Nigerian media recently paused to pay tribute to two towering figures in its history. Early last week in Lagos, prominent media professionals convened for the presentation of Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism, marking four decades since the tragic assassination of the pioneering Newswatch editor-in-chief. Days later, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development celebrated the 80th birthday of Lade Bonuola, the legendary former Managing Director of The Guardian, with the launch of his biography, Ladbone: A Life in Print.
Honouring both trailblazers—whom I had the privilege of knowing during their most impactful years—is both fitting and necessary. Yet, as we applaud the golden era they represented, an urgent question lingers: what will future generations celebrate about our work today? It is difficult to deny that modern Nigerian journalism has lost considerable ground. The era when reporters commanded deep respect from political elites, newsrooms paid livable wages, and print publications celebrated soaring circulation numbers has faded. Reclaiming that legacy demands that contemporary journalists emulate Giwa and Bonuola by refusing to compromise their integrity in reporting upcoming national polls.
Earlier this year, I urged the press to rise to this critical juncture. Today, I renew that plea by advocating for deep, structured collaboration. Unlike the well-funded operations of decades past, today’s newsrooms face acute resource constraints. No individual organisation possesses the financial or logistical muscle to independently cover the entire country with the thoroughness and honesty the public deserves. Crippling insecurity, decayed infrastructure, and the steep expense and danger of inter-state travel severely undermine standalone reporting, creating loopholes that corrupt actors can exploit to manipulate electoral outcomes.
Pooling resources is our best defence. Precedents already exist: in 2018, CrossCheck Nigeria rallied newsrooms against election-related falsehoods. During the 2023 general elections, the Nigeria Fact-Checkers’ Coalition assembled 31 fact-checkers from over a dozen media and civic groups, dissecting 127 contentious claims within six critical days. Looking further ahead, the European Union’s Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Phase II has committed to strategic collaborations with print titles to enhance electoral reporting standards. Furthermore, industry stakeholders recently embraced a proposal by the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria to share footage and photography pools, alongside calls for institutional insurance covering media staff and field gear.
Ideally, our press corps would establish an Election Integrity Newsroom: a unified editorial hub managed by an independent third party rather than a single competitor. Correspondents across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory would funnel reports to this nerve centre to be verified, standardised, and co-published under a trusted joint label.
Should the operational demands of such a vast operation prove too steep in the near term, a more practical alternative is a consortium of ‘lead-outlet investigative baskets.’ Under this framework, selected investigative newsrooms would each spearhead a targeted pod alongside academic tech faculties and civic advocacy groups. These specialised pods could monitor critical areas:
1. Election Technology Watch: Rigorously testing the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), result transmission networks, backup servers, and contingency safeguards in partnership with university researchers.
2. Money and Vote-Buying: Exposing illicit financing channels, bribery schemes, and illegal campaign expenditure.
3. Security and Impunity Tracker: Documenting voter intimidation and violence, while coordinating risk protocols and insurance for journalists on the beat.
4. INEC Scorecard: Maintaining a continuous public audit of the electoral umpire’s Strategic Plan (2022–2026), systematically measuring promises against real progress.
To safeguard participants, these consortiums must enforce a strict simultaneous publication protocol. Releasing findings concurrently shields lead reporters from targeted intimidation, ensures no individual outlet can suppress or monetise shared discoveries, and guarantees that compromised actors cannot spike vital exposés.
While this approach entails legal hazards such as shared defamation exposure—which partners must navigate collectively—it offers immense dividends. It shifts newsrooms away from reactionary outrage toward high-impact investigative accountability, bolstering civic trust and elevating the standing of participating outlets both at home and abroad. To protect neutrality, umbrella bodies like the Nigerian Guild of Editors and BON should champion and endorse the model without managing its daily administration, while international funding must maintain transparent firewalls against editorial interference.
The necessity for robust local coverage is further underscored by the shifting approach of international observation missions. The European Union, for example, is reducing its core observer delegation from 110 experts in 2023 to merely two to four specialists in 2027, leaning instead into citizen-led monitoring frameworks. This shift leaves a vacuum that domestic journalists must urgently step up to fill.
Prominent figures within the profession, including veterans celebrated at last week’s events, have a duty to lend their stature to this coalition effort. Moreover, the presence of veteran journalist Mohammed Haruna as an INEC National Commissioner provides a valuable institutional bridge, should the media table a coherent, credible framework for engagement.
If the press is to restore its stature as an unyielding defender of democracy, the groundwork must begin immediately. Only by standing together can today’s media deliver elections worthy of public confidence—and create a legacy that future generations will genuinely celebrate.
