By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – THE Africa Polling Institute, API, Wednesday, built capacity of journalists on social cohesion data use and reportage.

Speaking on the sidelines of the capacity building tagged ‘Capacity Building Workshop on the Use of Social Cohesion Data: Enhancing National Policies and Programmes, and Promoting Effective Media Reportage’, which was held in Abuja, and supported by Ford Foundation, the Executive Director, API, Prof Bell Ihua, explained that
the essence of the exercise is two prongs; One is to make journalists and the media stakeholders abreast of the concept of social cohesion.

Ihua maintained that the issue of social cohesion is a very important issue where citizens have decided that they want to survive together and prosper together as a country, and that is what social cohesion is about.

According to him, API had conducted an earlier workshop with public sector officials where the institute trained them on how to design policies and programmes, understanding social cohesion data while this is the second leg where API also is training media participants on how to make use of social cohesion data.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that API is launching a major report called, the ‘Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey Report 2025’ on 3rd July, 2025, whereby the workshop serves as a prelude to the launch of the report.

Meanwhile, the resource persons spoke extensively on how to change the narrative in the polity as it concerns unity, justice, trust, rights, accountability, equity, patriotism, balanced reportage, this of journalism, stopping harmful stereotypes, responsible reporting, fact-checking tools, use of data to policy interventions, and others.

The workshop had over 30 journalists from both the print, electronics and online outlets in attendance, and also actively participated in all the sessions with amazing feedbacks.

The resource persons include Prof Abiodun Adeniyi; Dr Steve Ogididan, mini; Dr Hamisu Muhammad; Titilope Ojo; Odoh Okenyodo; Dr Obiora Chukwumba; Dr Olusoji Adeniyi; and the Executive Director, API, Prof Bell Ihua.

He said: “The survey was conducted this year. We are putting out the information such that everyone can come and listen to that. It talks about very important issues; identity and trust – do citizens trust the states, government, public institutions? It talks about social justice; do citizens think that they have equal access to social opportunities?

“It talks about civic participation. Would citizens be willing to participate in the country to make the country a better place? So very important indicators, such as gender equity, patriotism. Would citizens be willing to go the extra mile to make the country work?

“These are the various sort of indicators that we are measuring in this survey, and the survey will be launched, the first survey will be released next week Thursday at the NAF Conference Centre. So this is a prelude to that, using this workshop to train journalists so that by the time we release that survey result next week, we believe that the traction has already been caught and journalists can help us put out the information there.”

Speaking on what lead to embarking on the research, the API boss explained that, “We are social scientists. The essence of the work of social scientists is to look at the society, look at the challenges the society is facing, and research into those challenges and bring about solutions. Gone are the days when for data to be accepted in Nigeria, it had to be conducted by an international organization, the World Bank, UNDP, and the rest.

“We are having a situation today where local institutions can lead the conduct of research and can, you know, own the research that they are conducting. So, we are bridging that space where an indigenous institution like Africa Polling Institute, API, is leading that drive to collect data and to put out the data, and the ends are two.

“First of all, we need to have data to be able to make data-driven policy decision-making. Gone are the days where data should be kept on the shelf or where decisions should be made by intuition.

“Decisions should be driven based on data, and that is what this is about, and so, we are putting out this data so that the policy makers, the government, various stakeholders can make use of this data for their policy planning, for their policy designs, and for their programming. That is why this data is useful.”

Meanwhile, according to him, API has been conducting researches since 2019 and to date, and had made presentations at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, National Assembly.

Also, speaking was the Executive Director, Africa Back to Basics, and Vice Chair, African Polling Institute
Dr. Olusoji Adeniyi said almost 100 years later, Nigerians are still struggling with individual ethnicity.

“We are struggling with perceptions of what happens to governance in our own understanding. It has never been this bad that we are thinking that we are not together.

“So we thought if we begin to ditch out this data, provide evidence to government agencies as well as non-governmental agencies, including the media, to be able to see data that proves what Nigerians are thinking about the reality of what things are in town, it will probably take us to a better state where Nigerians will begin to believe the data that are reeled out, and those data will be owned by us.

“It won’t be what CNN wants us to see. It won’t be what the international agencies want us to see; a World Bank or a United Nations data, it will be a Nigerian data sourced by Nigerians, owned by Nigerians, for which we can also validate our own data our own way, and data, they say is the next oil.

“So we are hoping sincerely that people begin to use this data in positive terms and counter some of the narrative that even our antagonists will want to see as a nation”, he said.