By Fatima Saka
Abuja, June 20, 2026 — Nigeria’s democratic performance beyond periodic elections will take centre stage as Professor Umaru Pate and Professor Ayodele Atsenuwa lead a high-level national conversation on governance, accountability, and public trust.
Pate, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Kashere and a Professor of Communication at Bayero University, Kano, is set to deliver the keynote address at the 18th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series scheduled for July 13, 2026, in Lagos.
The lecture, themed “Beyond the Ballot: Measuring Democracy Through Security, Welfare, Accountability and Public Trust,” will interrogate the real impact of democracy on citizens’ lives as Nigeria approaches another electoral cycle.
Organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), the event will also feature the public presentation of its 2025 Journalism and Civic Space Status Report. The report will be reviewed by Professor Ayodele Atsenuwa, a Public Law scholar at the University of Lagos.
According to the organisers, the lecture aims to shift focus from elections as the sole indicator of democracy to broader governance outcomes, including security, citizens’ welfare, transparency, and trust in public institutions.
The programme will include a keynote lecture by Pate, followed by a “Democracy Delivery Conversation,” a high-level dialogue bringing together journalists, academics, policymakers, and civic actors. Discussions will centre on the role of journalism in monitoring governance, strengthening accountability, and deepening democratic engagement.
The 2025 Journalism and Civic Space Status Report continues WSCIJ’s long-standing documentation of trends affecting media freedom and civic participation in Nigeria. It builds on previous editions such as Hushed Voices and the Media’s Defence of Civic Space (2012–2022), Hushed Voices in an Election Year (2023), and Shrinking Freedoms (2024).
Through data-driven analysis and stakeholder engagement, the report highlights developments in media independence, civic space, and public accountability, while identifying both opportunities and challenges for democratic governance.
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Held annually on July 13 to mark the birthday of Nobel Laureate and WSCIJ Grand Patron, Professor Wole Soyinka—who turns 92 this year—the lecture series has, for nearly two decades, served as a platform for advancing discourse on journalism, governance, and civic life.
The 2026 edition is expected to convene a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including journalists, civil society leaders, development partners, students, and citizens, to reflect on a critical question: beyond elections, how should democracy truly be measured?
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