Using the media as a tool for Eradicating Corruption in Nigeria

Using the media as a tool for Eradicating Corruption in Nigeria

Using the media as a tool for Eradicating Corruption in Nigeria – A lot  has been said and done about media as an instrument for eradicating corruption as in effect of Obasanjo’s anti-corruption crusade, a case study of Nigeria television authority .
In this case, one will be forced to ask a question like, what is media that it has a powerful instrument that its capable of processing hidden crises? What is corruptions that makes it so sensational, media is usually know as mass communication a channel through which messages are disseminated, examples are television, radio, newspapers journal magazines, house journal etc. again it is a medium of exchange of ideas it is also a channel by which message or information is encoded and decoded to the final audience why  of possible a powerful instrument is that it is a watch dog of the society. It has no boundary in gathering and dissemination of information that the courageous operators of media that is journalist even lost their lives, being detained harassed, molested sustain indelible marks in pursuit of information concerning hidden crisis. A good example is late Debe Giwa founder of Newswatch magazine who was killed with a letter bomb for the sake of secret information of fake sundering of drug baron Gloria Okon that why media is hidden crisis processing
What corruption is that makes it to be sensational is that it has multi-dimensional in its facet, which are illegal award of contract lobbying of ten percent syndrome indiscipline unpatriotic ailment,, fraudsters, bad names and bloody practices etc.
Another is the issue of illegal award of contract a good example is the reconstruction of Akwata bridge along coal camp and Ogbete Enugu. On gets shocks whenever he is told the amount of money expended to put the road a good shape. Now taken a sort ride to the area, you will find out that the unpatriotic attitude of Nigerians was shone in black and white. While the road was published as job will done only to collapse after six months.
Another aspect of corruption is Godfatherism where much amend Abacha who was not able to press out through Nigeria army  training is now richer than his owa country Nigeria. Examination malpractices whereby house of representative president was able to falsify certificate that enable him succeed as the representative president. Another person is chief Evans Enwerem who as the president of the senate was able to falsify his age to be qualified as the  president. coming  to the  issue of fraudsters, it is an ear sour that a who president of a country and his wife will give decree that anybody found quality of drug trafficking is liable for death sentence only to go back and use a spinster know as Miss Gloria Okon to be pursing contain for them our exposing and arresting them by drug agency she was ordered by the president Babangida and his wife to send her to London and  kill another person and send to hr Cross River state and bury, thereby ordered that all other people involved be killed by firing squared. As case may be Dele Giwa of Newswatch founder on discovering the impersonation, recorded very discussion with her, only to return Nigeria to be greeted with letter bomb from Babangida inorder to silence the truth thereby Abacha did not stop from where Babangida stopped rather he continue to carryout more and more bloody, practices bringing bad names to Nigerian and Nigerians respectively that they are always regarded s criminals, evil doers 419 indiscipline at international airports that warrants searching even ministers so long as you are a Nigerian entering into any foreign country. All these are what prompted Obasanjo to launch crusade against corruption and using a sophisticated medium like Nigeria television authority as a case study to  bring to the native of the whole world what is at stake in Nigeria and swear not to relented his effort until he transfers down those that are involved in the a evil art.
Knowing that corruption is against human nature, if carries a lot of disadvantages along it kills the ethics that guide human nature if deform/ moral principles as well it play against the law of the land .it prevents justice vitiate populace or discrimination the society it creates the attitude of the big fish eating small fish.
Corruption introduced loss of foreign investment, diminution to respect lack of trust it inculcates criminal behaviours distorted vision and loss of confidence which in turn leads to lack of trust and loss of credibility.
Fro instance the issue of president Abacha late sponsoring and order ranked soldier after giving him double promotion then sending him to North Korea to learn belf defense and assassination who graduated and  return to carryout for him killing mission and training others who always helped him in killing innocent Nigeria, turning Nigeria into personal territory and criminal ground.
Again he invites distortion of vision by turning  Nigeria into personnel territory and visualizing that only Hause race will be ruling  Nigeria and plans succeed himself as life president. In a situation like this unrest affects human nature badly in that development is zero because them is no freedom of movement, one cannot invest in another ones state for fear being told that his/her property as being not an indigene of Hausa land and as well foreign investment is loosed because as Nigerians like indiscrimination facing coup after coup and bloody and fowl acts or practices foreigners do read and watch al these things through the help of the media and at times self experience will not risk their life as well as their properties to  the country they know to ell on evil activities and when too well on evil activities and when tit is like this, development suffers because everything will be at a stand stilt.
Then the consequence of these state of affairs for the entire political system is enormous as eventually leads to loss of legitimacy on the part of those who govern and event political instability which president Obasanjo and his administration tries to avoid which promoted the anti- corruption crusade (a case study of Nigeria television authority and as well his sure to court all the people that were involve in the bloody practices for if not so others will do is worse things than Abacha and his cohorts having in mind that nothing steps to trace those hidden crimes others will have a second thought.
In a sensitive issue like the society looks forward to the media so as to know of the media is to win the battle or to loose the battle, the fore as the shape of events so far  one may draw a conclusion that the media did not keep mum, they did not relent effort in brining to the notice of the poor masses the position of their lives an proportions w\even where it tend to cost them of their lives
Hence, the media has that little opportunity called the law of the press which protected them from freedom of expression freedom of movement, and freedom for fear  hearing, this enable them to act and won the battle in that whatever is published as a story turn out a story and whatever they said this not newsworthy is just like that, and that was why we had a publication like Obaseki out at NNPC it was published at vanguard November 4, 2003. the press did not withheld this topic rather they go to corruption issue in the publication of Guardian December 27, 2003,where the independent corrupt practices and other related offences commission otherwise know ad the ICPC which was headed by justice mustapha Akanubi who fired over allegation of corrupt practices on government officials like the former government officials like the former minister of labour and productivity Alhaji Husa aniri Akwanga, he was sacked and later  arrested by sectary agencies for involvement in a $ 214m scan in the Jinx national identity card scheme,. .also the press also revealed these that are held into custody like the former minister of internal affairs. chief  Sunday Afolab, the national secretary of the people democratic party Alhaji Mohammed Shata and Ddr. Okewesurieze Nwodo a former governor of Enugu state.
If not the press who is in the position to bring to the poor masses on how the North .Non Alhaji Mohammed Bulama which was published at the news and financial crime commission EFCC dragged him to court for his embezzlement. Therefore the press the winner of the battle against corruption.
Again,, in the publication of the News February 16, 2004. the press did not keep  mum in exposing and  bring to nook how Emma Nwudu, Amaka Anayamba and their accomplices who were the worlds biggest advance free fraud best. Despite the fact they  have robbed a Braziliabanlk but with the help of a\economic and financial crimes commission they were being prosecuted.

2.2    LESSONS FROM SINGAPORE
Talking about keeping the government clean learned from the Singapore experience that it is easy to start off with moral  standard, strong conviction and determination to bid down corruption. But it is difficult to live to these good intentions unless the leaders and strong and determined enough to deal with all transgressors and without exception. Obasanjo may be strong but has clearly demonstrate lack of commitment and determination seeing this current fight to a. while Singapore inherited an island without the hinterland, Nigeria inherited the hinterland, the island ad even the  “cursed black gold underground. while Singapore is nurturing and attracting talents, we are nurturing talents and forcing. Them to abandon the motherland .just like the pendulum bob is forced to vibrate in an experiment to determine the gravitational constant. While Singapore has many tongues but one language, we have many beautiful tongues ad cultures, as well as much ugly language that are unfortunately vibrating out of resources, emitting artificial signals. With our  body and heart, we have still failed to keep  our hands clear ever with the due process nomenclature.
In Nigeria today, there are more than three thousands, “schools” that can teach you how to do everything from obtaining an international passport without going to the  immigration office, obtaining a driving license without a driving test, producing sachets of pure’ water without the necessary machinery non NAFDAC certification .however, there is no single school that will teach us how to be any biter than a medicals (as we currently are) unless we develop the right mental attitude. The recent fight against corruption with Balogu and Osuyi has clearly demonstrated the present administration lack the right mental attitude in approaching the endevou corruption and corrupt practices in the government circle. The dramatized dismissed from office a\is not the end of corruption in Nigeria. it is not even  the beginning of the end. The fight against corruption from inception(may 29 1999) has been like dreaming and sleeping. The Obsanjo administration, ICCP, economic and financial crime commission or whatever  name they wish to give themselves should wet up and note that there is no thrill in almost doing any thing in the gave of life. They should be recommended that the thrill comes fro, accomplishment and many times the  difference between accomplishment and failure is having the right mental attitude. Absolutely nothing has been achieve in the current fight  against corruption.
The way forward
If there is any formula for the success in the fight against corruption, it has to be  the ability to on stantly learn how to make things work, how to learn on the job and hearing quickly. Elbr Hubbard once said that nothing great as ever been achieved without much enthusiasm. The enthusiasm in our current fight against corruption should and must be demonstrated through the trial and sentencing of corrupt government officials and their collaborators, no mater how highly placed they are, are all sick of the TV drama that comes to total  nonsense.
When the present administration came to office they made a great play of their total honesty and dedication. Six years today, everything remains the same favoritism, nepotism, covert and overt corruption has infected high places. The whole society has  degraded as opportunity masqueraded as democrats and achieved “elicopter wealth by embezzling public fund.
We need a government that will establish a climate of option that looks upon corruption in public office as a threat to the society. We need a generation of leaders with honesty as a habit. A generation of leaders that will at their lives in jeopardy of achieve power not to enrich themselves (as our current leaders and doing but, to change the Nigeria society, we need to establish the feeling that we are one people sharing a  common destiny. We need an economy with sustainable growth which will ensure testability, encourage investments and crate wealth. These we have not done with the current cop of leaders.
Finally, the fight against corruption has been hit by an earthquake, it has been judged and found wanting. It is time for re-organization and re-engineering a change in the mental and moral diet of our leaders, by applying their fight mental attitude toward putting corrupt individuals behind bars. That will mark the beginning of the beginning in the fight against corruption, until then, we will continue to dance naked in the sum.

CAN THE OBASANJO REGIME SUSTAIN THE MOMENTUM?
Since he manager atom of the anti- great Act 2000, ant- corruption crusade has remained a household vocabulary in Nigeria. As Edison (June 2003 notes, institutions, which have varies definitions, could formally be defined in terms of the degree t\of property rights protections, the degree to which laws and regulations are fairly applied and the extent of corruption. Without appropriate social polices and good institution and without the people and companies enjoying meaningful properly rights and reliable courts. And with improving governments and reducing corruption and conflicts and other basic market institution (Rogoff, June 2003) economic growth and prosperity will continue to elude Nigeria.
To sustain the momentum on the crusade against corruption, Nigeria needs valve education (to teach eh valued necessary for good citizenship and law –abiding society).experts in human development have note that valued education. Enables a society to survey and to thrive (to keep its intact and to grow toward conditions that support full human development of all its members), therefore, Nigeria youths, like those in other  democratic ,need some dose of moral education to enable them differentiate  between right and wrong and become responsible adults, because democracies have a special need for moral education. The absence of moral education in Nigerian schools is probably he main cause of the leadership problem facing he nation today, because those who have made respectable life style through cooked mans are role model today in communities across the land. Thos who want a piece of the national cake through the back door are devising ways to thrash the system. And the justification is that everyone is doing that As a result, the society is today littered with Ghana- must Go beg politicians who are concerned only about what they will get from the country and not how to fruity the resources for eh benefit of all in the society.
Despite eh fact, president Olusegun Obasanjo has counted many enemies because of his determination to tackle the monitor of corruption, which illegally benefits just a few but deprives millions of ordinary  Nigerians sine be was elected in 1999 and reelected in 2003, he has left none in any doubt about his resolve to restore the international image of Nigeria, which had been terribly tenanted by endemic corruption. no nation can even attain progress when its resources are massively looked by corrupt politicians and other public officer holders. In fact in our society public office is not perceived as service to the people but as an opportunity for a greedy few to father their nests at the expenses of millions of poor citizens. The tragedy is that despite Nigeria being the sixth largest oil produce in the world, the qualify of the lives of  the masses in remark measurable. While corrupt officials have stashed away billions of dollars abroad, which originated from criminal incomes, millions of ordinary Nigerians continue to battle with poverty disease and a hopeless future .it is  not enough to condemn Obasanjo’s anti-corruption remains entrenched and tolerated by the society, such a nation will ultimately pay dearly for its indifferent or apathy to this social and economic evil. Admittedly, fighting corruption will make any leaders who resolves to fight it become unpopular in the eyes of those who make huge founds at public expense and not through honest labour. The president made no prentice that fighting corruption would fetch him admirers, on the contrary, such a moral crusade will naturally create enemies for him, mainly those greedy and venal Nigerians who disdain hard work and therefore choose corruption as the shortest route to instant wealth. in order to blackmail the president into going up the anti-corruption crusade the enemies of his ethical reforms in public life  are accusing him of insincerity and  double standard. Such is the selection memory the apply in order to be little his efforts in this regard. but evidence abounds to disprove the notion that the president is not sincere in this Afolabi, the prosecution of a former inspector- General of policy Alhaji Tafa Ballogun, and the dismissal of a former minister of housing Mrs. Mobolaji Osomo were fighting this a\war without sentiments. Afolabi was a very close friend of the president but that did  not prevent justice from taking its course, and more significantly, both Afolabi and Balogun were Obsaano kinsmen. yet that did not create and emotional; dilemma for the president in terms of surrendering to sentiments.
However before this time Nigerian at home and Diaspora have seized every available opportunity to discuss corruption that has been a viable enterprises in government and in private circles. In the process many ideas have been cankerworm. but as more solution are proffered those itching to get a price  of the corruption pie seem to have devised better ways of milk the nation dry, saddy, those occupying political offices are these main caprices. Until the furring of Alhaji Hussanin Zannuwa Akwanga in conntection to the illegal involve in the $ 214 million national  identity card scan eh anti- graft commission and been a toothless ball dog for a while now, hardly any day would pass without the national dailies reporting one type of corruption scandal or the other far instance  the rsuhile BPE General director  and the current minister for FCT Mallam Nasi El-Rufai courageously reported that two senators (Jonathan Zwingina and Ibrahim Manta) demanded N54 million from him to clear his minsiteral nomination. The this day of Nov. 23, 2003 reported that the justice Obiora Nwazita judicial commission of injuring that investigated the mismanagement of Nigeria airway has indicated many prominent Nigerians. This is not to mention the havoc that is being crusade by the thin gods- the so-called godfathers in Anambra state, eh senate contract scan that led to idris Katu panel export and the unresolved political assassinations during the run-up to the 2003 elections. We cannot catalog all the corruption case in the society, but must not miss to mention that the ICPC was reportedly ready, to prosecute some government  over corruption allegation, but for some resend restarted, worse  still the congress ) a group that should spearhead the war against corruption) has often dismissed of corruption charges brought against their members without conducting thorough investigation (the El-rufai bribery -very exposure in a case in such fraudulent activities involved in such fraudulent activities seem to suggest to the ordinary persons in eh street that it does  not pay  to be honest, hardworking any law abiding.
Sadly the authorizes of not blink, because some of them get their shake of the bounty. Thus the system seems to have allowed corruption to blossom, yet, the ICPC and president Olusegun Obsanbjo vowed to give the resurge looters a good fight for this many people seem to envision as an impossible task eh concept of building a butler niira from the one that has been rewired by corruption.
As mention earlier, the public with the dismissal of the labout minister has received the news of wanted for a long time. Thus the ICPC and the president seem to have developed the political muscle to battle ebbing shots that have been looking the national treasury impurity. and quite uncharacteristic of the federal government and the ICPC other individuals who participated in the closed fraud were mentioned (daily champion, Dece5, 2003), but the question now is can the Obasanjo regime sustain the momentum.
Although the step taken to bring order to the chaos in the society is praiseworthy, this writer hopes that the firing to the labour minister is not designed to show to the commonwealth heads of government currently meting in Abuja that the Obasanjo regime is serious about it anti- corruption crusade. in the past some ministered .government political  Aides and political connected with those in the corridors of power were given a slap or the  wrist for being caught with their hand in the cookie jar. however, if the commission is now awoke from slumber (and serious with its functions)., it should bring al those involved in national identity card scone to book. It should also look around the lard sap ay prosecute the thieves that are masquerading s politicians polices any custom officers, political contractors, and the judges who have seized very opportunity to issue.

2.3    SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW
Corruption has been reviewed by an oxford advance learners dictionary of current English written by A.S Hoeby as an immoral actions, depraved ailment dishonesty through offering and accepting bribes, u\improve though bloody practices debased of errors alteration falsifying of age, embezzlement of illegal  possession of acquisition of wealth.
Tell magazine 29th July 2002 as was announced   by Nigeria television authority Enugu during their network news which staled the evil against democracy category A toll.
Walter Nanji of Nigeria television authority Enugu 2002, announced the reward the 75 years old industrialist and financier of the national, orate coalitions NADECO. Late Dele Giwa the founder of newswatch andeditor inchief was assassinated with special letter bomb late Alahajah Kurdiart Abiloa with a epical bullet MKO Abiola was arête etc all were the victims of corruption and a good evidence of what motivated president Olusegun Obasanjo crude against corruption.
The ness 15th November 2002 editors comment registered corruption black and white. Titled Abubakar and  N42b in seven days. Although he has a dull mien nature compensated him with a smart brain. Abudulsalam, Abubaka Alias opportunity comes but once got Nigerians executives handing over power to them and directed their attention society. The devised ways to justify the expenditure of $42 billion naira in seven days,. After al as a solder who came and saw must conquer to him, if he man who simply poked 12 billion dollars of Gulf war windfall and annulled the feat elected sis till free Nigeria should be able to put with N42billion in charge for honouring the election for getting that history has honoured anyone who betrayed public trust

2.4    THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In this study, the research used two media affects theories like Aganda setting theory and cultivation theories.
AGENDA SETTING THEORY
Aganda setting describe a very power fail influence of the media the ability to  tell us what issues, are important. those issues or individuals that the media choose to publicize ultimately become eh issues and individuals we think and talk about. According to the theory, those topics, issues and individuals we think becomes important because of the  of the media attention they received. The elements involved in agenda setting include:
1.    The quantity or frequency for exporting
2.    Prominence given to eh reporters through headlines display, pictures ad layout in newspaper, magazine film, graphics or trimming on radio and television.
3.    The degree of conflict generated in the reports
In the course of this study, the media did not relent effort to the notice of the poor masses the issues in the society and expose corruption in the country.

CULTIVATION THEORY
The theory t (propounded by Gerbmar gross signareelli and Morgan, 1980. 1986) assets that the mass media especially television extents a tremendous influence by altering individual perception of reality. Today television serves as a major medium from which most societies acquire their consciousness, belief, narrow and values. The media, especially television has subsumed other source of information, ideas and socialization like religion family schools. The effect f all this exposure consequently produces cultivation or the teaching of a common work\ld view, common roles and common value. According to Gerbner and gross (1976) televisions major function becomes that of incubation buy which most people develop standardized roles and behavour for example Nigeria media content (especially films) are changing the world into a Nigeria village in speech complement dressing crime and politics.
In view of the study ,its very important to see the relevance of the theories in this study

This article was extracted from a Project Research Work/Material Topic

“AN APPRAISAL OF NIGERIA MEDIA AS INSTRUMENT OF ERADICATING CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA

(CASE STUDY OF NTA EFFECT ON OBASANJO’S ANTI- CORRUPTION CRUSADE).”