have often been fatal. There are examples in Africa where disputed elections became an incubatoin for violence. In some cases, it led to civil wars and completely undermined some countries governance system.

Imo people have not travelled along the path of violence before. As a people, we have continued to exercise maximum restraint!  

Nigeria has also held successful General Elections with peaceful hand-overs or transfers of power. By all standards, this is no a mean achievement at all.

This feat has not been achieved without problems. We have had some serious challenges to overcome, revealing the faultiness of our electoral process. As a people, our triumph has come from resorting to dialogue, debate and other forms of peaceful resolution of whatever situation we have been confronted with on our journey of building a viable democracy.

Good practices need to be sustained and that is why I am  advocating that media practitioners should unite for undisputed and peaceful 2023 election.

There is also need for the support of civil society groups.

We express serious concern about reckless reportage by sections of media and intolerance of press freedom by sections of society both of which do not augur well for the cause of an undisputed and peaceful election. It is only through a concerted effort by media and civil society that we stand the best chance come 2023 polls.

We urge our colleagues in the media industry, journalist, bloggers to place decorum and circumspection at the center of your work throughout the  electioneering period.  

We should place high premium on journalistic code of ethics and other guidelines to help us ensure free and fair coverage of the 2023 polls.

We reject the argument by some of our compatriots that our electoral challenges are teething problems and will pass with time. We cannot afford to live any longer under the false and dangerous impression that we are peaceful and naturally insulated from danger of electoral violence.

We should not allow ourselves to suffer such complacency. As a people, Imolites may have their peculiar characteristics but we are not any different from other human beings. We are humana and as such capable of doing both good and evil. We are seriously concerned over emerging acrimonlus trends, that is why we advocate that media be engaged for undisputed and peaceful elections. The support and corperation of the civil society is also  needed. A strong collaboration between the media and civil society to promote a rational and credible coverage of the election. This is imperative in the face of the impact of social media and citizen journalism on the information and communication landscape in a digital world.

It is our hope that circumspection, decorum and respect for ethics and standards would guide both professionals and non-professionals engaged in information dissemination during the forthcoming election period to spare us misinformation in media coverage.

We call on all arms of government, political parties, key governance institutions and indeed civil society an opportunity to reflect on their commitment to building democratic stability in Nigeria through their support for a free, fair, undisputed and free elections.

On behalf of Arise Africa, I wish to urge us all to collaborate and make the 2023 election a peaceful one. We owe this to our generation and those yet unborn.

We salute all individuals, institutions and corporate organizations who have through their support for Arise Africa's contributed towards the development of the media industry.  

We celebrate the wonderful people of Imo State - Eastern Heartland. This region has historical ties with Arise Africa Magazine media Outfit. The first ceremony we organized held in 2016 at Imo Concorde Hotel, and later on same year we Unveiled Arise Africa Magazine at Rockview Hotel, Owerri Imo State

That maiden event, which was comparatively very small and modest was organized by GCFN Consult and Nigerian Eye Newspaper. 

From that humble beginning, we have crisscrossed the African Continent. Organizing events in Imo, Lagos, Abuja Nigeria, Liberia and Accra Ghana

Arise Africa Magazine will continue to help our people  aquire the needed inspiration for the emancipation of African continent.

Our laudable initiatives will birth-in some level of ethical and social implications for our youths through our various platforms aimed at educating,  equipping and empowering the youths.

In conclusion, we as a people must continue to come together in designing a modern African state. A just pan-Africanist society where every blackman can stand proud.

We have been ideologically consistent as a people centered political civilization, for a thousand years: we will remain so. Nothing else can satisfy this dream of a society that is built on Truth, Justice and freedom. 

The Arise Africa Magazine desires a free, fair, undisputed and peaceful 2023  election. We must unite to achieve this.

Arise Imo

Arise Nigeria

Arise Africa

Ikechukwu Anyanwu

PUBLISHER, ARISE AFRICA MAGAZINE