Politics, Media and Economic development

The present economic reality of the country suggests that all available institutions in the country have to be on their toes to revive her economy. Every society is made up of institutions that contribute to its development. One of such institution is the mass media which are powerful tools for public orientation, sensitization, and awareness. 

The media is also a weapon for mass manipulation. No wonder, a former president of the United States said ‘were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter’. This shows the significance of the press in the society.

President Buhari rode to Aso rock on the Mantra that he will fight corruption to a standstill in Nigeria. Times without number, the president reiterated that corruption is the major problem hindering the development of the country. Indeed, the media has been very supportive of the president fight against corruption. 

At least, the media has identified with the president that there is a need to purge out corruption out of our system. However, it seems this is not enough as Nigeria has found herself in its worst economic recession in 29years according to the National Bureau of Statistics. 

The inability of the past administration to save for the rainy days, the overdependence on foreign products, and the fall in oil price are some major reasons identified by experts as the cause of Nigeria present economic woes.

In reactions to this, we have read on the pages of newspapers, news magazines, online media and seen on the screen of television on how the two major political parties play the blame game. 

Economic experts have been invited on television programmes, articles, and editorials have been written to analyze the present economic situation and also proffer solutions on ways to bring Nigeria out of economic recession. 

It will be an injustice to our media outlets to say they have been doing nothing to help the country, though the fight may not be enough; they have to an extent pulled one.

We are in a democratic dispensation which gives the media more freedom to operate, therefore, the media have all arsenal in its possession to propel the country out of the present state while maintaining in all ramification the journalistic principles of objectivity, fairness, and balance. On this, our media outlets should understand that national interest should be their major interest. 

Newspapers In Nigeria

Economic recession is a threat to national security and must be treated with utmost importance. Mass media serve as a forum of public orientation. Nigerians orientation on locally produced goods has to change. 

The truth is even if we stop the importation or ban foreign products and produce goods locally without Nigerians patronizing the goods, our purpose has been defeated. It is left to our media to work on Nigerians psyche on local products, encourage its purchase and we will have a reason to smile again.

Another agenda of the president regarding the economy is to encourage diversification. Nigeria overdependence on oil as its major source of revenue is telling on the country’s economy. The global oil price is not encouraging and the president has reiterated the need to explore other areas like Agriculture and solid minerals. 

This invariably means Nigerians have to pull down the gown of ‘its oil or nothing’ syndrome. The youth are therefore encouraged to divert their mental focus to agriculture. This is another solution to bring the country out of economic recession.

Instead of vulgar display of the wealth of celebrity in our national dailies, online medium, and magazines, power tussle among politicians, our focus should be on Agriculture- the media should encourage our youths to go farming. If this is aided with government effort, we will go far in terms of agriculture.  

The rate of unemployment has been on the rise over the years. Entrepreneurship has a role to play in economic development. The media, therefore, have a demanding task to promote self-development. Intense galvanization and mobilization of our youths to embrace entrepreneurship should be a major goal of our national media.

Furthermore, there is a need to identify another vital area in which our media outlets are performing below expectation. The country’s image in the international media has already being bastardized, subjected to ridicule and painted negatively. This will get worst when investors see your media being pessimistic about you. 

This is quite bad when you look at it from the angle of foreign investment. No investor will invest in a country where all around the news media is portrayed negatively. The truth is we don’t like their story and according to a Nigeria literary icon, Late Chinua Achebe ‘if you don’t like someone’s story, write your own’, he told the Paris review in 1994. Our media outlets should write our stories positively. Irrespective of our other side, Nigeria has her good side. 

Our media should not be used to fight us. When investors see you in good light, they are attracted to you without fear. They invest in your country. This is good for us at this time.

However, it should be noted that a corrupt institution driven by personal and ownership interests will find it hard to play the key roles stated above. Nigerian journalists have to purge out corruption out of their system. Corrupt journalists may be worse than corrupt judges because they have the power to vitiate the moral fabric of the society. They are dangerous to the bones and blood of the society. 

In Philippine, the present president vowed to kill corrupt journalists. One may not blame him because to get rid of corruption; you have to get rid of corruption first in the press. Our media men and women should lead by examples because their connection and interaction with other key institutions will go a long way in leading Nigeria out of her present economic misery.

Contact Omolaoye Sodiq on Kennisworld4real@gmail.com