CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Government
attempt not only to control but to subjugate the press through obnoxious laws
had been an enduring problem in the history of Nigeria Press. The press has
been striving to wriggle itself out of these unfavourable laws, but the
government believes that giving the press the freedom to operate as an
independent entity may be suicidal.
Usually,
government feels that it is logical to restrain the power of the press and if
possible have a total control of the press. To government, the press is an
instrument of people in power and should yield itself to their dictates. But
the press fights fiercely to resist this obsequious stance government wants to
subject it to because the press belief that they are to serve as watchdog on
government and not to be used as government extension of ministry of
information or for propaganda tool. This gives rise to clashes between the
press and the government. While government uses its authority to subjugate the
press, the press resists by remaining tenacious in its fight for freedom.
Government’s
truculent reaction to the freedom of the press to report the affairs of
government to the public shows that the government always has skeletons in its
cupboard and, therefore, would never entertain the prolonged glimpse of the
press. The aim of the government to lord over the press is not peculiar to
Nigeria alone none to the third world countries but to the entire world except
the USA that said it clear in its constitution that “Congress shall make no law
that will abridge the freedom of press and expression….”
According
to Ekwelie (1986:568), “throughout the centuries, and in every country, the
media have been subjected to both harassment and manipulation”
From the
colonial era to Nigeria’s independence and to military and civilian regimes,
the press has struggled to exist amidst diverse suppressive laws, ordinances,
acts and decrees enacted and promulgated at one time or another by different
governments. Today, the Nigerian press exists in a very tenuous position. In
the words of Eze (1993:21), “the jeremiad of complaints by the press have
fallen on deaf ears of government whose alert and watchful eyes are permanently
directed on what the press published with eager hands to censor and equal hostility
to attack and arrest the reporters” The present democratic environment has not
fully guaranteed a conducive operational atmosphere for journalists in the
country. Even the democratic government of Olusegun Obasanjo since inception
has, indeed, been characterized by pockets of attach on the press similar to
what was obtainable during the military era.
However,
since the time of colonial masters, journalists and freedom fighters have been
clamouring for press freedom which were not full given like they are enjoying
in United States of American. In fact the nation’s 1999 constitution that was
expected to provide this freedom was just the replica of the 1979 constitution
where the freedom was just give and take , going by the section 22 of chapter 2
of the 1999 constitution states that: “the press radio, television and other
agencies of mass media shall at all
time be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contain in this chapter and uphold the responsibility
and accountability of the government
to the public”
The
constitution give the press a constitutional duty but failed to empowered them
by law until the recent , May 27 2011 to be précised ,when Mr. president final
give assent to a new freedom of information bill that had been unanimously
scrutinized by the two chambers i.e House of Representatives and Senate House
with a title: an act to make public records and information more freely
available, provide for public access to public records and information, project
public records and information to the extent consistent with the public
interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public
officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain kinds of official
information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement
of those purposes and related purposes
thereof.
This
study intends to examine to what extent has Nigeria Journalists have fully
utilize the new freedom in their day to day activities.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This
research is design to access the level of freedom enjoy by the press in Nigeria
especially how freedom of information has been a plus for journalist in the
discharge of their duties.
It also
intent to compare and contrast the freedom of information during the military
era and in present democratic dispensation.
The
research focuses on various laws and legislation that hindered the freedom of
information in Nigeria.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i.
To what extent has OSBC
faced challenges in information gathering?
ii.
Does OSBC have strategies to tackle the challenges of
poor freedom of information
iii.
To what extent has the
freedom information law impacted on OSBC?
iv.
To what extent does new
FIO law reshape the practice of journalism
in Nigeria?
v.
Does this new FOI law give
total freedom on journalists?
vi.
To what extent have
journalists make use of the new freedom in their day to day assignment?
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
i.
This study is pertinent to
give the importance of press freedom in the development of democracy and
the long history of the repression of press freedom in Nigeria a country
with probably the most animated
media environment in Africa.
ii.
To x-ray the challenges of
freedom of information and how journalists are being treated by the
present government which limited
the press as the fourth estate of the realm.
iii.
To point out that press
freedom is a major ingredient that press should enjoy during the
democratic dispensation.
iv.
To let the public aware
that freedom of press is their own freedom;
since media serve as public mouth piece.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The issue
of the government/press relationship in Nigeria has raised a lot of interest
both to the practitioners and the public, that a study into the phenomenon was
long overdue.
This
study will no doubt be useful to mass media practitioners in Nigeria and will
help the public appreciate the numerous role of the press in Nigeria so as to
enable them rise in defense of the press whenever it is threatened by excessive
political power.
It is
expected that at the end of this study, the work will update knowledge within
the frame work of the study.
Particularly,
it will assist people on the benefit of freedom of information to the press and
society at large.
This
study will draw the attention of the government to empower the press to carry
out its duties.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope
of this research work had been narrowed down to OSBC for the purpose of
convenience and lack of other logistics.
Although
the research is basically focus on analysis of challenges facing freedom of
information in Nigeria.
To this
end, OSBC is selected to represent all mass media in Nigeria while demographic
OSBC will be considered to access the number of staff, educational level, and
qualification, working experience, sex, marital status and many more.
1.7 LIMITATIONS TO THE STUDY
This work
is limited to OSBC. However, other media houses can benefit from it. Also, time
has posed a serious constrain to this work as other academic activities need to
be attended to.
Inadequate
fund to cover all media houses, even to visit OSBC frequently was possible.
Another
limitation was that few literature were available for this study, therefore,
gathering of materials for this work became difficult.
