A peep into ‘media and Nigeria’s constitutional democracy…’

Edited works are astir times high-quality works. The crushed is that they are a conflation of intelligence resources. In them, we person an assembly of writers approaching a taxable from antithetic perspectives. They past deepen the scope of approaches, the breadth of investigation and the width of understanding. Works that are edited autumn wrong the modern appreciation of associated work, particularly Journal articles. Joint probe is becoming the fad, successful highly rated diary articles, for the expected aggregation of efforts, successful the bid to seizure the all-pervading essences of quality activity.

In the lawsuit of a book, we person authors submitting copies and past we person respective different writers editing them, successful enactment with the blind, adjacent reappraisal mechanism. Some of the copies are besides joint, adding to the separated spice of inputs. What it translates to is the densification of ideas, the compaction of notions and the signification of caller trends from a multileveled outlook. Engaging books similar this, is, therefore, an accidental to savour the outputs of writers from antithetic flanks, a variegated worldview and differing socialization. The scholar is past exposed, lone from 1 portion of literature, to immoderate fulsome details astir a taxable having been produced by a scope of experts.

That is the batch of the publication we are presenting today, entitled “Media and Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy: Civic Space, Free Speech, and the Battle for Freedom of the Press”, edited by the trinity of Paul Obi, Taye Obateru and Sam Amadi. It is simply a 162-page collection, divided into 10 chapters, covering antithetic subthemes, pointing astatine the halfway taxable of law ideology and escaped speech.

The publication begins with an instauration inviting america to the past and modern struggles of the property with the authorities implicit the close to escaped speech. The instauration uses modern and past instances of campaigns to show however the authorities has tried to muffle the press, forgetting that the property is the reflector of views successful beforehand of actions for maturation and development.

Freedom, it suggests, is simply a ground for progress, fixed that it enhances fulfilment, starring to optimization of potentials and past progression, leveraging connected the evident show of the people’s possibilities. Caging the property translates to caging the thoughts of the people. And erstwhile thoughts are suppressed, ideas are buried, evening up to stasis, and past the dearth of knowing and cognition for development. The section signposted the destination of the book, readying the scholar for the rigorous enactment conscionable ahead.

The section aft comes with the portion of Amadi who disputes notions astir the dawn of the statement connected the Freedom of the Press, from the assemblage times to the contiguous post-colonial period, earlier zeroing successful connected contiguous times. In his input, entitled “Assessing the Legal Protection of Freedom of the Press successful Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy” his ineligible inheritance formed the ground of his didactic exploration, helping him to present arguments astir the property and law democracy, the property and cardinal quality rights, the spot of the measure of rights, state of expression, and shades of judicial interventions. He concluded by regretting ambiguities successful the constitution, the diminution of standards successful the mentation of the law, and the improbable realization of the envisaged freedom, prevention the judiciary becomes overmuch much responsive to the challenges of protecting the rights of man.

Paul Obi stepped successful with his nonfiction entitled “Media Censorship of Nigerian Presidential Elections? Navigating Candidates, Campaigns, and the Monetary Democracy Theory” wherever helium was laborious successful his valuation of the narration betwixt the authorities and the media, and however they person fared successful Africa and the planetary South. Obi suspected censorship of media successful the people of illiberal elections, done subliminal but effectual mechanisms, due to the fact that of the unfastened assertion to democracy. A instrumentality of Keane’s Monitory Democracy Theory” helium implicated, from an investigation, deliberate and subtle measures of control, which deadens the capableness of functionaries, portion calling for immoderate signifier of countermand done determined investigative reporting.

Taye Obateru came next, changing the communicative by focusing connected ethical matters, successful “Who Watches the Watchdog? Ethical Interrogation of Self-Censorship successful the Nigeria Media” Obateru provided a wide representation of the shades of unfreedoms successful the media, drafting parallels from crossed the world, earlier harping connected the productivity of nonrecreational ethics. To the writer, the question of self-censorship is important capable to find the ratio of the practice. This, helium added, tin beryllium effectuated done subscription to ethics, which is often the bedrock of invaluable proficiency.

Bridget Onochie, Lasisi Olagunju, Paul Ogwu and Paul Obi past stepped successful with their portion connected “The Shrinking Civic Space: Journalism Hazards, Risks, and Contemporary Media Resistance to Censorship successful Nigeria” wherein they x-rayed the galore instances of the clampdown connected the press, whether connected the traditional, caller oregon connected the societal media. These, they saw, arsenic closing the spaces of interaction, the nationalist sphere of exchanges and the spaces of ideation. From the decease of Journalists to harassment and imprisonments, they railed astatine the unpleasant experiences, earlier clamouring for freedom, done levels of media advocacy, amongst different mechanisms.

For IgomuOnoja who joined the arguments successful “National Broadcasting Commission, Nigerian Press and the Media: Regulation successful the Age of Information Fluidity”, the writer highlighted the value of regulation, but not astatine the disbursal of a ballot for ethics, adjacent review, and the support of independence. Government interventions should beryllium marginal, if astatine all, fixed the inclination to overdo, and the likelihood of this affecting the creativity and ingenuity of the media.

Another nonfiction “Walking the Tightrope of National Security: Interrogating Public Interest versus the Politics of Media Censorship successful Nigeria”emanated done Ibrahim Uba Yusuf, Senator Iroegbu, and Sani K. Usman, wherever they interrogated questions astir National Security, National Question, and work of the practitioner to the nation-state. While charging the writer to beryllium moderated connected sensitivities, they besides asked authorities to beryllium nary little businesslike successful engaging the media practitioner.

The taxable of the infinitesimal arose successful Chapter 8, “Technology, the Internet. Social Media, and Online Free Speech successful Nigeria”, arsenic examined by Joseph Chukwu. This section was seminal successful evaluating the improvement of media exertion and however it has shaped the satellite we are presently in, by redefining social, economical and powerfulness relations and however it has triggered national information successful statecraft. It captured the caller times, providing a breather of sorts to the density of expositions connected accepted media successful chapters prior.

Joe Babalola Bankole picked connected Information ministers successful his nonfiction “Deconstructing the Fourth Estate Ideals and the Quest for Free Speech: A Study of the Speeches of Nigeria’s Minister of Information connected the Role of the Media (2015-2022)” Compact, breezy and astatine erstwhile impactful, the section was investigative connected however ministers charged with the accusation portfolio person fared, successful summation to their places successful the determination of freedoms. Using applicable examples, Babalola regretted grounds of curtaining media state successful the guise of dealing with fake quality and thereby limiting the essence of democracy.

The editors concluded with an invitation to scholars to place areas uncovered, for further studies, portion re-emphasizing the nobility of property freedom, the value of increasing its civilization and its intrinsic essence successful social, law and antiauthoritarian evolutions. Overall, the publication is what we tin telephone a collectors’ item, so an fantabulous bid to mates assistance and journalism thoughts successful 1 loop, if you look astatine the blend of writers connected parade.

Regardless, it is somewhat fto down by inadequate references successful immoderate instances, portion successful others, the references were listed, but determination was nary grounds of consulting them successful the assemblage of the articles. Though grammar is mostly standard, much due to the fact that the writers are practised, immoderate articles presented arsenic world pieces, were riddled with journalese.

These are, however, not capable to diminish the book’s credentials arsenic an outstanding work, and a unique, unexampled publication to the assemblage of knowledge, the endless conversations connected the spot of the property successful a law democracy. Great enactment by large writers, it truthful remains. Congratulations, Paul and company. More grease.
• Abiodun Adeniyi, Professor of Communication, is the Dean, School Of Post-Graduate Studies, Baze University, Abuja.