THE MASS MEDIA AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION IN NIGERIA, 1999-2003

Abstract

The mass media in the performance of its civic roles has been a strong instrument for democratisation, whether it is transition from military rule to civilian rule orfrom civilian to civilian regime. Either way, the mass media has been manipulated and used to achieve set goalsl objectives. Ownership and control of these means of communication determine this process. Thus, this work shall focus on the ownershiplcontrol of the mass media in Nigeria, its effect on the roles of the media and implications for democratic transition between 1999 and 2003. In essence, the central goal of this paper is to determine the correlation (if any) between mass media operation and democratic transition in Nigeria. It is therefore necessary for us to review the civic responsibilities of the mass media in Nigeria and relate such to democratic practices/behaviour within the democratic processes within the reviewperiod-19992003.
This shall enable us to determine the relationship between the duo. Against my earlier position (Wogu, 2003a, 1), this paper shall argue that no relationship exists between media operations and democratic transition in Nigeria. The loss of confidence in the media due to Government monopoly, censorship and
biased operation, has rendered it ineffectual in modelling or influencing the out come of political behaviours. Thus, the incumbents resorted to thuggery and massive rigging, unprecedented in the history of Nigerian politics,· at least to subdue popular mandates or the mandate of the majority. We therefore recommend a liberal communication order whose instrument of control shall be libel, for an objective democracy.