THE director of the MacArthur Foundation in Nigeria, Kole Shettima, said the foundation’s push for public accountability in the country aims to improve the living standards of the general populace.
Shettima stated this at the project report dissemination meeting on “Tackling Corruption on Air and on Social Media Platforms” organised by the Progressive Impact Organisation for Community Development (PRIMORG), in Abuja, on Wednesday, June 13.
The project funded by the MacArthur Foundation focused on galvanising the citizens and government to embrace accountability, transparency, and participation to achieve good governance.
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In his speech, Shettima restated the foundation’s commitment to public accountability and democracy in Nigeria by ensuring that adequate resources are provided for civil society and media organisations.
“Accountability journalism needs to be supported because some of these reports can take several months and a number of collaborations. We know that media organisations on their own may not have such resources.
“That is why we think that giving them additional resources to do what they actually do is one way to make sure that our country is much better,” he said.
The project tracked constituency projects in the North-Central region of the country. The report disclosed that PRIMORG produced 123 live radio programmes and syndicated 369 episodes and another 492 repeat broadcasts by five radio stations in Abuja, FCT; Lokoja, Kogi; Keffi,Nasarawa; Ilorin, Kwara; and Jos, Plateau State.
Describing the impact as “collective,” the executive director of PRIMORG, Augustine Agbonsuremi, said the organisation benefited from the vast resources of several media houses and organisations “made possible only by enthusiastic spirits around the grantees of the MacArthur Foundation.”
Agbonsuremi said; “The Foundation’s support for this project was not only in direct funding but also in training, guidance and exposure to local and international opportunities for skills and resources”
Speaking on the theme “The Challenges of Corruption and Integrity Deficit in Nigeria 2021-2024,” the keynote speaker, Magdalene Igbolo, a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Abuja blamed poverty and the decline in moral values and virtues as causes of corruption in Nigeria.
In her recommendation, Igbolo called for attitudinal change and collaboration among various groups in the country.
“Most importantly, integrity is what you do when nobody can see you,” she added.
Sinafi Omanga is a multimedia journalist and researcher with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. He has a keen interest in humanitarian reporting, social justice, and environment.
Twitter handle:
@OmangaSinafi
Email:
somanga@icirnigeria.org