The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has stressed the need for collective commitment towards strengthening Nigeria’s democracy through informed and responsible civic participation.

The UNESCO Regional Director for the Sahel, Dimitri Sanga, made the call at a one-day workshop with the theme, “Promoting electoral peace through Media and Information Literacy (MIL)” on Wednesday in Abuja.

The workshop, organised by UNESCO, aims to strengthen the role of media and information literacy in fostering peaceful democratic processes and promoting responsible information sharing in the lead-up to elections.

Mr Sanga, represented by UNESCO Abuja Officer-in-Charge of the Communication and Information Sector, Yachat Nuhu, underscored the need for the critical role of MIL and peaceful civic engagement as means in sustaining democratic values.

“MIL has become a critical tool for ensuring peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections in Nigeria, as misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated falsehoods posed growing threats to the country’s democratic process.

“The workshop reflects a collective commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s democracy through informed and responsible civic participation. As Nigeria approaches another electoral cycle, digital technologies continue to reshape political communication, citizens’ engagement and public discourse.

“Just as these technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for participation and expression, they create new challenges through the rapid spread of misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and increasingly sophisticated AI-generated manipulations,” he said.

The regional director said that young people remained at the centre of the country’s digital ecosystem with their place as creators, influencers, campaign volunteers, and political mobilisers, whose activities significantly shape public opinion.

 Sanga reiterated the need for capacity building, ethical leadership and lasting partnerships aimed at detecting synthetic manipulation, rejecting deceptive content and promoting responsible online culture that could safeguard Nigeria’s democratic process.

He said that electoral integrity depended not only on institutions but also on the quality of information citizens share and consume, saying when false narratives dominate public discourse, trust in democratic institutions is weakened.

In her remarks, Assistant Director of Information and Publicity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Esther Chibukem, warned against false information, hate speech, vote-buying, political thuggery, and manipulated digital content

She said that they could easily trigger electoral violence if left unchecked.

According to her, public trust remains central to the commission’s work, saying thevgoal is to ensure that every Nigerian is carried along through transparent processes and integrity.

“Public trust is key, and we are engaging political parties, the media, youth groups, and other stakeholders to strengthen confidence in the electoral process,” she said.

On her part, Director of the UNESCO Category II International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI), Sharon Omotosho, emphasised the need for continuous dialogue among electoral stakeholders as Nigeria prepares for another election cycle.

She stressed that the rapid growth of digital technologies and artificial intelligence had become more relevant than ever, urging the participants to use their influence to promote peace rather than division.

Meanwhile, Director-General of the PDP Female Youth Wing, Lovett Ezeko, commended the event for having broadened her understanding about the importance of information integrity and responsible communication.

“Information is power, but it can also be dangerous depending on how it is used or misused. Political parties need more orientation on responsible information sharing,” Ms Ezeko said.

A participant, Elvis Ehimoto, said he learnt proper ways of preventing electoral violence, especially as the election campaign commenced across the nation.

Mr Ehimoto said that there was the need for electoral stakeholders to return to sure knowledge gained about the dangers of misinformation at their various organisations and communities.

(NAN)