Good Governance in Nigeria: What Role For The Media: Ifeoma Dunu, PHD
Good Governance in Nigeria: What Role For The Media: Ifeoma Dunu, PHD
Good Governance in Nigeria: What Role For The Media: Ifeoma Dunu, PHD
Abstract
The media over the years have been globally acknowledged as the
watch dog of the society and their information/monitoring roles considered a
sine qua non for democracy and good governance. Nigeria like most other
democratic countries entrenched the principles of Good Governance as
possible criteria for democratic governance in her 1999 constitution.
However, despite this constitutional provision, as well as the enormous
financial resources, and huge potentials of the country, good governance
continues to be elusive to Nigeria. This paper argues that media's potential to
contribute to Good Governance depends on the extent the media reflect and
enforce the principles of good governance as an institution. The paper also
identifies why and how the media are critical sectors in shaping governance
while highlighting some of the principal opportunities and challenges to
engaging with the sector. This work also provides a critical discourse of the
concept of good governance. The paper concludes that for the media to
contribute effectively in enthroning good governance, they must as a matter
of responsibility apply the basic principles of patriotism, accountability,
transparency and objectivity in the discharge of their duties and uphold the
sanctity of truth and fairness at all times.
Introduction
In modern day governance globally, the issue of Good Governance
has assumed the front burner as an indispensable requirement for social,
economic and political developments (World Bank, 1989, UNESCO, 2005;
Nanda, 2006; Hout, 2007;Gisserlquit, 2012), yet better governance continues
to be a source of worry and a big challenge to most countries including
Nigeria. Interestingly, Nigeria, government in a bid to ensure good
governance in the country had in, the 1999 Nigerian constitution in Section
16 (1) a, b, c, and d, and Section 16 (2) entrenched some of the principles of
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As was discussed in the previous section of this paper, there are eight
commonly identified elements of Good Governance; it is within these
elements that we will now examine the relationship between media and
Good Governance.
Participation
Participation as an element of Good Governance implies the wide
involvement of ordinary citizens in decision making and governance.
According to UNESCO (2005) document, participation is a crucial element
for Good Governance in two ways: Participation by citizens in decision
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making process allows greater transparency and can help ensure that political
decisions are adapted to the needs of the people and affected by them.
Second, participation is important for democratic legitimacy, which depends
on the investment people have as citizens in their own governing. Citizen
participation in the act of governance is engendered by the media and other
intermediate institutions. However as widely acknowledged, the role of the
media in fostering participation is vital as the media reports on aspects of the
decision making process and give stakeholders a voice in the process. The
media enables participation in two ways; as a facilitator providing platforms
for the citizens to have accurate and sufficient information that help citizens
make rational and informed decisions and take the right course of action
beneficial to them: As a feedback mechanism, the media provide the means
for the citizens to register their feelings and express their assent and dissent
concerning issues. The media as the primary intermediaries of information
supply the information that other sectors of the society need to participate
effectively.
One outstanding example where the media encouraged citizens’
participation in national issue in the country was in the concerted effort of
the mass media in raising public debate and discussions across the country in
the third term agenda of President Obasanjo. This resulted in public outcry
against the third term attempt which led to its demise. Another recent
example of the media's role in aiding citizens participation and affecting
outcomes is the Fuel subsidy issue popularly referred to as the 'occupy
Nigeria Saga'. The Nigerian media's relentless campaign and the provision of
various platforms for debate and discussions, not only ensured public
participation in this important national issue but it equally affected the
outcome.
Rule of law: The rule of law is the foundation of Good Governance.
Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced
impartially. The rule of law can be understood both as a set of practices
which allow the law to perform a mediating role between various stake
holders in society and as a normative standard invoked by members of
society that demonstrate their assent to this principle (UNESCO, 2005).
Indeed the obvious demonstration of absence of Good Governance is the
presence of arbitrariness and disregard for the rule of law. The rule of law is
best seen as an ideal where impartial enforcement of laws is enthroned in
every sector of the society. In the enforcement of the rule of law the media
again plays a crucial role as the sector of the society most able to promote
vigilance towards the rule of law, through fostering investigative journalism,
promoting the openness of all the institutions that are relevant in ensuring
that the rule of law is respected in the society. Citizens must understand for
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instance that the rule of law consists of a set of institutions, laws and
practices that are established to prevent the arbitrary exercise of power.
The media in their primary function of information dissemination and
education provide such knowledge to all citizens, in different platforms so
that the citizen recognizes that the primary protection tool for each and
everyone is the respect for the rule of law. Apart from the role of informing,
educating and explaining to the people the importance of democracy and
exposing its core values for people’s mental development, mass media do
serve the purpose of keeping officials of government within expected
(constitutional) bounds and the rule of law. One recent example where the
media (although in this instance the social media) helped to uphold the rule
of law in the country is in the recent past brutal massacre of the four
University undergraduate in Porth- Harcourt. Without the evidence from the
social media the perpetrators of the crime could still be free.
Transparency: Transparency is often regarded as the openness of
institutions, that is, the degree to wish outsiders can monitor and evaluate the
actions of insiders. The purpose of transparency is to allow citizens, to hold
institutions, governments and markets accountable for their policies and
performances. Transparency is also defined as official business conducted in
such a way that substantive and procedural information is available to and
broadly understandable by, people and groups in society, subject to
reasonable limits protecting security and privacy (Bellver & Kaufmann,
2005). Among the various elements of Good Governance, transparency is
widely recognized as a core principle. Underlying this assertion we found
that transparency is closely related to accountability and allows citizens to
hold institutions and government accountable for their policies and
performance and in this way reduce corruption in the polity. The root to
transparency is provision of adequate information, since transparency
implies sharing of information in an open manner.
The media are regarded as the major tool for disseminating
information to the citizenry. Access to information by the media and
subsequently the public is guaranteed by free and independent media The
media can play a key role in increasing government accountability to the
general public by explaining government policies and actions in this manner;
what is to be done, how and why an action has to take place, who is involved
and by what standards decisions are made, and in this way government
actions and inactions are exposed to the glare of the general public. It is
perhaps in the area of engendering transparency in the society that the
Nigerian media continue to be acknowledged (Olutokun & Seteolu, 2001;
Jibo, 2003; Olaiya et al, 2013). Some outstanding contributions of the media
in this regard will suffice.
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We can recall that the media covered and intensely reported all
aspects of the transition to democracy from (1998-1999). Oseni (1999, p.16)
explains the role of the media this way: "Keeping the administration to its
word or promise on the handover of power to civilians; offering where
necessary, alternatives to the transition agenda; serving as a feedback on
government policies as well as expanding the score of the transition to as
such as morality, accountability, management of the national economy and
the amelioration of poverty". Within the democratic dispensation, the media
exposed high profile cases of corruption which involved highly ranked
public office holders. The closest to the inception of the fourth republic was
the falsification of Alhaji Salisu Buhari who became the first speaker of the
republic. Omoera (2010) quotes Olutokun and Siteolu thus: “as a result of
the media’s watchdog role Buhari, on July 22, 1999 dropped his bravado,
pleaded guilty to the allegation and resigned his office, thus paving the way
for his prosecution”. Other top corrupt cases attracted aggressive comment
from the media. The Chuba Okadigho’s N67Million car and office furniture
allegation, Evan Enwerem (a former senate president), Patricia Olubunmi
Etteh (aformer speaker, House of Representative), Professor Adenike Grange
(a former Minister of Health), Iyabo Obasanjo.(A senator caught up in shady
deals in the health and power sectors), House of Representatives N23 million
car Sandal, the Halliburton corruption scandal, the Vaswasni brother’s
scandal and many other improprieties in government circles at different
times have been blown open by the media (Omera, Ibid).
The fight against corruption that was intensified in Obasanjo's regime
could perhaps be regarded as a direct fallout of the media intense reportage,
coverage and exposure of corruption within the Nigerian polity during that
period. This led to the establishment of such bodies as Economic and
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and
other Related Offences Crime Commission (ICPC), the media played a key
role. Omoera (Ibid) appraises this role as “accountability or whistle blowing
role”.
Responsiveness: Good governance requires that institutions and
processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe, by
responding to the grievances, needs and aspirations of the citizens. As we
mentioned earlier, the media act as a feedback mechanism where the public's
are given the opportunity to bring their plight to the notice of the State. Often
times than not the media do this through various media campaigns that serve
to remind the State of their obligations to the public. The vigilance and
capacity of the media are particularly important in tracking the availability
and accessibility of services to various segments of the public
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Challenges
Despite acknowledging the various ways the Nigerian media have
indeed attempted to foster good governance, the fact remains that there are
still critical issues that the Nigerian media need to deal with. Some of the
more obvious and vital once will be briefly considered. Nigerian journalists,
oftentimes tend to over censor themselves for fear of reprisals, particularly
the public media. This leads to factual inexactitude. A situation where
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Conclusion
Achieving Good Governance requires the understanding and
participation of every member of the society. However, it has been observed
that for governance to be just and democratic, leaders more than any other
sector of the society need to use their power responsibly and for the greater
good. Systems and procedures need to be in place that impose restraints on
power and encourage government officials to act in the public’s best
interests. The media, their roles, channels and contents, are considered
powerful enough to make this achievement a reality. The Nigerian media
have been in the vanguard for the promotion and sustenance of the
democracy we now have in the country, even the struggle for independence
was pioneered and fought for by the Nigerian media. But a great number of
existing media channels in the country need to take up the responsibility of
adequately engendering better governance in our democratic polity. As the
institution mandated to hold those in governance accountable, the Nigerian
media can effectively achieve this if they apply the basic principles of
patriotism, accountability, transparency and objectivity in the discharge of
their duties as well as uphold the sanctity of truth and fairness at all times. In
effect, for the media to contribute to Good Governance, the media must
embrace the principles of Good Governance themselves as a critical
precondition for effectiveness in the discharging their functions to the
Nigerian society. The watchdogs must watch themselves.
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