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By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
Some female politicians in the South South and South East of Nigeria have expressed readiness to explore the opportunity offered by the mass media, including the traditional and social media, to boost their political activities and enhance their visibility in the political space.
Rising from 2-day training by the International Press Centre (IPC) in Port Harcourt, the female politicians who were very excited said they had greatly benefited from the training and will immediately put into practice all that they learnt in their on-going campaigns for the coming election.
Though many of them know about, and are on several of social media platforms, they noted that the training has opened their eyes to the many opportunities and benefits the platforms offer them to boost their political programmes and campaign, stressing that they would explore and exploit all such a opportunities.
The training was sponsored by the European Union- Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II) as part of its Component 4: Support to Media.
Lanre Arogundade, IPC’s executive director, said that the overall objective of the training is to “strengthen the media for fair, accurate, ethical and inclusive reporting of the electoral processes and elections, and in particular seek to provide female politicians vying for elective posts in the 2023 and 2027 elections with information on the roles of the media in elections and democratic process as well as the rudiments of engaging the media for partnership in their political activities and electioneering campaigns”.
Speaking on her experience, Amaiso Itongeshiet, deputy governorship candidate of Boot Party in Akwa-Ibom State said that the training has opened her eyes more to the many things she could do with the media to enhance her political career.
She added that though she had been on some social media platforms she did not realize the advantages they offered, adding that all that had changed for her with the training as she would immediately take full advantage of them.
According to her, the training also taught her how to embrace the traditional media organs and their practitioners as partners in progress in putting out her political programmes to the public.
On her part Dabota Godswill Jumbo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly candidate for Bonny Constituency in Rivers State said she had a wonderful time and learnt a lot of lessons.
“I learnt a lot of lessons on how to enhance visibility especially concerning media engagement. I learnt that the media and practitioners are part of the election campaign process and so I am going to see them as strong partners in achieving my visibility to win my election”, she stated.
She expressed gratitude to the organisers of the training and wished that the period of the programme would have been longer as two days according to her were “grossly inadequate”.
Jumbo said; “Two days was grossly inadequate, however, it’s a good way to start but I wish the training period would have been longer. I’m going back to put everything I’ve learnt into practice”.
Ndifreke Okem, All Progressives Congress, APC, House of Assembly candidate, Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, Akwa Ibom said; “I have learnt that the media should be my friend as a politician. I should not shy away because they are the ones to sell me and cause my programmes to be heard everywhere, down to the grassroots.
“I want to appreciate the organisers and the resource persons. They have done great. They have made me to understand that I should not be intimidated, but be self-confident. I now understand better the functions and features of the various social media platforms and I’m ready to use all of them to enhance my visibility”.
Also, Hellen Ataisi Clifford, House of Assembly candidate African Democratic Congress (ADC) Andoni Constituency, Rivers State described the training as a great privilege for her.
She said; “I must say, I’m really excited because enough attention has not been given to female politicians in Nigeria. So I think, it’s a good one that this has come up to strengthen women in the political space.
“I learnt a lot, ranging from use of the social media to enhance my political career. I will now increase my activities on Twitter; from the benefits I learnt that it offers. I learnt to use the social media platforms to boost my communication with my audience, the importance of the media in enhancing the ambitions of the female politicians.”
She expressed the wish for more of such trainings and commended the organisers for putting together the programme.
The women were taken through intensive practical group works and assignment on engaging the media, like participation in live and recorded radio and television programmes; interviews and organising political programmes with press coverage, as well as how to open social media accounts and advertise their events on the platforms.
They were drilled by resource persons including Samuel Egbala, editor in chief, Nigerian Chronicle and vice president, East, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mrs Uduak l Obeten, director of News, Cross River Broadcasting Corporation, and vice president, NAWOJ, South South and Sunny Dada of the Institute of Media and Society.
