The Role of the Nigerian Media in Promoting Responsibility and Accountability in Government
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- Examine the level of media responsibility of ensuring accountability in government.
- Ascertain the extent to which the media inform citizens on their right to demand greater accountability from the government.
- Identify the perception of Nigeria about the media’s fairness in reporting government activities.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
In a democracy, good governance requires that leaders at every cadre, those responsible for policy-making, implementation, public expenditure, etc., be held accountable for their actions or performance. The dais for the government to get to the governed and vice-versa can only be made possible through the media. According to Devereux (2003, p.7), the media have gradually become a vital component of democratic politics process by serving as a means to advertise the government of the day and it activities for the citizens and by all means, monitor to ensure that those promises get fulfilled. The citizens, therefore, can only effectively use their power to enforce good governance, if they have reliable information from the media. Alabi (2005, p.24) believes that the media have the “statutory responsibility for making the government accountable for its acts of commission and omission. The media is the voice of the people that ask the government questions on their behalf and they are responsible to ‘compel’ action on the part of the government to fulfill its electoral promises to the electorate”. It is germane to state at this point that no nation can boast of development without free expression, publication and distribution of ideas, views and opinions [1]. Media freedom is crucial in this digital age. In Lasswell’s (1978) work, he pointed out that media freedom enhances the watchdog role which the media play in checking and overseeing the performance of the government and its officials. The media are expected to hold the government accountable to the electorate; check its excesses as well as protect the interest of the public. From all indications, human beings thrive and prevail in a media environment (The MacBride Commission, 2004, p.57), this, Balkin and Cotterrell [3] state would enhance openness and accountability in its government system. Scholars have also come to the conclusion that democratic societies can only function sustainably when the people are well informed and can share and debate ideas freely
The Social Responsibility Theory
This theory believes that the citizenry will perform their responsibilities to the society if reminded of such duties periodically. If the media does not perform these duties, the government should encourage the media to comply. This came after a series of debate as to whether the media should be authoritarian (fully censored) or libertarian (free). The media is meant to act in the best interest of the society and it is supposed to do no harm to both the citizens and the government. It helps to maintain and prosper democracy.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought the role of the Nigeria media in promoting responsibility and accountability in government
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the role of the Nigeria media in promoting responsibility and accountability in government. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of the role of the Nigeria media in promoting responsibility and accountability in government
Summary
This study was on the role of the Nigeria media in promoting responsibility and accountability in government. Three objectives were raised which included: Examine the level of media responsibility of ensuring accountability in government, ascertain the extent to which the media inform citizens on their right to demand greater accountability from the government and identify the perception of Nigeria about the media’s fairness in reporting government activities. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of Anambra state civil service commission, Awka. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made directors, supervisors, administrative staffs and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
- 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.
Recommendation
More than half of the survey respondents were yet to see any or some of the campaign promises actualized. Though this failure cannot be entirely blamed on the media, however, it is believed that adequate reportage should be given on the above mentioned subject. By so doing, it will stir up the consciousness of media users to the responsibility that the government in power owes electorate on the promise made whilst they sought the vote of the people. Similarly, Social debates programmes should be given more prominence if the media are to help the public to hold the government accountable. These avenues would open up the minds of citizens to the fact that there are those who make campaign promises and act otherwise when elected. In situations where government officials have fulfilled their promises, commendations should be given to them in the media; likewise, unfulfilled promises should be constantly mentioned in advertorials, documentaries, news reports, etc
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