Monthly Archives: September 2026

Gender issues, Media event

Advocating Better Reportage of Women in Public Leadership

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By SDN

Women continue to play important roles in society and, despite persistent stereotypes, biases and emerging challenges in the digital age, many continue to break barriers and contribute meaningfully to leadership and national development.

Yet, despite their potential and contributions to nation-building, women remain insufficiently visible in the media, while their voices are often inadequately amplified. They are also less frequently recognised as decision-makers, authoritative news sources, experts and leaders whose perspectives should shape public discourse.

It was against this backdrop that the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center), in partnership with the International Press Centre (IPC), convened a reflection meeting of key media stakeholders on gender-sensitive reporting and media coverage of women in public leadership.

Held under the theme, “Reporting on Leaders: See Her, Hear Her, Cover Her,” the meeting provided an opportunity for media professionals and other stakeholders to reflect on how the Nigerian media report women, frame their leadership and amplify their voices as leaders and decision-makers. The conversation also focused on practical approaches to improving the representation of women in public leadership, particularly as Nigeria moves towards the 2027 general elections.

One reality stood out from the discussions: considering available electoral data and the current representation of women in political leadership at the national, state and local government levels, greater media visibility and more substantive coverage of women remain important.

According to Noella Ngunyam, Communications Lead at the EJS Center, the meeting was designed to enable participants to engage in a process of reflection and learning by examining existing media coverage and considering what more meaningful reporting of women in public leadership could look like. Challenging participants to interrogate some of the assumptions that shape public perceptions of women leaders, she asked:

“Why is a woman leader’s marriage, children or family life so often part of the story, while the same questions are rarely central to coverage of male leaders?”

She stressed the need to examine the assumptions and biases underlying how women leaders are perceived and portrayed.

For Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre, the challenge goes beyond simply increasing the visibility of women in public life. It also requires reframing how women are presented and recognised as leaders.

“On women’s leadership and participation, gender-sensitive journalism should translate into more rigorous, substantive and impactful reporting of political and electoral processes in paving the way for more women to get in,” he said.

He urged journalists to ensure that women are recognised not merely as subjects of media coverage but “as decision-makers, experts, agenda-setters and holders of power.”

Moderating the meeting, Kathleen Ndongmo, Head of Digital at News Central TV, facilitated discussions on how women public leaders are positioned, framed and recognised in media coverage.

Participants examined several dimensions of reporting, including the centrality given to women in stories, leadership in action, authority and expertise, structural context, language and tone, as well as digital amplification and associated risks.

Newsroom Realities and Women’s Visibility

Sharing experiences on newsroom realities, opportunities and challenges in covering women leaders, panellists identified factors that continue to affect women’s visibility and proposed ways of strengthening their representation in the media.

Toun Okewale Sonaiya, Founder/CEO of Women Radio 91.7FM, represented by Olufunmilayo Bamgbala, challenged journalists to demonstrate greater patience and understanding when engaging women in public leadership. She reflected on how traditional socialisation and stereotypes can shape women’s willingness to speak publicly and engage with the media.

According to her, many women grow up with the notion that they should “be seen, not heard”, which can subsequently affect their confidence and engagement in public life.

She stressed that women leaders also need to understand how the media operate and the processes involved in politics and public communication.

“If women can put down their egos and support each other, they would achieve greatly. As women, sometimes, we are not approachable. On the part of the media, patience and understanding are important. Women should connect with people at the grassroots,” she said.

Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, emphasised the importance of substantive reporting that examines the actual performance of women in leadership while also holding political institutions accountable. She called for media reportage to hold National Assembly accountable as Senators and House of Representatives members before spotlighting women.

“Being out there as a woman is your first responsibility. Media reportage should hold NASS accountable before spotlighting women. They should know their roles, speak about what they do and this will help the media,” she said. She also identified culture, religion and the different ways boys and girls are socialised as factors affecting women’s participation and visibility.

“We are dealing with issues beyond us. We look at structure and system. A woman should be in position and make a change to make room for other women and empower them,” she added.

Similarly, Anike-Ade Funke Treasure, a gender advocate, linked the relative silence of some women in public leadership to their backgrounds and socialisation, while urging journalists to be more intentional about reporting women.

“Some of these women are quiet; do they really want the noise around them? For the few elected, are we doing enough? Many of the women don’t know the importance of visibility. Journalists should help them to set up communication teams,” she said.

Technology, Online Abuse and Women’s Voices

The discussions also drew attention to a new layer of challenges confronting women in public life as political and public conversations increasingly migrate to digital platforms.

While digital spaces have expanded opportunities for women to exercise their communication rights, they have also exposed women to technology-facilitated gender-based violence, online abuse, harassment and other digital safety risks.

These emerging threats have implications not only for women in public leadership but also for journalists reporting on them in increasingly hostile and polarised digital environments.

A multi-perspective panel on women leaders in public spaces brought together voices from journalism, digital media, feminist media advocacy and women journalists to examine how women leaders are represented across online and offline platforms.

The conversation explored how media coverage could be strengthened to give greater prominence to women’s leadership, expertise, agency, performance and public record, rather than stereotypes or aspects of their personal lives that would ordinarily receive little attention in the coverage of male leaders.

Men as Allies

The meeting also recognised the importance of engaging men as advocates and allies in advancing more inclusive media coverage.

Participants reflected on the role male journalists, editors, media managers and other stakeholders can play in challenging newsroom practices and stereotypes that limit women’s visibility and in creating greater opportunities for women’s voices to be heard.

The meeting ultimately challenged media professionals to move from awareness to deliberate newsroom practice.

Stakeholders were encouraged to prioritise the visibility of women, deliberately seek out women as expert sources, and ensure that women in public leadership are reported not simply because they are women, but as leaders, experts, decision-makers and holders of public responsibility.

As Nigeria approaches another general election in 2027, the message from the reflection was clear: better representation of women in the media requires more than simply increasing the number of stories about women. It requires journalism that sees their leadership, hears their voices and covers their contributions with the same depth, scrutiny and seriousness accorded to other holders of public power.

Special report

Beyond Elections: AFED, CIVICUS advance inclusive governance in Ado-Odo/Ota

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For many citizens, participation in governance often reaches its high point on election day. They queue, cast their ballots and elect representatives. But what happens between one election and the next?

In Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, the African Foundation for Environment and Development (AFED) is helping to demonstrate that inclusive governance must extend beyond the ballot box. With funding support from CIVICUS under the Community Environmental Justice and Civic Action Labs project, AFED is facilitating grassroots concerns to the council chamber, whereby citizens and elected representatives are building new pathways for dialogue, accountability and responsive local governance.

In one of such initiatives, a Citizens–Legislative Dialogue had held in Ota, bringing together 15 elected Local government councillors and representatives of 10 thematic Citizen Groups to strengthen ward-level representation, participatory governance and public service delivery. For the trained community leaders who participated, it was more than another stakeholder meeting. It was an opportunity to take grassroots voices directly to the people elected to represent them, exchange perspectives, ask questions and better understand how the Local Government Legislative Council works.

The legislative delegation was led by the Leader of the House, Hon. Gbadamosi Mutairu, who was represented by the Deputy Leader, Hon. Oseni Lateef Ishola. Representatives of the 10 Citizen Groups brought perspectives from different wards, communities and thematic areas.

From Training to the Dialogue Table

The journey to the dialogue table did not begin that day. It formed part of a broader process through which AFED has been strengthening citizens’ capacity to participate meaningfully in local governance. The project actually began with the mobilisation and selection of 49 women, youth and community leaders from different wards, communities and sectors across Ado-Odo/Ota. The participants, who were organised into thematic groups focusing on health, agriculture, education, electricity, road infrastructure, gender-based violence, women and youth empowerment, conflict prevention, leadership ethics, and media and communications, subsequently went through four intensive three-day training modules covering Environmental Justice; Civic Space and Citizens’ Rights; Governance and Participatory Budgeting; and Advocacy and Strategic Communication.

The Citizens–Legislative Dialogue therefore represented a significant progression—from building citizens’ knowledge and capacity to creating a platform where that knowledge could be put into practice. Before citizens sat face-to-face with their ward councillors, AFED had also engaged the Local Government Management Team and the Executive and Legislative arms of the council, gradually laying the groundwork for a more direct relationship between communities and those who represent them.

Welcoming participants, AFED Executive Director Adeshola Afariogun said the community leaders were deliberately selected from across Ado-Odo/Ota to ensure that different communities and interests were represented in the dialogue.

“We deliberately selected participants from communities across the Local Government to ensure broad grassroots representation,” Afariogun said.

According to him, the engagement was also designed to bring councillors closer to the trained community leaders and the constituencies they represent.

“The dialogue gives councillors an opportunity to meet these community leaders, understand the constituencies and thematic issues they represent, and establish channels for sustained engagement,” he added.

Afariogun also raised concerns about the gender imbalance in the Legislative Council, noting that only one of the 15 councillors present was a woman.

“With only one woman among the 15 councillors here, there is clearly a need to give greater institutional attention to issues affecting women,” he said, advocating the establishment of a Gender-Based Violence Committee within the legislature to provide a dedicated platform for addressing gender-related concerns.

Turning voices into engagement

Opening the interactive session, the facilitator, Oghogho Olabisi, who has experience in similar citizen–legislative engagements with the Lagos State House of Assembly, urged participants to move beyond merely identifying community problems and focus on how citizens could engage their representatives more effectively.

“How can citizens effectively present their concerns to the legislature? How accessible are councillors?” Olabisi asked, challenging both sides to examine their respective roles in making local governance work. Setting the tone for an interactive discussion on improving communication, accessibility and engagement between residents and their ward councillors, the poser quetions were:
“What are the responsibilities of citizens and elected representatives and are the existing communication channels working?”

In response, participants identified community meetings, Area Community Development Committee platforms and WhatsApp groups as important channels for communicating with representatives. They, however, stressed that digital communication should complement—not replace—inclusive ward and community meetings. The Deputy Leader, Hon. Ishola, called for the harmonisation of relevant community communication platforms to improve information sharing and ensure that engagement is not restricted by political affiliation.

The councillors also responded to questions from participants, clarified their legislative responsibilities and explained how community concerns could be channelled to the Legislative Council.

Beyond elections

One message emerged strongly from the dialogue: citizen participation cannot begin and end at the ballot box. Participants agreed that engagement between residents and their elected representatives should become a continuous process through which citizens contribute ideas, raise concerns, monitor public services and participate in community development.

The dialogue ended with a shared commitment to better communication, greater accessibility and sustained collaboration between councillors and residents across Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area. Participants also agreed to use existing community structures and communication platforms to channel grassroots concerns to councillors and the Legislative Council for consideration.

Afariogun thanked the councillors and Citizen Groups for their participation and acknowledged CIVICUS for supporting the initiative. The Citizens–Legislative Dialogue was organised under AFED’s Community Environmental Justice and Civic Action Labs project to strengthen citizen participation, ward-level representation and accountability in local governance.

By Sanmi Falobi, Guest Writer/Executive Editor, Social Devt News

News brief

2027: Support Group aims 5million-man march for Tinubu’s Second Term

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A Support Group, Nigeria Consensus And Awareness For Bola Ahmed Tinubu (NCA-BAT 2027), has unanimously endorsed the second tenure presidential bid of President Tinubu during the 2027 general election.

The National Director on Monitoring, Planning, Logistics and Administration of the group, Hon. Otunba Akin Joye (FCIM), made this known in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital during the stakeholders meeting held to brainstorm on its activities as political activities gather momentum.

Akin Joye said that the Support Group membership, stretches across the six geopolitical zones of the country, noting that the group has embarked on massive deployment of its experts and think tank all over the country to galvanise the populace towards ensuring the total victory of President Tinubu.

He emphasised the preparedness of the group to organise 5 million man march for President Tinubu across the various zones of the country.

According to him, “sequel to the emergency meeting comprising stakeholders across. the six geo-political. zones of the country, we have endorsed the candidacy of Bola Tinubu re-election for 2027.”

The Director said that the endorsement was predicated on the monumental achievements recorded by the federal government in areas of roads construction, National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), healthcare, disbursement of. funds to states and local governments, and payment of gratuities and pensions.

He emphasised that the Support Group is grassroot based, whose objectives among other issues is the reawakening of consciousness of Nigerians and enhanced strategic sensitisation, mobilisation/ awareness creation of the electorate.

“Our organisation cuts across Professors, grassroot mobilisers, artisans, union activists, religious leaders and Islamic clerics who have been praying for divine intervention in the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Meanwhile, Otunba Akin Joye appealed to the National Chairman of APC, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru (Ph.D) and the APC National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a meeting of Support Groups and give marching orders for the take off of its activities.

According to him, majority of members of the Support Group reside in the rural communities of the country across the six-geo-political zones of the country.

“majority of the voters/electorate reside at the hinterlands and rural communities where door to dóor sensitisation/advocacy is needed,” he noted. He reiterated that President Bola Tinubu deserves to complete his second term in office of eight years and enjoined all hands to be on deck to actualise the objective.