Despite its chequered history, the media in Nigeria has progressively flourished in the last 50 years to attain its status as the fourth estate of the realm. From its role as the conveyor belt for the nationalist struggles that culminated into independence to its consistent battles to hold post-independent leaders accountable through its adversarial reports during the military junta, the media has always being the people’s voice. It is not for nothing that commentators within and without the country are agreed that the Nigerian media remains the most vibrant on the continent.
In the Beginning
Although Iwe Irohin Yoruba, the first newspaper that ran from 1859-1867 under the direction of a C.M.S. Missionary, Rev. Henry Townsend did not live to see independence, it was the pioneer that blazed the trail. The press was intended to be a “watchdog” for the country, similar to its role in free countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States, but it has had difficulty fulfilling that role due to the demands of the various competing special interest groups. The West African Pilot founded by Nigeria’s first indigenous President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and the Nigerian Tribune founded by the first Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the government-owned Daily Times, were among the array of newspapers that ushered Nigeria into independence.
In the early period of nationhood, the electronic media was the exclusive preserve of the government. With the establishment of the first television station in Africa by the western region in 1959, other regions and the federal government followed suit. Although radio existed before independence, by 1962 the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), had expanded its broadcast stations into Sokoto, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Zaria, Jos, and Katsina in the north; Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Onitsha in the East; and Abeokuta, Warri, and Ijebu-Ode in the West.
The Explosion & Draconian Laws The country has had varying degrees of freedom of the press over its tumultuous history. There has generally been a diversity of columnists in the media; however, as the government changed hands frequently and in violent circumstances, the media voices that were in support of a leader would find themselves without a voice as a replacement emerged. At some points, newspapers and magazines were proscribed entirely due to their criticism of government authorities.
Examples of this form of silencing the press are found in the late 1970s and mid 1980s. Although newspapers and magazines were privately owned, the government prohibited them from expressing their editorial opinions. In 1977 General Nucleolus Obasanjo’s government closed down Newbreed. In 1984 the government closed down the Tribune and four years later in 1988 Newswatch was a victim of government censorship. Also during this period, government leaders harassed individual journalists. In 1971 Minere Amakiri, a reporter for the Nigerian Observer , was detained and had his hair shaved. Numerous other journalists experienced similar assaults.
One of the things that changed newspaper journalism in the country, was the establishment of the Concord Press by the late business mogul and politician, Chief MKO Abiola in 1980. Not only were journalists under the group paid better, the professional profile of journalists was in the ascendancy as better-equipped professionals took centre stage. The entry of the Guardian newspapers three years later in 1983, raised the stakes in the industry. The Week magazine, published by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, was a prominent addition in 1986.
The period of explosion also witnessed the phenomenal increase in soft sell publications, the genre referred to as junk. The erstwhile hegemony of the Lagos-Ibadan press has been whittled down by the emergence, first, of the Delta Force and secondly, the balancing act of the Abuja press. Due to the instability of the various governments over the years the relationship between the state and the press has fluctuated, depending upon a number of factors. At times there have been some moderate consideration given to press freedoms, while other times the crackdown on journalists disagreeing with the government has been blatant and violent. The period 1983 – 1999 witnessed adversarial press due to the fact the military junta held sway.
THISDAY was the first newspaper in Nigeria to introduce full-colour printing from its own presses in 1997. It is also the first newspaper in Nigeria to use satellite-enabled networks to print simultaneously at three printing plants, in Lagos, Abuja and Agbor, ensuring that the newspaper offers the same breaking news, on the same day, at the same time, across the entire country. Many others have followed the lead enhancing the aesthetic beauty of Nigeria newspapers.
Private Radio & Television
With the liberalization of electronic media ownership in the country, viewers became winners from the revolution in the sector as more choices were opened up. Daar Communications blazed the trail 15 years ago with Ray Power followed by its African Independent Television the next year. Many others have followed the example across the nation.
New Media
Although this genre is a worldwide phenomenon, Nigerians have embraced the medium whole-heartedly. The evolution of the internet has resulted into many online publications and several blogs also exist where there is a cross-fertilisation of views among Nigerians. It is also through this genre that people could read virtually all the newspapers online.
Conclusion
In reviewing the history of the nation, the long-term trend has been that of the repression of a free press. The constitutional privileges that are in writing have simply not been experienced in the real world of daily Nigerian life. On the surface it appears there is much diversity of expression due to the large number of media outlets in the nation. However when a closer observation is made, the complex political and social systems of the nation are the context in which these media organizations operate.
