Participants at a one-day workshop organised by diplomatic correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday urged journalists to adopt evidence-based reporting to bolster the fight against poverty in the country.
They also urged the correspondents to consistently report on the welfare of Nigeria’s most vulnerable population to draw government and other stakeholders’ attention to their plight.
Among stakeholders at the workshop, held under the aegis of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria, were the foreign affairs ministry, academia, diplomats, and traditional rulers.
Dunoma Ahmed, the permanent secretary in the ministry, described the workshop as apt, “especially in terms of fostering measures to tackle issues that border on poverty in Nigeria”.
Mr Ahmed, represented by the ministry’s Spokesman, Kimiebi Ebiefa, said diplomatic correspondents must play key roles in reporting on Nigeria, like most developing countries facing complex development challenges.
He identified the challenges as persistent poverty, unemployment, and inequalities that require bold, pragmatic, and collaborative responses.
The Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, said China’s historic achievements in poverty reduction is based on scale, speed and sustainability.
According to him, the Chinese government invested 1.6 trillion yuan in special poverty alleviation funds, mobilised financial support, dispatched more than three million officials and village work team members, and built a nationwide assistance network that reached every poor household to achieve set targets.
“Although global poverty remains a serious challenge, China’s poverty reduction journey demonstrates that poverty is neither inevitable nor irreversible,” he said.
Sheriff Ibrahim, a scholar, administrator, and foreign policy expert, focused on governance, anti-corruption, and contemporary China-Africa Relations, said Nigeria could emulate China’s core framework of sustained, market-driven economic growth combined with Targeted Poverty Alleviation.
He stressed the need for adequate investments, local industry promotion, and accountability to achieve the desired goals.
Austin Maho, a teacher at the International Institute of Journalism, Abuja, emphasised the need for diplomatic correspondents and media executives to contextualise international development models and draw lessons from China’s poverty alleviation strategy.
According to him, such models must be evaluated, communicated, and contextualised, saying they are essential for diplomatic correspondents and media executives to bridge international and domestic policy between China and Nigeria.
Charles Onunaiju, the director of the Centre for China Studies, Abuja, urged journalists to restate gaps in poverty reduction measures, citing China’s experience while recounting poverty eradication programmes as a mantra of successive governments in Nigeria.