NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE NATIONAL GOOD GOVERNANCE TOUR IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
For some years now, the slogan ‘good governance’ has become a popular phrase in the Nigerian political arena as well as the country’s media. Governments at different levels in Nigeria now talk about good governance while they mention certain achievements recorded during their administration.
But, according to Dunu (2013, p. 180) “despite the constitutional provisions as well as the enormous financial resources, and huge potentials of the country, including the economic policies that have been implemented by successive administrations good governance continues to be elusive to Nigeria”. Also, the true state of many Nigerians shows that there are many and they constitute the majority who live in squalor. Many Nigerians suffer from malnutrition. Others lack good drinking water. There are some who are faced with the problem of poor housing and drainage. Many Nigerian do not have access to good health care services and good roads.
Thus, it becomes obvious that good governance must be a programme that should actually affect the lives of the people; else the idea of good governance would be a jamboree. Perhaps, this could be the reason many Nigerians tend to perceive the National Good Governance Tour led by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku in different perspectives.
But as one considers the roles and functions of the media in a democratic country like Nigeria, it is expected that the media become mediators standing between the politicians and the people. They should function as a collective means by which the general public or populace is kept informed about the day-to-day happenings in the society.
Media are expected to be useful tools for mobilisation of support, dissemination of information and shaping of public opinion about issues of politics and development like the National Good Governance Tour (NGGT). They are expected to give citizens the opportunities to construct their understanding and evaluation of political structures, actors and events through the kind of coverage they provide. This perhaps is why Galadima and Soola (2012, p. 3) said that “media are the outlets of both democratic expression and interest aggregation”.
Also, the media are critical links in the accountability chain between the government and the governed, providing information for the citizens to hold those in authority accountable and also articulating citizen’s voice and preference for government to use in policy formulation. This shows that the media as the watchdog of the society and their information/monitoring roles are considered a sine qua non for democracy and good governance.
However, of all the media of mass communication, newspapers have been perhaps the most influential instrument of political communication. Primarily, the newspapers have their influence on the Nigerian polity and serve as the embodiment of the Nigerian media. This is why Uko (2004, p. 3) said “most leaders rely on newspapers for information. Besides, when people talk about the Nigeria Press, they often mean the newspaper”.
Thus, newspaper plays a substantial role in the nation’s life especially the political development of a country. In fact, through the contents (news, features, editorials, opinions, columns) of the newspapers the media can suggest a number of strategies that the policy makers and implementers could engage to improve development efforts in a country.
However, a great deal can be said about the role of the newspaper considering their coverage of national issues. In Nigeria, newspaper coverage of issues and events often reflect the voice of the people. At other times, journalists tend to grant a slanted coverage of issues and events that favours the government of the day. Atim (2010, p. 7) noted this when she said “journalists are confined to praise singers, churning out shallow press statements that make headline news while corruption, incompetence, economic mismanagement and human right abuse go unchecked”.
Yet, journalists by expectation have the responsibility of covering government activities for the publics to make informed decisions. Accordingly, the Nigerian constitution in section 22 made provisions for such an exercise where it stated inter alia; “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people”.
This suggests that the press as represented by newspapers is expected to grant coverage to issues and events (including the national good governance tour) within the policy with the understanding that the press is responsible and accountable to the people. Thus, the information, mobilization and educating roles of the newspapers with regard to the coverage of the national good governance tour in Nigeria are brought to question.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
At the beginning of democracy in Nigeria, many Nigerians expressed hope of good governance as a dividend of democracy. But as democracy struggles to get its hold in Nigeria over a decade now, a large percentage of Nigerians express dissatisfaction and disappointment in government with reports, of poor infrastructure and lack of social amenities among its list of failures.
However, the democratic government of the fourth (4th) republic under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had set up some platforms to buttress the fact that his government is working. Among these platforms is the national good governance tour which is set up to make the publics aware of the developments in infrastructure and social amenities.
The tour headed by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku with the involvement of some journalists from various media houses, has the sole aim of showcasing the state and federal government projects to the public.
Considering the several functions of the press- newspaper in particular-which include informing, mobilising and educating the public, it becomes necessary to research carefully how journalist of both private and government owned newspapers provide coverage for this event. Therefore, the major question that this work attempts to answer is: To what extent did newspapers cover the national good governance tour in Nigeria?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study are to:
- Examine the frequency of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria.
- Find out the direction of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria
iii. Determine the depth of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria.
- Ascertain the prominence given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria.
1.4 Research Questions
This study will be guided by the following research questions
- What is the frequency of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria?
- What is the direction of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria?
iii. What is the depth of coverage given to the National Good Governance Tour by newspapers in Nigeria?
- What is the prominence given to the National Good Governance Tour Issues by newspapers in Nigeria?
1.5 Significance of the Study
Quite a lot of work has been done on Newspaper coverage of political issues. But judging from the setting of this research, it is likely to be considered as a fresh study and hopefully it will affect the trend of journalism practice in Nigeria. Thus, it portrays the need for functional journalism instead of pro-government or anti-government journalism.
Also, this study would provide a good working document for professionals like journalism/communication students, media owners, media workers, and media consumers as well as media critics.
Furthermore, although past studies on Newspaper coverage have always ended with diverse results, it is hoped that this particular research work will stimulate communication students and experts into more nuanced research on the subject matter.
1.6 Delimitation
This study deals with the newspaper coverage of the National Good Governance Tour in Nigeria. The scope of this work will be limited to an examination of the editorial content of two Nigerian Newspapers. These are Punch and Pioneer respectively. These newspapers chosen represent two modes of ownership to be considered. That is private and government newspapers.
This study will also be limited to an examination of the selected newspapers’ publications from October 1, 2012 till March 31, 2013. This period was chosen because, it represents the time when the event was more pronounced.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
One major limitation of this study is the paucity of research materials in the topic under research. The available secondary materials are few, mainly articles found in communication journals.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Newspaper Coverage: The degree or extent to which events and issues relating to the National Good Governance Tour are reported in the newspapers. For the purpose of this work, the concentration will be on coverage of editorial content which include news stories, feature articles, opinions and editorials.
Good Governance Tour: This refers to the political/media tour carried out by the then Minister of Information in Nigeria, Mr. Labaran Maku, a tour which started from September 20, 2012. The tour was aimed at sensitising and exposing the publics to the achievements of government through the scrutiny of state and federal government projects.
Ownership: Ownership here refers to the government and private possession and control of Newspapers through financing, appointments and dismissals.
Frequency: The number of times or how often a newspaper reflects the national good governance tour in its coverage of political issues over the period chosen for the research.
Direction: The major focus of newspaper in the coverage of issues relating to the national good governance tour.
Depth: The kind of treatment given to issues relating to the national good governance tour which include interpretation and investigation.
