CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE
STUDY
For the press to play their
basic roles, it must exercise fully its freedom. In other words, for the freedom of the press
to be fully appreciated, we must understand the implication of t citizen having
a fundamental right to free access to facts in all matters that directly or
indirectly concern him and also the right to express and publish its opinion
thereon.
In describing the operation
of the press in their book entitled four theories of the press, Siebert,
Peterson and Schramn (1985) said that “The Press is not an instrument of
government but a device for presenting evidence and argument on the basis of
which the people can check on government and make up their minds as to its
policy. It is imperative that the press
be free from control and influence so that truth can emerge.
On this premise, the
General Assembly of the United Nations on December 14, 1946 declared, “freedom
of information is a fundamental human right and is the corner stone of all
freedom to which the United Nations is consecrated”.
1.
According to the
sub-committee of Common Wealth Press Union headed by Lord Shawcross, freedom of
the press is “the freedom that is not a special privilege of Newspaper but
derives from fundamental right of every person to have full and free access to
the facts in all matters that affects him”.
With regards to these fundamental rights, the press are expected to be
free to gather news without obstruction or restriction to publish the news and
to comment on it.
2.
The Nigerian
Constitution of 1989 Section 38 Sub-section 1 concedes that right to freedom of
expression and the press by stating that “every person is entitled to freedom
of expression including freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart ideas
and information without interference.
The administration and governance of Nigeria
was predominantly military after independence in 1960 and a coup in 1966. The military ruled the country with
successive coups until 1979 when there was a brief democracy, which lasted for
four years before another army take-over in 1983. The military ruled until May 29th
1999 when it handed over the mantle of leadership to a democratically elected
government led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
The media as the fourth arm of government
was not spared from the military obnoxious policies. Their control, which was determined by
decrees led to outright closure of media house, death of some media
practitioners, intimidation and harassment etc.
3.
The closure of
Newspaper organizations like Newwatch in April 1987, the Guardian in May 1991,
Tell Magazine in August 1993 etc.
The imprisonment of
journalists over reports government felt was antagonistic saw the likes of
Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor jailed under the infamous decrees 4 in
1987. Others include Chris Okolie,
Innocent Okparadike, Editor of the Observe in Benin etc. All these happening under the military regime
did not make it conducive for the press to function optimally. The military may not be entirely written off
as enemies of the media because they ushered in an era that led to competition
among various media organizations. This
is because the excessive dictatorial tendencies of the military caused the
press to become more daring and committed to seeking its freedom.
The high handedness of the
military reduced some media houses into government mega-phone for fear of being
harassed or closed down. Such media who
owe their existence, control and sustenance to the government of the day
depended on it for subvention as a means of survival. Mostly affected were the electronic media and
some print media owned and controlled by those in power. This led to the deregulation in 1989 of media
houses by issuing operating licenses especially to those who want to own and
operate the electronic media. This
development led to the establishment of private radio and television houses in
the country thus breaking government monopoly of the electronic media industry.
Coming up on the heels of these
deregulations were stations like the African Independence Television (AIT),
MINAJ, DBN etc. Inspite of these welcome
developments, the torture on the media houses that were closed down and opened
some months before the exit of the military in the governance of the country
cannot be quantified.
The military quit
leadership of the country in May 1999 and handed over to a democratically
elected government led by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, which has long been the
agitation of the press and the entire country.
Under this administration, the press may be said to have an air of
freedom in the exercise of its constitutional role as the eye and ear of the
society. Innovations in the operations
of the media may have resulted due to advance in technology; enough have not
been achieved if any in terms of ownership of the media in the last five years
of the current administration.
Although the administration
has done its best in initiating policies that can lead to the protection of
infant industries and manufacturers, especially the local manufacturers. It has not done much in the area of
information technology or high way that is the order of the day in making the
world a global village.
There are still feelings
that the news content of the media are being doctored to fit or rather suit the
aspiration of those in power. There is
also a feeling that the sectional political nature of the society may have
polarized the media in such a that each pursues an agenda favourable to its
ethnic origin or its ethnic consideration.
The other school of thought
has it that the media has lost its bite and is no longer that which fought for
the enthronement of democracy in the country thus, allowing a lot of
malpractices to have their way into the nation’s polity. While most people attribute this to their
resolve in supporting the democratic dispensation, others felt that the media
for fear of being intimidated, have succumbed to the feelings and aspirations
of the government.
These issues therefore make
this study very important as we will in the following chapters discuss the
operations of the media in the current administration of President Olusegun
Obasanjo; the attempt will hinge on providing solutions to some of the
startling issues posed in this background.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
The study under review has the operations of the press
at its epi-centre in the current democratic dispensation of Olusegun
Obasanjo. We are going to look at some
of the policies that have undermined the social responsibility of the press, as
well as policies that have favoured the activities of the press in the
aforementioned administration.
Is the word “Press Freedom” in existence in the true
reality of life and, if so, how does it function? Or are they determined by the kind of
government in operation from society to society or country to country?
1.3
OBJECTIVE OF THE
STUDY
1.
To understand the
problems militating against press freedom in Nigeria.
2.
To understand how
the press has operated in Nigeria since 1999.
3.
To understand what
the future holds for the press in the event of discontinued governance of
President Obasanjo.
The result achieved here
will enable us to say in concrete terms whether the press should be left free
or should not be left free in discharging their statutory functions.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
This study is significant in view of the negative
feelings the present administration has received from its citizens and, the
belief of what the press have played in the hands of government. But it no longer carries her activities in
line with the constitution that sets them up.
Also is the fact that the present administration tends to intimidate the
press on their activities, thus lending credence to the allegation that the
press have been bough over.
1.5
RESEARCH QUESTION
This will aim at assessing the performance of the press,
the atmosphere in which they operate, given this dispensation, which is
Olusegun Obasanjo regime period. They
are as follows:
1.
Does civilian rule
foster brighter prospect for the media?
2.
Have the media
(press) performed better in this dispensation than any other civilian rule?
3.
Has the press been
used as an instrument of government under civilian rule?
4.
Have the media been
controlled by the present Obasanjo administration?
1.6
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
1. H1: Civilian rule fosters brighter prospect for
the media.
H0: Civilian
rule does not foster brighter prospect for the media.
2. H1: The media have
performed well in this dispensation than in any other civilian rule.
H0: The media have not
performed well in this dispensation than in any other civilian rule.
3. H1: The press has been
used as an instrument of government under civilian rule.
H0: The press has not
been used as an instrument of government under civilian rule.
4. H1: The media are
presently being controlled by the Obasanjo administration.
H0: The media are not
presently being controlled by the Obasanjo administration.