Stakeholders in Nigeria’s media industry have noted that the country is at a critical point in its democratic and digital evolution, stating that decisions taken now by the Presidency and the National Assembly will shape not only the future of journalism but also the strength of Nigeria’s social cohesion, national security, and democratic governance in the decades ahead.

A statement yesterday identified the stakeholders under the umbrella, Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), respectfully.

According to them, their submissions are in the public interest and not private advocacy.

They started by pondering: “The question before the Nigerian state is clear: Can a democracy of Nigeria’s scale, diversity, and complexity afford to surrender control of its information ecosystem to unregulated global digital gatekeepers?”

They observed that the rapid rise of global digital platforms had fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment.

“While these platforms have expanded access and innovation, they have also created a structural imbalance of power that now threatens the sustainability of professional journalism – the backbone of informed citizenship and accountable governance,” they lamented, observing that today, global platforms dominate digital advertising markets, while algorithms, controlled outside Nigeria, determine what Nigerians see, amplify, or ignore.

It also noted that the Nigerian news content had been monetised at scale without proportionate reinvestment in local journalism, stressing that revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms was increasingly extracted offshore.

“This is not a conventional market disruption. It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.

The statement was signed by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), President, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), President, Mr Eze Anaba; Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) Chairman, Comrade Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) President, Danlami Nmodu; and Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), President, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya.

Describing the situation as a matter of national security and social stability, the statement noted that for Nigeria, the consequences extend far beyond media economics.

It noted that for social cohesion and internal security in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious federation like Nigeria, credible journalism would play a stabilising role. “When trusted news institutions weaken, misinformation, disinformation, and digitally manipulated narratives expand unchecked, fueling polarisation, grievance mobilisation, and insecurity,” it warned.

In the face of the dire situation, it noted that no counterterrorism, policing, or intelligence framework can fully compensate for a collapsed information order.

It called for democratic governance and electoral integrity, press freedom through economic viability, employment, skills implementation and elevation of national capacity.

It describes journalism as a strategic national infrastructure, saying: “Professional journalism is not merely a commercial activity. It is strategic civic infrastructure, comparable in importance to education, public health, and the judiciary.”

It recommended what it called a Nigerian solution, anchored in law and collaboration, saying: “NPO respectfully urges the Presidency and the National Assembly to adopt a measured, Nigerian-designed framework – whether through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments – that recognises journalism as a public-interest activity; corrects extreme bargaining power imbalances; ensures fair remuneration for Nigerian news content; preserves innovation, competition, and consumer choice.”