PRESERVING INFORMATION SOVEREIGNTY

The authorities must do more and protect the nation’s information space

To strengthen national security and social stability, the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) is pushing authorities in the country to protect our information ecosystem from the growing influence of global digital platforms. In a statement entitled, ‘Preserving Nigeria’s Information Sovereignty: Why the Federal Government Must Act to Secure the Nigerian Press in the Digital Age,’ the NPO argued that the rapid rise of these platforms is not only an industry challenge, but also a national threat. 

 Considering that the statement was jointly endorsed by representatives of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the federal government must heed the warning. According to the umbrella media organisation, foreign technological companies like Google have created a power imbalance that is now threatening the sustainability of professional journalism in Nigeria, particularly through their dominance in digital advertising markets. “This is not a conventional market disruption,” the organisation said. “It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.”

Even if the global giants are not solely responsible, it is common knowledge that many media organisations across the country are withering, as they struggle to keep their newspapers and magazines on the streets or to make their voices heard, pay salaries, and fund important investigations. This is partly so because most of the revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore. “The erosion of journalism revenue is already translating into newsroom contraction, job losses, and declining professional standards,” NPAN president, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, noted. “This represents a loss of skilled labour, institutional memory, and national capacity that cannot be easily rebuilt. Algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determine what Nigerians see, amplify, or ignore.” 

Journalism as a profession aids nation-building, and is instrumental to strengthening electoral integrity and social cohesion. This comes through the dissemination of information which is factual, accurate, trustworthy, transparent, and balanced. This helps in promoting the public good while also reflecting authentic realities and aspirations, minimising harm and ensuring accountability to the people. These are particularly important in an age that is increasingly defined by misinformation. But the current digital market structure allows these platforms to extract disproportionate value from our public good while weakening its producers. And as rightly stated by the NPO, when trusted news institutions are weakened, misinformation, and digitally manipulated narratives walk the streets, fuelling grievances and insecurity.

As it stands, the sovereignty of Nigeria is not only defended at physical borders. It is also done in the information space.  Indeed, safeguarding Nigeria’s information sovereignty, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, once put it, “is the digital-age equivalent of territorial integrity.” It is about Nigeria’s right and capacity to tell its own stories, shape its own narratives, and counter the corrosive effects of foreign-sponsored disinformation. But this can only be done effectively when the profession is reasonably empowered, and the country is able to protect the nation’s digital space. At the end of the day, press freedom not backed with economic viability is worthless.

Therefore, we endorse the NPO position that it is time to tackle the emerging risks, and misinformation from algorithmic bias. We must ensure fair compensation for Nigerian news content in addition to preserving innovation, competition, and consumer choice. In doing these, we will just be adopting what some other nations, including South Africa, United Kingdom and Canada have done to protect their national interests. Fortunately, there are already capable institutions like the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), with powers to do what is right. We must do everything to enhance Nigeria’s information sovereignty.