Shettima To Media: Use Your Platform To Strengthen Democracy Via Constructive Criticism and Critical Thinking

* Lauds TVC’s Babajide for nurturing tradition of critical engagement with ‘journalists hangout’

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Monday charged the Nigerian media to be partners in progress with the government by utilising their platforms to strengthen the nation’s democracy through constructive journalism and critical thinking. 

He observed that a society is destroyed not by the absence of ideas but by the “absence of men and women with the courage to interrogate ideas, to test them against reason, and to ask the difficult questions that save a people from the seduction of easy answers”.

Shettima spoke in Abuja during the public presentation of the book, ‘My Life and Journalists Hangout’ and the 60th birthday celebration of veteran journalist and Director of News, TVC News, Mr. Babajide Kolade-Otitoju.

He extolled Babajide’s contributions to journalism and critical thinking, saying with his popular television programme, ‘Journalists Hangout,’ he has been able to nurture a tradition of critical engagement in Nigeria. 

Identifying the role of the media in strengthening democracy, the vice-president said: “The measure of every democracy is not in the rituals of elections alone or the architecture of institutions. It is also in the sensibility and sensitivity of the media. A democracy depends on a media culture that knows when to probe, when to warn, when to illuminate, and when to restrain itself from becoming an accomplice to confusion. 

“Everything deteriorates when left unquestioned. Power deteriorates. Public institutions deteriorate. National conversations deteriorate. Even truth itself can be crowded out when falsehood is allowed to roam unchallenged. The media, at its finest, is not a theatre of noise. It is a republic of conscience.”

Shettima paid glowing tribute to Babajide on his 60th birthday, describing him as a man “who has made a vocation of questioning appearances, resisting intellectual laziness, and insisting that public life must answer to reason”.

He said the celebrant is a true example of such men and women, even as he described him as a living template of democratic courage worth celebrating.

“Today, as we celebrate your 60th birthday and the public presentation of your book, My Life and Journalists Hangout, we honour the substance you have poured into those years. 

“We honour a craft you have dignified, a platform you have elevated, and a tradition of critical engagement you have helped nurture in our country. We also honour your decision to write, to remember, and to leave behind a record of a life spent in the service of thought,” Shettima said.

The  vice-president underscored what the tradition of critical thinking does to a nation, noting that it disciplines public conversation, saves citizens from the tyranny of prejudice, “protects society from the poison of conspiracy theories that feed on fear, ignorance, and wounded passions”.

He further praised Kolade-Otitoju for giving his life to the arduous task of public reasoning, emphasizing that it is no mean feat to work as a journalist for decades with one’s integrity still intact. 

“That is no small achievement. To spend decades in the service of journalism with integrity intact, with relevance undiminished, and with intellectual energy still alive, is a rare accomplishment,” he added.

On his part, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, while extolling the qualities of the celebrant, commended the media for its patriotic contributions to democracy and development in Nigeria.

In his review, Prof. Kyari Mohammed said the nine-chapter book captures Babajide-Otitoju’s professional career and vocation as a journalist traversing the print and broadcast worlds, showcasing the depth of his expertise and impact of his contributions to knowledge and practice in Nigeria and beyond.

He said the book, ‘My life and Journalists Hangout’ is an outstanding account of the author’s view of politics and governance, the practice of journalism and recommended the book to policy makers, practising journalists and administrators in both the public and private sectors. 

Earlier in his remarks, former Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mallam Danladi Bako, extolled the qualities of Babajide-Otitoju, describing him as a courageous professional.

He thanked and commended Vice-President Shettima for honouring the celebrant and, by extension, all journalists and the journalism profession. 

In separate remarks, presidential spokesman, Mr Sunday Dare; AIT anchor, Mr Gbenga Aruleba, and Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri, who spoke on behalf of the celebrant’s former colleagues, paid tributes to his person and contributions to journalism and development of democracy in Nigeria.