Media Leaders Urge Action to Safeguard Nigeria's Journalism and Democracy in Digital Age

Key voices within Nigeria's media landscape are warning that the nation has reached a pivotal juncture, where current legislative and executive decisions will critically influence the future of its press, democratic resilience, social unity, and national security.

This unified position comes from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body representing the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). They emphasize that their advocacy is driven by public, not private, interest.

The coalition poses a fundamental question: Given Nigeria's vast scale, diversity, and intricate social fabric, can its democracy afford to let unregulated global digital platforms solely control the national information space?

They argue that the explosive growth of international tech platforms has radically transformed how Nigerians receive information. While acknowledging benefits like greater access and innovation, the NPO highlights a severe downside: a dangerous power imbalance now jeopardizes the viability of professional journalism, which is essential for an informed public and accountable government. These global entities, they note, capture the lion's share of digital advertising revenue while their externally controlled algorithms dictate the visibility and spread of information within Nigeria.

Furthermore, Nigerian news content is extensively monetized by these platforms without fair compensation or reinvestment into the local news ecosystem, effectively draining revenue overseas that once supported domestic media houses.

"This represents more than mere market disruption," the statement explains. "It signifies the rise of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating largely beyond the reach of national democratic oversight."

The statement was endorsed by the senior leadership of all five NPO member organizations.

Framing the issue as a threat to national security and social stability, the NPO contends the implications go far beyond media economics. In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation like Nigeria, credible journalism serves a vital stabilizing function. The erosion of trusted news institutions, they warn, creates a vacuum filled by unchecked misinformation and manipulated narratives, which can deepen social divisions, mobilize grievances, and exacerbate insecurity. They assert that no security strategy can fully offset the damage of a collapsed public information system.

The NPO characterizes professional journalism as strategic national infrastructure, akin to the education system or judiciary, rather than just a commercial venture.

To address this challenge, the coalition proposes a nationally crafted solution, anchored in sensible legislation and cooperative measures. They respectfully urge the Presidency and National Assembly to consider a legal framework—through new or amended digital laws—that would formally recognize journalism's public-interest role, correct the extreme imbalance in bargaining power, ensure fair compensation for the use of Nigerian news content, and still preserve digital innovation, competition, and user choice.