Press and press freedom goes hand in gloves in any country true to the practice.
The Nigeria side of this story is different but it could be better and that’s why Adebayo Aransiola has chosen to share his thoughts with us.
The inevitability of the press cannot be overemphasized as numerous functions are performed by it to ensure an environment with democratic dividends.
Ghosh, (2019) says:
The press performs four major functions which are information, influence, entertainment and advertiser.
In addition to the above four functions posited by Ghosh, the press works beyond giving information, influence people’s decision, entertaining them and advertising products of different forms.
The press as an indispensable tool in a democratic society ensures stability, accountability, transparency and lots more to ensure that the government is accountable and responsive to the people.
The press as a watchdog of the society monitors the activities of public administrations and other institutions and practices that directly and indirectly affect the public. Press raises important issues, corruption for example, that might otherwise never be publicly debated or addressed. The press also has an important function in stimulating governments to take action on social policy and also expose problems that need to be addressed..
Also, the press acts as a promoter of transparency, openness and accountability though governments (even repressive ones) and the private sector dislike negative press coverage. As such, the function of detective is a critical adjunct to the function of the press as public watchdog. However, it is dealt with separately here to emphasise the difference between reporting on public affairs and journalistic investigations into wrongdoing in the administration of public affairs.
When journalists are well trained and have trusted sources of information, the press is able to investigate wrongdoing by public officials.
Role Play
The press also plays a general educative role in society at several levels. For example, in support of early childhood development, broadcasters can, and often do, air basic educational materials aimed at teaching children the alphabet, colours or animals and serves as an agent for promoting political participation. By the means of the role, political dispensation has attained a great height in every society. This ensures that political activities are embraced by wider audience.
The press also makes it possible for various organizations in political sphere to mobilize their scattered audience towards participating in the process of decision making through the means of political advertisement, announcement, interview and other means of reaching their target audiences (Aransiola, 2020)
Importance of Press Freedom to the activities of the press
Press freedom can be most effective only when that freedom is utilised by the media fully, rather than in a biased or prejudiced way. There is no doubt saying freedom of the press is a vital element for objective reportage (Sen, 2013). Freedom of the press matters because a free press uncovers the truth. There are many issues – often very complicated ones that journalists are trained to analyze and explain.
Without newspapers, radio shows, blogs, etc, the average person would have little or no knowledge of what is going on around them. Most people lack the time and resources to independently investigate issues and stories that affect them and their communities. That is where journalists come in.
Armed with skills like research and critical thinking, the best journalists know what questions to ask, what leads to pursue, and how to fact-check which is a vital element of a free press (Fab-Ukozor, 2011).
Furthermore, many entities can benefit from the truth staying hidden, including governments.
One of the free press’ main missions is serving as a watchdog on power.
The press is the bridge between the people and powerful entities.
If the press is not free but instead beholden to power, it simply serves as an extension of that power which will never have the gut to query the government entity.
Without freedom of the press, journalists who try to tell the truth when it threatens the state would not be protected by the law. This makes censorship and suppression inevitable. Even if a state made it a goal to be more truthful and transparent, there’s always an agenda they would need to serve. In the case of corruption and human rights violations, a free press is essential to exposing abuses of power.
Moreso, if the media are free to write about government, they can report on the performance of government, and the populace can learn information necessary to form opinions about government. Press freedom allows a range of ideas to be shared and tested. If a given world view is suppressed, it will not be debated. Also, freedom of the press helps the press to limit the excessive power and dictatorship of the government. If the media are not free, then government has a significant power over individuals that it does not need to have.
In strengthening electoral process and democracy, the freedom of the press cannot be overemphasized as it remains a yardstick for ensuring that the voters are well informed. Informed voting is the third reason why freedom of the press is so important in the activities of the press.
Democracies can only thrive when voters are as informed as possible. Being informed ensures people understand the issues at hand and what policies and politicians best represent them. The press is the body that informs by analyzing information, encouraging discussion, and fact-checking. The freer the press, the better informed voters can be. Without this freedom, voters would be at the mercy of politicians and special interest groups that want to win elections and promote specific legislation. It would be very difficult and time-consuming for voters to do all their work on their own. A strong media makes the process less complicated and offers valuable insight.
The Challenges of Press Freedom in Nigeria
Nigeria gained independence from colonial rule in 1960, but during the colonial period, Nigerians faced various violations of press freedom by the colonial authorities. According to Momoh (2002) as cited in Olomide (2020), the origins of restrictive media laws can be traced back to as early as 1903 with the introduction of the Newspaper Ordinance and the sedition Ordinance of 1909.
One of the most infamous press censorship laws was the 1917 Act, which consolidated earlier colonial legislation.
These laws were primarily aimed at curbing what was perceived as excessive criticism of the Colonial Administration by the local press. Remarkably, many of these stringent laws have remained on the books in Nigeria because the subsequent rulers, who took over from the colonial authorities, showed little interest in repealing them.
In 1964, the earlier Act underwent an amendment and has since served as the foundation for anti-press laws in Nigeria.
The initial amendment was enacted during the first civilian administration under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.
However, even though this civilian government was not particularly supportive of the media, the subsequent military administrations proved to be even less media-friendly.
Each successive military regime seemed to vie with the others in their efforts to suppress the media and keep it in what they considered its “proper place.”
In the United States of America, a robust democracy is firmly established, underpinned by a strong commitment to individual and press freedoms.
The First Amendment to the American Constitution explicitly states that:
“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the press.”
However, in Nigeria, the framers of the constitution did not appear entirely convinced that Nigerians should enjoy unrestricted freedom, as evident in the frequent use of the word “provided.” This nuanced approach to press freedom in Nigeria often creates opportunities for those in positions of authority to exploit these limitations. Against this backdrop, Asemah (2011), as cited in Olomide (2020), outlined the factors that hinder press freedom to include legal pressure, fake news and social media, too many media houses with poor remuneration, secrecy direct censorship and force among others.
In Nigeria, despite the presence of press freedom in the constitution, it lacks substantial legal backing.
Journalists frequently find themselves lacking full protection of their press freedom rights, as the constitution contains provisions that seemingly contradict this fundamental right.
For instance:
Section 39 of the 1999 Nigerian constitution recognizes freedom of expression and the press but also imposes certain restrictions, particularly on media ownership, especially in the case of broadcast media.
Additionally, subsection 3 of this section validates laws preventing the disclosure of confidential information received during government service (Chigbo, 2007, as cited in Oberiri, 2016). Section 45 of the constitution further limits freedom of expression and the press.
These constitutional provisions collectively indicate that, despite constitutional guarantees, press freedom in Nigeria faces various restrictions and limitations.
It’s clear that the government in Nigeria employs legal tactics to circumvent constitutional press freedom guarantees. Consequently, Nigerian journalists often encounter legal threats, including libel and privacy lawsuits, as well as intimidation of sources and demands for confidential information through subpoenas.
These legal challenges not only deplete the financial and human resources of news organizations but also result in story delays or even censorship. Moreover, they deter potential sources from sharing information with journalists. This intricate legal environment ultimately impedes the exercise of press freedom in the country (Oberiri, 2016, p. 7)
The economic and political pressures undermining press freedom
These factors have led certain newspapers and broadcast stations, particularly those owned by the government, to publish content that supports the government. This compromises the essence of press freedom. In practice, it can be observed in Nigeria that government-owned media outlets often become tools of the ruling authority, disseminating information that praises the government while undermining the credibility of the opposition.
These government-controlled stations serve as the government’s mouthpiece, and their media reports frequently lack objectivity (Nwanne, 2012). An example of this is the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
In recent years, the Nigerian government has taken actions such as dismissing, victimizing, or reassigning media personnel employed in government-owned media agencies who do not align with the government’s stance or attempt to maintain objectivity in their reporting. This is typically because their objectivity highlights the shortcomings of the government in power
Another issue under this heading is the issue relating to some private media stations in Nigeria who are either owned by politician or those in support of some political ideology or sect (Nwanne, 2012).
Experience of a journalist was shared as he said he once had a personal experience trying to publish a story in one of the Nigerian media outlet, but was denied because the media head claim that such story will be against the political standing and integrity of the owner of the outlet.
So as much as this issue happens with government owned media station, it also happens in private owned media station (Gosh, 2019, p 269).
In addition, secrecy in Nigeria limits the right of the people to know, by hindering the press from having access to government sources and records. There are government agencies or officials who evade journalist interrogation so that they cannot get information about government activities.
In June 2020, the Government of Ebonyi State bound some media personnel for life from covering the events in the state house, also, we have also witnessed some government both at state level and national level in Nigeria placing ban on certain media outlet or personnel, unjustly seizing of media license like that which was done to African Independent Television (AIT) in 2020 among others (Oberiri, 2016, p 12). All this are difficult situations being faced by the media in Nigeria.
Most journalist in Nigeria sometimes have to go through risking their lives to be able to expose the evil plot of some government personnel to the public, while a lot of them get threat to kill the story.
With the aid of law, the government uses legitimate forces, violence and harassment to restrict press freedom. There are many instances when Journalists were physically brutalized in an event to cover a report.
One of Nigeria’s famous pen men Dele Giwa who was killed via a letter bomb because he was expressing his view on public issues (Oberiri, 2016, p 12).
Even more recently as the 9th of September 2020, the Punch New Paper in Nigeria reported case of assault and arrest of peaceful protesters and men of the press who were covering the protest against the hike in electricity and fuel tariff recently implemented by the government of Nigeria in Lagos state.
Also, Agba Jalingo a media Journalist in Cross River State of Nigeria was among the top 10 world journalist on threat list in 2019 (Sahara Reporters, 2019).
This adds up to the internecine between a Journalist and the Nigeria Former Minister of Aviation; Femi Fani-Kayode who publicly Insulted the Journalist just to mention a few. These and many more are what is been faced by the press in Nigeria.
Although, a lot of people might want to consider too many media houses in Nigeria as a plus and a good thing for the nation, considering the wide expanse of land and the population of the country, however, this is turning more to a disaster for the nation (Olomide, 2020, p. 10). Due to the too many media houses, it makes journalism in Nigeria porous and reduces the value of true journalism. Journalism has now become a business venture that the rich invest their money.
Objectivity is losing out in the business. And due to so many media houses around, journalist moves from one media station to another for higher pay, it is now the case of the highest bidder (Oberiri, 2016, p 33). The passion for true journalism is dying gradually. another thing to note is that most media houses pay poor remuneration to their staffs, In fact, some even pay commission based on the advert you are able to bring to the media outlet, this in no wise frustrate the activities of journalist and put them under the pressure of doing anything just to survive. This is a bad omen in the Nigerian media.
The social media connundrum
The use of social media in this age is also serving as issue to journalism in Nigeria, because so many fake news is been circulated through the social media platforms. Needless to say that Nigeria has not been able to develop the capacity to sensor out fake news and reports from circulating across the social media.
Every day, Nigerians are confronted with trying to discern which news is authentic, coupled with the fact that they are still concerned with knowing to what extent of the truthfulness of this so called authentic news (Olomide, 2020, p. 58).
So the social media and several fake news have been a major challenge to the media in Nigeria. Having examined the challenges facing the media in Nigeria, it is important to conclude with the reason why the press needs to have freedom in Nigeria.
Solutions to the Bottlenecks of Press Freedom in Nigeria’s Political Era
For press freedom to be promoted and safeguard in the next political era in Nigeria, the government should foster dialogue and engagement with journalists and media organizations on a regular basis, ensure the safety of journalists, if possible, guarantee it, increase access to information, at least the ones useful for members of the public and promote media pluralism and guarantee legal protection for journalists.
Also, the freedom of information act should be put to practical use across the nook and cranny of the nation and that the government should also have laws that protect Journalists from being arrested at will by powerful Nigerians.
Furthermore, there should be insurance for press men and let them express their opinions on the basis of fairness, objectivity, and balance without which the next government will be seen as one in which democracy cannot thrive.
In the same breath, assaults of any kind on Journalists while performing their duties should also be made punishable by the law.
One of the policies is for the government to obey the Freedom of Information Act. Also, public officials should make information available for the people and that safety of journalists should also be paramount. There should be adequate security and insurance for press men and also respect for free information acts.
Moreso, safeguarding press freedom will help the growth of human rights in country because the media will have the freedom to criticize anyone not respecting people’s human rights without fear of being hunted down, noting that democracy can never survive without press freedom because a truly democratic society is one where people and the press are free to express themselves without fear of attacks from anybody or institution.
In the absence of free press, governments may be more likely to engage in corruption, abuse of power, and other undemocratic practices without fear of public scrutiny or accountability knowing fully well that democracies thrive on transparency and accountability, and the press is a key instrument in ensuring that these values are upheld.
A free and independent press provides citizens with a diverse range of viewpoints and information and enables them to make informed decisions about their government and their society.
– Adebayo Aransiola ( Writer )
