The need for critical thinking, introspection, verification, and media literacy remains sacrosanct to protect the values of truth, justice, peace, fairness, and social equity in Nigeria and globally, panelists said at the 2024 Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture. The event was held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, on Saturday to honour Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in literature on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The 16th media lecture, with the theme, ‘The death of truth? Realism, literature and journalism in an age of disinformation,’ had literature icons, journalists, media experts and policy advocates debate the nexus between truth, realism, media literacy and the rise of disinformation in the digital age.
The panelists included professor of African and African American studies at Harvard University, Biodun Jeyifo; chief executive officer, RadioNow, Kadaria Ahmed; poet, author and political scientist, Odia Ofeimun; and the co-founder of Media and Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue (MILID) Foundation, Chiamaka Okafor. Tolulope Adeleru-Balogun moderated the session. The panelists noted that the absence of the identified markers – critical thinking, introspection, verification and media literacy – in society has led to an increase in disinformation in the digital age.
They highlighted the importance of realism in depicting the world honestly and accurately and the need for critical thinking and media literacy in navigating the complex landscape of .