2019: Why female candidates are not enjoying media publicity

As the 2019 elections draw nearer, female candidates across the country have said that they are being marginalised in gaining media publicity ahead of the poll as against their male counterparts. Research has shown that Nigeria had only 6% of women elected into political offices, making it the lowest in the continent, which significantly undermines […]

As the 2019 elections draw nearer, female candidates across the country have said that they are being marginalised in gaining media publicity ahead of the poll as against their male counterparts.

Research has shown that Nigeria had only 6% of women elected into political offices, making it the lowest in the continent, which significantly undermines the country’s democratic growth and aspirations.

In the buildup of the elections, Nigerian women have said if nothing is done urgently, the few women that were lucky to secure their party tickets may not get the kind of publicity they deserve to win in the 2019 general elections thereby making them extinct from governance. The women therefore called on the media to project them in good light so as to gain ground in the forthcoming elections.

Findings from the International Press Centre (IPC) first quarter report on covering the three months of the ongoing campaign and electoral process of 12 newspapers including online ones revealed that, out of the stories published, over 80% were devoted to male candidates.

Media coverage for important constituency

Recently, at a two-day media workshop organised by IPC and funded through Component 4b: Support to the Media of the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) project with the theme, ‘Female Candidates on Effective Strategies and Methodologies in Engaging Media for Visibility during Electoral Campaigns’, the Director, IPC, Lanre Arogundade advised the media to strive to do better in their coverage to reflect both male and female candidates.

He said, we need to remind ourselves as media that we owe a responsibility to this important constituency that took about half of the population adding that we must understand that we have women contesting in the 2019 elections so, we have no excuse not to feature them in our news, features, interviews and others and also work harder to get across to them and project them as we project the male candidates.

Arogundade who said the aim of the workshop was to assist female candidates in the north west, north central zones and FCT that would be contesting in the 2019 elections to build their capacity, access the media and to use the media effectively, added that they have realised that the media is good visibility to female candidates and it has the capacity of exposing them to the electorate the better.

“The media has the potential of building public confidence in the ability to lead and ultimately translate in their victory at the poll. The media can also let them know that they have certain rights under some of the existing framework.

“The Nigeria media code of election coverage obligates the media to give equitable access to male and female candidates as well as male and female politicians.

“We are trying to let the female candidates know that they too have the right for media coverage as well as their male counterparts. If they feel the media is not giving them their desired visibility, they can demand that on the bases of this election coverage,” he said.

Overcome media shy

A one-time aspirant for the House of Representatives seat in Pankshin-Kanke- Kanam constituency of Plateau State on the platform of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs Jiritmwa Morgak Goyit, in her presentation challenged female candidates to take up responsibilities in appearing in the media on issues relating to politics among others.

She said the media is potentially an important partner to women seeking to hold political offices worldwide, adding that women must overcome their challenges such as media shy (lack of confidence), physical features/appearance, lack of education, lack of exposure, unaware of code of engagements, poor or low network, lack of basic training, exposure and direct role model(s), fear of negative feedback and others to be able to take their place in Nigerian politics.

Build self-confidence

Mrs Goyit advised the women to build their self-confidence and seek collaborations with media outlets and associations such as NAWOJ, NUJ, IPC etc., to create a critical mass, seek trainings, sponsorship and mentoring, adding that the media is undoubtedly one of the powerful tools women in politics need for clear, unbiased and continuous collaborations towards achieving their desire to participate in politics and governance.

She also urged them to learn the art of public speaking if they want to remain in governance or politics, adding that no one is born with the art of public speaking but we learn it.

Mrs Goyit said in the area of funding which is seen as a major challenge for women in politics, women need to develop various ways of getting fund for electioneering activities.

One of the resource persons at the workshop, Mr Theophilus Abbah, enjoined women to have a list of contacts in print, broadcast, and online for good interaction with the media.

He advised them to also engage in advertising their programmes which could be classified or online, adding that they don’t have to be angry if the media outing did not meet their expectations. “There is always another opportunity you can advertise your programmes,” he added.

A candidate contesting for the House of Representatives for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency, Benue State, Dooshima Kumbur, said her major challenge was fund but that she had adopted the strategy of reaching out to the electorate with the little support she had through the use of fliers and posters in campaigning.

She said, because of lack of fund she did not use much of media both conventional social media but door-to-door campaign to reach the electorate to vote for her.