Freedom of Expression: Gidan Yanci Fellow, Mustapha Salisu, Calls for Constructive Political Criticism in Kano
By Mustapha Salisu
Mustapha Salisu, a fellow of the Gidan Yanci 2024 Fellowship Program, urged stakeholders in Kano State to collaborate with young change makers trained by the non-governmental organization to sanitize political criticism programs in the state.
Mustapha made the call on Tuesday during a live program tagged ‘Zauren Premier’ on Premier Radio, while highlighting the project’s key themes: ‘Freedom of Expression,’ ‘Governance Reforms,’ and ‘Political Participation.’
Representing the ‘Freedom of Expression’ theme, Salisu focused on ‘Sanitizing Political Criticism Program in Kano State,’ commonly known as ‘Sojojin Baka’ on major radio stations.
He stressed the need to discourage hate speech, misinformation, and incitement to violence in public discourse.
The initiative, ‘Bridging Divides: Advocating for Constructive Political Discourse in Kano State,’ according to Salisu, aims to address abuses of freedom of expression in political programs on radio stations. Emphasizing that unconstructive statements can lead to violence and unrest, hindering the progress of Kano State.
While acknowledging the importance of political opponents in a democratic setting, he warned against damaging personalities in the name of politics.
The fellow further proposed dialogue as a tool to promote constructive political criticism, encouraging opposing parties to discuss their views for the progress of Kano State without misinformation and violence.
Listeners through a phone-in call, inquired about engaging top politicians and involving rural communities in the project.
Responding, Mustapha outlined plans to increase awareness among political actors and engage various stakeholders, including citizens, media practitioners, CSOs, traditional and religious leaders, and opinion leaders.
Highlighting the radio program as a strategy to reach rural communities, Salisu assured that their fellowship program would establish a sustainable mechanism to improve dialogue, tolerance, and mutual respect in political discourse within Kano State communities.
Other fellows during the radio session addressed themes of ‘Governance Reforms’ and ‘Political Participation,’ contributing to the fellowship project’s goal of ‘Deepening Democratic Engagement & Countering Authoritarianism in Nigeria through Creative Advocacy.’
