Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 5)

Received: 19 July 2021 Accepted: 7 August 2021 Published: 3 September 2021

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Abstract

There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.

Published in	Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 9, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
Page(s)	122-135
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Watchdog Media, Good Governance, Corruption, Agenda Setting, Democracy

References

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[3]	Kafle, H. R. (2014). Media studies : Evolution and perspectives Media studies : Evolution and perspectives. February. https://doi.org/10.3126/bodhi.v3i1.2808
[4]	Ullah, M. S. (2009). Free Media, Democracy and Democratisation: Experiences from Developing Countries. Journal of Global Communication, 2 (2), 343–351.
[5]	CDD. (1999). Centre for Democracy and Development Report.
[6]	Ashraf, P. (2014). The Role of Media in Good Governance : Paid News Culture of Media and the Challenges to Indian Democracy. 3 (3), 41–43.
[7]	Randall, V. (2007). the Third World The media and democratisation in the Third World. February 2015, 37–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436599308420346
[8]	DFID. (2015). DFID Nigeria Efforts on Social Protection. November.
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[10]	Dalton, R. J., Farrell, D. M., & Mcallister, I. (2011). The Dynamics of Democratic Representation : How Democracy Works. APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper, September 2011, 1–40.
[11]	Njemanze, N. & Arogundade, L. (2015). (2015). Reportage of 2015 elections: A monitoring scorecard of print and online media. The International Press Council (IPC) and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC).
[12]	Freille, S., Haque, M. E., & Kneller, R. (2007). A Contribution to the Empirics of Press Freedom and Corruption A contribution to the empirics of press freedom and corruption. January. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.863805
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[14]	Grabber D. (1986). Press freedom and the general w elfare. In Political Science Quarterly (Vol. 101).
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[16]	Callamard, A. (2010). Accountability, Transparency, and Freedom of Expression in Africa. Social Research, 77 (4).
[17]	Johnson, D. P. (2008). Contemporary Sociological Theory An Integrated Multi-level Approach New York: Springer.
[18]	Norris, P. (2009). Critical Citizens Revisited Also from Cambridge University Press by the Author.
[19]	Gurevitch M. and Blumler Jay G. (1990). Political Communication Systems and Democratization Values. In Democracy and the Mass Media by Judith Lichtenberg (pp. 269–287). Cambridge University Press.
[20]	Chan, S. (2002). Liberalism, Democracy and Development. Cambridge University Press.

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Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. (2021). Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanities and Social Sciences, 9(5), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2021, 9(5), 122-135. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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AMA Style

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanit Soc Sci. 2021;9(5):122-135. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11,
  author = {Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi},
  title = {Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {122-135},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20210905.11},
  abstract = {There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.},
 year = {2021}
}

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T1  - Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
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PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
AB  - There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.
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Author Information

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

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APA Style

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. (2021). Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanities and Social Sciences, 9(5), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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ACS Style

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2021, 9(5), 122-135. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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AMA Style

Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi. Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Humanit Soc Sci. 2021;9(5):122-135. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11

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@article{10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11,
  author = {Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi},
  title = {Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic},
  journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
  volume = {9},
  number = {5},
  pages = {122-135},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20210905.11},
  abstract = {There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
AU  - Gidado Taofeek Oluwayomi
Y1  - 2021/09/03
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
T2  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JF  - Humanities and Social Sciences
JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
SP  - 122
EP  - 135
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-8184
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20210905.11
AB  - There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
ER  -

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