By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mathias Schmale, has solicited for strong media partnership for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria .
Mr. Schmale also noted that media need to help spread factual information about the SDGs and to hold government and institutions accountable for what is being done and the progress being achieved.
He made the call at a two day training workshop for journalists on SDGs, which was organized by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, in collaboration with Media Awareness and Information For All Network (MAIN)
According to him: ” The media play a critical role in achieving Agenda 2030, which includes ensuring citizens are well-informed to enable them to form opinions based on facts. Factual and evidence-based reporting is critical at this period of fake news.”
He also said , “UN is supporting the government of Nigeria to address its challenges and to realize its development aspirations and the transformative change. They cannot do it alone. The United Nations also cannot do it alone. We need stronger partnerships, and the media fit well into this partnership.
The Resident Humanitarian Coordinator while speaking on gender equality, called on the media to intensify profiling of successful Nigerian women to motivate other women and girls to break the gender barriers, saying, “Nigeria has the first African woman to lead the WTO; my boss, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN, Amina Mohammed is also a Nigerian woman.”
“Media need to do more in profiling many successful Nigerian women for the purpose of learning and motivating other women,” he said.
The Deputy Country Representative of UN Women to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Lansana Wonneh, in his presentation titled, “Gender Equality And SDGs: The Role of Journalists in ensuring progress”, elaborated on acceleration of gender equality achievements, warning that, the global community would fail to achieve the SDGs.
“Gender equality is a right and at the centre of the SDGs. Fulfilling this right is the best chance to address economic crisis; lack of health care; climate change; violence against women; and escalating conflicts,” Lansana said.
He further urged journalists to amplify the voice of vulnerable women in their reportage, while ensuring accountability in the commitments made to women through appropriate budget allocations and delivery of services.
On his part, the Senior Technical Adviser in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Dr. Bala Yunusa, noted that the SDGs could not be achieved with stand-alone programmes and projects.
“They must be carefully integrated into national and sub-national policies and development plans,” Bala Said
The Chairman of MAIN, Prof. Lai Oso, in his remark said that none of the 17 goals of SDG could be achieved without active cultivation and cooperation of the media.
He said media, have become central to the initiation, execution and public support of any policy and programme of development.
“It is in realization of the importance of communication and the media that the need to train, equip and deploy an informed media to achieve SDG goals has become imperative”, Lai said.
The participants at the training were decorated with the ‘SDGs-Wheel’ pins by the Resident Coordinator who designated them as ‘Champions of SDGs’, to further strengthen their commitment to promoting the SDGs and sustainability journalism.
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