PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN REPORTAGE OF RECOVERED LOOTED FUNDS
- Project Research
- 1-5 Chapters
- Quantitative
- Simple Percentage
- Abstract : Available
- Table of Content: Available
- Reference Style: APA
- Recommended for : Student Researchers
- NGN 3000
Background of the Study
It is well known that corruption has a negative influence on countries all around the world. Corruption is likely the most significant impediment preventing the world's developing or least developed countries' (LDCs) socioeconomic transition. Indeed, development researchers agree that the amount of corruption reduction is directly related to the amount of economic growth of nations across the world (Lemdi and Fredrick, 2018).
Although corruption has existed in Nigeria since independence, it increased in the 1970s as a result of the oil boom, and it now has a scary and blatant dimension. In the 1970s, for example, the country saw an inflow of multi-national businesses that arrived to manage numerous turnkey projects across a wide range of industries. This marked the start of the oil boom. Squander-mania and kleptomania were prevalent during this time period. Expansions of the oil and gas sector, road building, power, telecommunications, hospitals, trains, airports, and national identity cards were among the projects, some of which were white elephants (Lemdi and Fredrick, 2018).
According to Alli (2010), there were charges of corrupt activities in the construction, telecommunications, and auto-mobile sub-sectors of the economy, among others, as time went on in the late 1970s. The country was being milked at the time by the military's senior brass in concert with their civilian buddies. Nigeria's currency, the Naira, was vying with the British pound sterling at the time, while also having a greater value than the US dollar. This was also the time of the infamous ‘cement armada,' which saw several military commanders retire early. Some of them were given contracts to import cement for construction projects throughout the nation. Because the Lagos ports couldn't handle the influx of cement ships, they were stranded on the high seas for months, costing the county $500,000 in demurrage every day (Theobald, 1990).
Corruption had grown entrenched with the crop of politicians at the head of affairs by the 1980s, when the country reverted to democracy. The lack of effective anti-corruption legislation and authorities worsened the problem. There was a N2.8 billion oil fund that went missing at this time, while Alhaji Shehu Shagari was president. As a result, the government had no choice but to establish the Justice Ayo Irikefe Panel to look into the allegations. Although the panel claimed that no oil money was missing from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), testimony before the panel revealed that several leaders of Nigeria's erstwhile ruling party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), were complicit in the fraud (Williams,1987). The Presidential Taskforce on the Importation of Rice, headed by Alhaji Umaru Dikko, Shagari's Minister of Transport, was also involved in the rice scandal, as was the fire that destroyed the erstwhile Nigerian External Telecommunication (NET) facility in Lagos in the 1980s.
Corruption was cited as one of the key causes for the coup on December 31, 1983, when Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon deposed the ‘kleptocratic' Shagari regime. Later, the Buhari/Idiagbon administration established tribunals to trial some of the politicians who had held public office, particularly governors. The tribunals were regaled with accounts of how a French business supported one of the country's major political parties, as well as the backroom dealings between multinational corporations and government officials that halted the country's Ajaokuta Steel Development Project (Alli, 2010).
General Ibrahim Babangida's and Sani Abacha's succeeding military governments were far worse. According to Ibrahim (2003), Babangida and Abacha merely escalated corruption to the level of statecraft. He goes on to say that the state was completely "prebendalized," and that practically all of the laws of public expenditure were broken. Advance fee fraud (419) is said to have originated during the Babangida government. One of the most egregious examples of corruption during the Babangida dictatorship was his inability to account for a $12.4 billion oil windfall resulting from surplus oil sales during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. This affair has been an albatross around General Babangida's neck. The findings, which came as a result of a research by a group led by famous economist Pius Okigbo, was recently re-echoed (Ibrahim, 2003) cited in (Lemdi and Fredrick, 2018).
Under the auspices of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a coalition of civil society organizations including Access to Justice, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Nigeria Liberty Forum, Women Advocacy and Documentation Centre, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, Partnership for Justice, and the Nigeria Voters Assembly wrote a petition. SERAP included a copy of the Okigbo panel report in the appeal to the AGF, but he told the organization that he couldn't depend on the copy supplied to him to take action since the report wasn't in government archives (Anya, 2010).
General Abacha was described as a megalomaniac who looted the treasury. Aiyetan (2005) succinctly summarizes his case:
"In five years of tyranny and rampant thievery, Sani Abacha blinded the country, immobilized the government apparatus, and impoverished the populace. He stole $1.13 billion and £413 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria's vaults between 1993 and 1998, as well as returns from fictitious and inflated contracts that he ordered to be transferred into bank accounts abroad...he not only pocketed security votes but also engaged in direct printing of the nation's currency, among other heinous acts. By the time he died in 1998, Abacha and his family had amassed a fortune of up to $3 billion, which was stashed in more than 130 bank accounts both at home and abroad ".
Furthermore, between 1999 and 2007, when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was President, certain high-profile examples of corruption were also documented. The national identity card fraud involving SAGEM, SA of France; the $180 million bribery scandal involving Halliburton's subsidiary-Kellogg Brown and Roots (KBR) in connection with the country's Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) platform in Bonny; the 17.5 million euro Siemens-Pentascope deal; the N2.3 billion car scam in the House of Representatives; and the N3.5 billion car scam in the Senate were among the most notable (Alli, 2010).
As a result of the preceding, it can be deduced that corruption is one of the key issues inhibiting Nigeria's socio-economic growth as a post-colonial state. Corruption begets lousy governance and lack of accountability, according to an avalanche of evidence, both qualitative and quantitative. To put it another way, there's a link between corruption, poor governance, and a lack of accountability. Corruption is defined as the use of public office for personal gain and self-interest. It has resulted in unimaginable suffering and unrelenting poverty, as well as being characterized as the most significant impediment to socio-economic growth (WorldBank, 1997 and 2007).
Corruption, according to Tanzi and Davoodi (1997) and Lambsdorff (2008), undermines and weakens essential development institutions; it obstructs equitable income distribution, infrastructure development, and the efficient production of products and services in a nation. Corruption, for example, is blamed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Nigeria's ranking as one of the world's poorest countries, with poverty, food insecurity, poor nutrition and sanitation, a high rate of illiteracy, a high infant/maternal mortality rate, and a lack of infrastructure, among other issues (Adejumobi, 2010).
Based on its Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Transparency International (TI) listed Nigeria as the 13th most corrupt country in the world out of 146 nations in 2005; in 2007, Nigeria was placed 32nd, and in 2008, it was placed 17th. In addition, TI placed Nigeria 130th out of 180 nations examined in 2009. Nigeria received a 2.5 on a scale of ten. Nigeria was outperformed by a number of other African countries. Mozambique, Mauritania, Libya, Tanzania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Togo, Sao Tome and Principe, Mali, Egypt, Algeria, Niger, Gambia, Gabon, Benin, Zambia, Senegal, Madagascar, Liberia, Rwanda, and Lesotho are the countries involved. A few other African countries were also ranked as having low levels of corruption. Botswana is ranked 37th, Mauritius is 42nd, Cape Verde is 46th, and Seychelles is 54th (Akinyemi 2010).
However, it is worth noting that several anti-corruption institutions and processes were formed under the administration of former President Obasanjo. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was established in 2004 through the Establishment Act; the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission was established in 2000 through the Establishment Act; the Code of Conduct Bureau; the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit; e-Government; the Public Procurement Bureau; and the Due Process of Office, among others (Nwaolikpe, 2018).
In light of the aforementioned, it is argued that the media plays a critical role and has a heavy burden in the fight against and reporting of corruption in Nigeria. The media, in addition to being the fourth estate of the realm, or the fourth most important institution in society after the executive, legislature, and judiciary, are also watchdogs against corruption, abuse of authority, deception, and incompetence (Nwaolikpe, 2018).
The mass media play an important part in the growth and awareness of any nation; they give information, education, entertainment, integration, and social contact in a country by providing insight into societal events and assisting in the growth of a country.
The goal of this study is to see how the general public perceives the role of the media in reporting on recovered looted funds in Nigeria, particularly Abacha's looted funds.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Corruption abounds in Nigeria in practically all aspects of human activity, with the most pervasive corruption perpetrated by public officials and high-ranking government officials through the years. The importance of the media drumming up a strong anti-corruption message is critical. The media has played a critical role in informing the public about current events in the country through campaigns and programs, as well as news and editorial material.
Apart from the anti-corruption institutions and processes established in Nigeria, particularly after 1999, it is undeniable that the media has played a critical role in the country's battle against corruption. Section 22 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Constitution specifically states that "the press, radio, television, and other agencies of the mass media should at all times be free to...uphold the Government's obligation and accountability to the people." As a result, the media's role in promoting, preserving, and consolidating strong democratic governance and accountability is reinforced by the media's ability to fight corruption in the country by reporting on events to the general public.
Furthermore, the media is supposed to educate and inform the public on societal corruption, particularly grand and bureaucratic corruption. While the media is required to work with anti-graft authorities in this regard, they should also serve as a check on these agencies' operations.
Some scholars, such as Ciboh (2010), argue that there is a scarcity of corruption news/information in the media, and that the media focuses more on politics and public affairs than on corruption, whereas Egbuna (2007) claims that the media in Nigeria has remained one of the most vocal on the continent, and that their role in exposing corruption in both the public and private sectors has been significant.
As a result of these two opposing viewpoints on the role of the media in the battle against corruption in Nigeria, it's important to consider how the general public views the role of the media in reporting on recovered looted funds in Nigeria, particularly Abacha's looted funds.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The study's overall purpose was to assess the public perception of the role of mass media in reportage of recovered looted funds. The study, on the other hand, was focused on achieving these precise goals.
- To find out how the public perceive the role of the newspaper media in reporting Abacha’s recovered looted funds.
- To examine if knowledge of Abacha’s recovered looted funds is of importance to the public.
- To determine the extent of newspaper media reports on Abacha's recovered looted funds.
- To examine the prominence given to reports of Abacha's recovered looted funds by the newspaper media.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were posed in accordance with the study's objectives:
- How do the public perceive the role of the mass media in reporting Abacha’s recovered looted funds?
- Is the knowledge of Abacha’s recovered looted funds of importance to the public?
- To what extent has newspaper media reports on Abacha's recovered looted funds?
- What is the is prominence given to reports of Abacha's recovered looted funds by the newspaper media?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The researcher was motivated to conduct this research because he saw a need to make a substantial contribution to knowledge in this field.
The study would be extremely useful to both the Nigerian media and the general public, who are, after all, media consumers. The media is sometimes referred to be the society's watchdogs, since they not only amuse but also educate, enlighten, and inform people about events both close and far.
If the media does not cover, report, and broadcast daily events; if they do not examine and investigate irregularities and report findings; and if they do not create avenues for the public to contribute their own opinion as part of corporate citizenship, everyone will feel excluded from societal development.
To that aim, the conclusions of this study will serve as a guide for broadcast media practitioners on how to effectively cover corruption in Nigeria, such as this type of theft, in order to promote a transparent and accountable government system.
The intelligent community (Police, SSS, Military, EFCC, etc.) will also benefit from the findings of this study, as it will highlight the need to build a common bridge between the media and intelligent communities, thereby expediting the fight against corruption (looting), money laundering, and other issues.
As a result, this research will serve as a foundation and a lighthouse for future research on the role of the media in reporting on recovered looted funds, as well as other studies in this field.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study focuses on finding out how the public perceive the role of the newspaper media in reporting Abacha’s recovered looted funds. The study will also investigate if knowledge of Abacha’s recovered looted funds is of importance to the public. Also, the study will look into the the extent of newspaper media reports on Abacha's recovered looted funds. Furthermore, the study will examine the Prominence given to reports of Abacha's recovered looted funds by the newspaper media.
This study will be delimited to print media using five newspapers in Lagos State as a case study. The five newspapers sampled are The Punch, Vanguard, The Nation, The Guardian, and This Day. The residents of Lagos state serve as enrolled participants for this study.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
Mass Media: Mass media means technology that is intended to reach a mass audience. It is the primary means of communication used to reach the vast majority of the general public. The most common platforms for mass media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the Internet
Media: media are all those media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. They are messages communicated through a mass medium to a number of people. According to “Wikipedia” Media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting, and advertising.
Newspaper: a printed publication (usually issued daily or weekly) consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, articles, advertisements, and correspondence.
Public Perception: A belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem.
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