{"id":34133,"date":"2026-10-21T18:45:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T18:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=34133"},"modified":"2026-10-21T18:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T18:45:28","slug":"democracy-under-pressure-when-the-ballot-the-bullet-and-the-phone-compete-for-power-by-dr-festus-goziem-okubor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=34133","title":{"rendered":"DEMOCRACY UNDER PRESSURE: WHEN THE BALLOT, THE BULLET AND THE PHONE COMPETE FOR POWER by Dr Festus Goziem Okubor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chairman\u2019s Address at the Delta Online Publishers Forum (DOPF) 2026 Annual Conference and 6th Annual Lecture Series<\/p>\n

Theme: Democracy Under Pressure: Electoral Integrity, Security Challenges and Media Accountability in Nigeria<\/p>\n

Distinguished guests,
\nOur eminent Guest Lecturer and discussants,
\nEsteemed members of DOPF,
\nVeterans of the media profession,
\nLadies and gentlemen.<\/p>\n

Good morning!<\/p>\n

I am delighted to chair this conference because its theme brings together three institutions that have pursued me throughout my adult life: politics, government and the media!<\/p>\n

As National Publicity Secretary of the Grassroot Democratic Movement, former Commissioner for Information in Delta State, and someone who has spent decades engaging journalists, I suspect DOPF deliberately searched for a man with a sufficiently complicated past!<\/p>\n

And they found one!<\/p>\n

Indeed, if all the journalists I have encountered were assembled here, some would applaud me, others would interrogate me, and a few would demand payment of outstanding advertisement bills!<\/p>\n

But I come neither to defend politicians nor prosecute journalists.<\/p>\n

I come to provoke a conversation about a democracy under considerable pressure.<\/p>\n

In fact, Nigerian democracy is under so much pressure that, if it were a patient, its doctor would have prescribed bed rest, reduced political activities and complete avoidance of WhatsApp!<\/p>\n

THE BALLOT: WHEN ELECTIONS MUST BE BELIEVED<\/p>\n

Democracy is not simply about holding elections. It is about holding elections whose outcomes citizens can believe in, including those whose preferred candidates lose.<\/p>\n

Electoral integrity begins with credible party primaries and extends through voting, collation, declaration and dispute resolution.<\/p>\n

Nigeria has introduced BVAS and IReV to strengthen transparency.<\/p>\n

But technology cannot manufacture integrity!<\/p>\n

BVAS cannot cure desperation for power!<\/p>\n

IReV cannot upload character!<\/p>\n

And no computer can convince a Nigerian politician that losing an election is not the same thing as losing his life!<\/p>\n

In Nigeria, a politician wins an election and announces:<\/p>\n

“The people have spoken!”<\/p>\n

He loses the same election and declares:<\/p>\n

“Democracy is under serious threat!”<\/p>\n

Same voters. Same INEC. Same ballot papers!<\/p>\n

Only the location of his name on the result sheet has changed!<\/p>\n

Some politicians believe passionately in free and fair elections, provided they are declared winners!<\/p>\n

And our party primaries?<\/p>\n

Sometimes, everybody knows the winner before the delegates know the venue!<\/p>\n

Yet the party congratulates itself for conducting a transparent exercise.<\/p>\n

Transparent indeed! Even the result was visible before the election!<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, democracy requires institutions stronger than individual ambitions.<\/p>\n

Electoral defeat must cease to be treated as a medical emergency!<\/p>\n

SECURITY: CAN A FRIGHTENED CITIZEN BE A FREE VOTER?<\/p>\n

Electoral integrity is impossible without security.<\/p>\n

A voter who cannot safely reach a polling unit is effectively disenfranchised.<\/p>\n

An intimidated electoral official cannot act independently.<\/p>\n

A threatened journalist cannot hold power accountable.<\/p>\n

The ballot must be secret, but the voter must not have to arrive secretly!<\/p>\n

Security agencies must protect democracy, not determine its beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

We need an environment where voters can vote freely, journalists can report safely and politicians can lose peacefully.<\/p>\n

That last one may require special training!<\/p>\n

Perhaps INEC should introduce a compulsory course:<\/p>\n

“HOW TO LOSE AN ELECTION WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND!”<\/p>\n

The practical examination should ask:<\/p>\n

Your opponent has defeated you. What do you do?<\/p>\n

A. Congratulate him.<\/p>\n

B. Approach the court with credible evidence.<\/p>\n

C. Declare yourself the authentic winner.<\/p>\n

D. Accuse INEC, your party chairman, your village witches and the network provider!<\/p>\n

I suspect some candidates would tick all four answers!<\/p>\n

THEN CAME THE SMARTPHONE!<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, we now arrive at perhaps the most entertaining threat to modern democracy.<\/p>\n

The smartphone!<\/p>\n

Once, becoming a publisher required reporters, editors, printing machines, distribution vans and considerable capital.<\/p>\n

Today?<\/p>\n

All you need is a smartphone, data subscription and extraordinary self-confidence!<\/p>\n

Sometimes the confidence is more abundant than the data!<\/p>\n

Everyone with a phone now considers himself a journalist.<\/p>\n

He witnesses an accident: Breaking News!<\/p>\n

He hears a rumour: Exclusive Investigation!<\/p>\n

He forwards it to 37 WhatsApp groups: National Publisher!<\/p>\n

Someone challenges his facts: Attack on Press Freedom!<\/p>\n

By evening, his Facebook biography reads:<\/p>\n

Investigative Journalist, International Security Analyst, Political Consultant and Public Affairs Expert.<\/p>\n

My brother, yesterday you were selling phone accessories!<\/p>\n

Did UNESCO accredit your WhatsApp group overnight?<\/p>\n

Technology has democratised communication.<\/p>\n

But it has not democratised truth!<\/p>\n

In the old days, a lie travelled from village to village on foot.<\/p>\n

Today, a lie flies first class!<\/p>\n

Before truth finishes brushing its teeth, the lie has entered WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok, acquired background music, received 50,000 shares and been translated into four Nigerian languages!<\/p>\n

Then somebody adds:<\/p>\n

“I don’t know how true this is, but please forward widely!”<\/p>\n

My brother, if you do not know whether it is true, why have you appointed yourself Minister of National Distribution?<\/p>\n

And behold the WhatsApp professor!<\/p>\n

At 7 a.m., he is a medical consultant.<\/p>\n

At 9 a.m., an economist.<\/p>\n

At noon, a military strategist.<\/p>\n

By 4 p.m., a constitutional lawyer.<\/p>\n

And at 8 p.m., he is predicting the end of the world!<\/p>\n

All from one Android phone!<\/p>\n

If only our universities could produce professors at that speed, Nigeria would have solved its educational challenges!<\/p>\n

JOURNALISM IS NOT A PHONE WITH A PRESS CARD!<\/p>\n

This is precisely why DOPF matters.<\/p>\n

Journalism is not merely publishing. It is verification, fairness, context, attribution, editorial judgement and correction.<\/p>\n

Sections 22 and 39 of Nigeria’s Constitution recognise the media’s accountability role and protect freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

But freedom must travel with responsibility.<\/p>\n

Journalists must interrogate government. Government must answer legitimate questions.<\/p>\n

But journalists must also interrogate their own conduct.<\/p>\n

Was the allegation verified?<\/p>\n

Was the accused contacted?<\/p>\n

Was sponsored material identified?<\/p>\n

Or did somebody receive a brown envelope and suddenly discover an urgent national emergency?<\/p>\n

Consider sensational headlines.<\/p>\n

A governor attends a meeting and coughs.<\/p>\n

Headline:<\/p>\n

“PANIC IN GOVERNMENT HOUSE AS GOVERNOR STRUGGLES TO SPEAK!”<\/p>\n

He drinks water.<\/p>\n

Updated headline:<\/p>\n

“GOVERNOR IN EMERGENCY CONSULTATION WITH UNIDENTIFIED LIQUID!”<\/p>\n

He leaves the meeting.<\/p>\n

Breaking News:<\/p>\n

“GOVERNOR ABANDONS CRUCIAL MEETING AS TENSION ESCALATES!”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the poor man merely had pepper enter his throat!<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, journalism must not become creative alarm manufacturing!<\/p>\n

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HAS JOINED THE CONVERSATION!<\/p>\n

Just when we thought social media had exhausted our capacity for confusion, Artificial Intelligence arrived!<\/p>\n

AI can improve research, transcription, translation and investigative journalism.<\/p>\n

But it can also manufacture convincing voices, photographs and videos.<\/p>\n

Imagine a video appearing at midnight before an election, showing a leading candidate announcing his withdrawal.<\/p>\n

By 1 a.m., WhatsApp is on fire!<\/p>\n

By 2 a.m., party spokesmen are exchanging insults!<\/p>\n

By 3 a.m., lawyers have issued statements!<\/p>\n

By 4 a.m., somebody has published a book titled:<\/p>\n

“THE RISE AND FALL OF A POLITICAL GIANT!”<\/p>\n

At 8 a.m., investigators discover the video was AI-generated!<\/p>\n

And the candidate himself has been sleeping peacefully throughout the national emergency!<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a genuine threat to electoral credibility.<\/p>\n

We need professional verification, media literacy and responsible digital platforms.<\/p>\n

Above all, Nigerians must acquire one extraordinary democratic habit:<\/p>\n

PAUSE BEFORE FORWARDING!<\/p>\n

If we achieve that miracle, I suggest DOPF should nominate Nigeria for the Nobel Peace Prize!<\/p>\n

THE POLITICIAN AND THE JOURNALIST: AN INTERESTING MARRIAGE!<\/p>\n

Having lived on both sides of this relationship, permit me a confession.<\/p>\n

Politicians love independent journalism, provided journalists independently agree with them!<\/p>\n

Journalists demand transparency from politicians, while sometimes treating questions about their own conduct as an invasion of privacy!<\/p>\n

Government says:<\/p>\n

“Please report responsibly.”<\/p>\n

The journalist hears:<\/p>\n

“Government wants to silence the press!”<\/p>\n

The journalist says:<\/p>\n

“We are holding government accountable.”<\/p>\n

The politician hears:<\/p>\n

“These people have come to finish me!”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the ordinary citizen asks:<\/p>\n

“Please, can somebody just tell me what actually happened?”<\/p>\n

That citizen must remain the centre of our democracy.<\/p>\n

Politicians need scrutiny. Journalists need reliable information. Citizens need the truth.<\/p>\n

And none of these interests should become the enemy of the others.<\/p>\n

LESSONS FROM ESTABLISHED DEMOCRACIES<\/p>\n

Established democracies also struggle with misinformation, polarisation and declining trust.<\/p>\n

But their resilience depends substantially on strong institutions, professional traditions, independent scrutiny and acceptance of political defeat.<\/p>\n

Nigeria must develop that temperament.<\/p>\n

We must reach a stage where a politician can lose an election without suddenly discovering that his party is irredeemably corrupt!<\/p>\n

For years, he praises the party as the greatest political organisation on earth.<\/p>\n

Then he loses a primary election.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, it becomes:<\/p>\n

“An undemocratic contraption hijacked by desperate political merchants!”<\/p>\n

Within 48 hours, he announces:<\/p>\n

“After extensive consultations with my family, supporters and political associates…”<\/p>\n

Whenever I hear extensive consultations, I become suspicious!<\/p>\n

Sometimes the consultation began at breakfast, continued over pepper soup and ended before the afternoon football match!<\/p>\n

And the conclusion?<\/p>\n

“I have decided to join another party in the overriding interest of my people.”<\/p>\n

My brother, why did the overriding interest of your people wait until you lost the primary?<\/p>\n

Democracy requires political parties built on principles, governments that tolerate criticism and opposition parties that criticise responsibly.<\/p>\n

THREE PRESSURES, ONE DEMOCRACY<\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, the ballot, the bullet and the phone are interconnected.<\/p>\n

When elections lack credibility, public anger rises.<\/p>\n

When insecurity spreads, citizens become afraid.<\/p>\n

When journalism becomes careless, misinformation flourishes.<\/p>\n

And when misinformation flourishes, public trust collapses.<\/p>\n

Trust is democracy’s most precious currency.<\/p>\n

Trust that votes will count.<\/p>\n

Trust that security agencies will remain neutral.<\/p>\n

Trust that courts will adjudicate fairly.<\/p>\n

Trust that journalists will verify.<\/p>\n

Trust that governments will communicate honestly.<\/p>\n

And trust that citizens will not become wholesale distributors of falsehood!<\/p>\n

I challenge DOPF to champion professional standards for online publishers, including verification, corrections, disclosure of sponsored content and responsible use of AI.<\/p>\n

Let online publishing become a profession of distinction, not merely an occupation for anybody whose phone battery is above 20 per cent!<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION: LET US BUILD INSTITUTIONS!<\/p>\n

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

Nigeria does not lack laws, intelligent people or opinions!<\/p>\n

If opinions could generate electricity, Nigeria would be exporting power to Europe!<\/p>\n

What we need are stronger institutions, accountability, restraint and truth.<\/p>\n

Politicians must remember that power is temporary.<\/p>\n

Electoral officials must recognise that credibility is their greatest asset.<\/p>\n

Security agencies must protect without discrimination.<\/p>\n

Journalists must remember that speed is important, but accuracy is sacred.<\/p>\n

And citizens must understand that forwarding information is itself an exercise of power.<\/p>\n

The phone in your hand can expose corruption, document injustice and educate millions.<\/p>\n

But it can also destroy reputations, spread dangerous falsehoods and inflame violence.<\/p>\n

The phone is smart. The question is whether the owner is equally smart!<\/p>\n

So, let government listen!<\/p>\n

Let politicians learn!<\/p>\n

Let electoral institutions improve!<\/p>\n

Let security agencies protect!<\/p>\n

Let journalists verify!<\/p>\n

Let publishers uphold standards!<\/p>\n

And, for the love of Nigeria, before anybody forwards a message, let somebody first establish whether it is true!<\/p>\n

I welcome you all to the DOPF 2026 Annual Conference and 6th Annual Lecture Series.<\/p>\n

May our discussions be frank, our disagreements robust and our arguments supported by facts.<\/p>\n

And if anybody must fight today, please, fight with ideas!<\/p>\n

Because unlike political thugs, and as CSP Imegwu esq will confirm, ideas do not require police bail!<\/p>\n

Thank you, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Dr Festus Goziem Okubor<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n