THE IMPACT OF NIGERIAN PRESS ON SHAPING THE COUNTRY’S POLITICAL STRUCTURE (PERIOD OF STUDY 1999 TO 2004

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the role or the impact of Nigerian Press on shaping the country’s political structure period of study 1999-2004. A general study of Nigeria is because it happens to be the period when we witness a transition to civilian rule. Many library materials constituted the sample source and literature review. Dates were also collected through extensive reading of information material on the government administrative policy. There findings showed that by the period of 1999, government activities in respect to the policy of administration supposed to have passed the stages of mobilization to that of execution, and that newspaper will not only covered those activities by use of newstones but also comment on the policy formulation and application through the use of feature articles and editorials. The newspaper also identifies problems that should be solved for the government programmes to succeed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0    INTRODUCTION                                                 1

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY                              4
2. STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS                 5
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY                                        7
4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY                             7
5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS                                       8
6. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS                                     8
7. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY                                9
8. ASSUMPTIONS                                                   10

CHAPTER TWO               

LITERATURE REVIEW                                          11

1. POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT11
2. PRESS VOICE OF THE VOICELESS                        12
3. BANNING NEWSPAPERS                                      14
4. HOW FREE IS THE NIGERIA PRESS                      15
5. ROLE OF THE PRESS IN THE SOCIETY                  16
6. CHALLENGING OF PRESS MAN                             20
7. PRESS VIEW ON POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF NIGERIA                                                       22

1. PRESS AND POWER IN NIGERIA POLITICS            28
2. THE PERIOD OF MUTALA/OBASANJO

MILITARY REGIME                                              29

1. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW                     34

CHAPTER THREE    

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY                                 36

3.0    RESEARCH DESIGN                                            36

1. RESEARCH SAMPLE AND PROCEDURE                   36
2. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS                                37
3. DATA COLLECTION                                             37
4. DATA ANALYSIS                                                 38
5. EXPECTED RESULT                                             38

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0    DATA PRESENTATION AND RESULTS                    39

1. SUMMARY OF RESULT                                         44
2. DISCUSSION                                                      46

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0    SUMMARY                                                          48

1. RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY            49

REFERENCE                                                       51

APPENDIX                                                         53

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE I     INFORMATION MATERIAL USED

TABLE II    AGGREGATE INFORMATION MATERIAL USED

TABLE III   NEWS COVERAGE OF SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT

TABLE IV   FEATURE COVERAGE OF SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT POLICY ISSUES

TABLE V    EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT POLICY ISSUES.

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

PROSPECT FOR NIGERIA POLITICS IN MODERN ERA (PERIODICAL CASE).

In all aspects of social life, the onset of a new decade triggers an effort to summarise and charactrised what happened 2-5 years ago, and to look forward to changes. The onset of a new era. The press stands as a bridge between the old and the new (History). The experience of the past in relationship to the new events. When a new regime arrives in power, it can blame its predecessors in government for many economic problems. The newly arrive uses press to compare its record in funding popular services with the previous regime and reminds the public in periods of time and unpopularity about how much worse off or more dis-granted they felt when the current opposition themselves held power. All these tactics cannot work effectively without the press. Even at this period of time.

The periodic Nigerian press has been on important source of government policy news for opinion leaders and decision makers or takers within a political structure as well as for the public at large. Since most people in decision making position of this country never come into direct contact with international communities that are the basis for foreign policy, they most rely on the press information about the particular issue.

This chapter surveys a segment of the Nigerian press during a series of related national policy decision made by Nigeria in the period of loss of sovereignty and company rule in Nigeria to the present civilian rule. (1999-Date).

However, citing when as one country, Nigeria came into being in 1914 as a result of amalgamation of North and South protectorates under the governorship of Lord Fredrick Lugard. This means that the political units that came together to form this nation were the old kingdoms whose people had a complex system of interaction (communication) before they ever made contact with the Europeans. Though comparing this old political history with the present, one can deduce that more political units are in vogue now than that of the old political units.

THE IMPACT OF NIGERIAN PRESS ON SHAPING THE COUNTRY’S POLITICAL STRUCTURE (PERIOD OF STUDY 1999 TO 2004