A general study of Nigeria is because it happens to be the period when we witness a transition to civilian rule. Many library materials constituted the sample source and literature review. Dates were also collected through extensive reading of information material on the government administrative policy.

There findings showed that by the period of 1999, government activities in respect to the policy of administration supposed to have passed the stages of mobilization to that of execution, and that newspaper will not only covered those activities by use of newstones but also comment on the policy formulation and application through the use of feature articles and editorials. The newspaper also identifies problems that should be solved for the government programmes to succeed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE I

TITLE PAGE II

CERTIFICATION III

DEDICATION IV

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT V

ABSTRACT VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS VII

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 4

1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS 5

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 7

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 7

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8

1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS 8

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 9

1.8 ASSUMPTIONS 10

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.0 POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT11

2.1 PRESS VOICE OF THE VOICELESS 12

2.2 BANNING NEWSPAPERS 14

2.3 HOW FREE IS THE NIGERIA PRESS 15

2.4 ROLE OF THE PRESS IN THE SOCIETY 16

2.5 CHALLENGING OF PRESS MAN 20

2.6 PRESS VIEW ON POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF NIGERIA 22

2.7 PRESS AND POWER IN NIGERIA POLITICS 28

2.8 THE PERIOD OF MUTALA/OBASANJO

MILITARY REGIME 29

2.9 SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW 34

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36

3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN 36

3.1 RESEARCH SAMPLE AND PROCEDURE 36

3.2 MEASURING INSTRUMENTS 37

3.3 DATA COLLECTION 37

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS 38

3.5 EXPECTED RESULT 38

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND RESULTS 39

4.1 SUMMARY OF RESULT 44

4.2 DISCUSSION 46

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 SUMMARY 48

5.1 RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY 49

REFERENCE 51

APPENDIX 53

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE I INFORMATION MATERIAL USED

TABLE II AGGREGATE INFORMATION MATERIAL USED

TABLE III NEWS COVERAGE OF SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT

TABLE IV FEATURE COVERAGE OF SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT POLICY ISSUES

TABLE V EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT POLICY ISSUES.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

PROSPECT FOR NIGERIA POLITICS IN MODERN ERA (PERIODICAL CASE).

In all aspects of social life, the onset of a new decade triggers an effort to summarise and charactrised what happened 2-5 years ago, and to look forward to changes. The onset of a new era. The press stands as a bridge between the old and the new (History). The experience of the past in relationship to the new events. When a new regime arrives in power, it can blame its predecessors in government for many economic problems. The newly arrive uses press to compare its record in funding popular services with the previous regime and reminds the public in periods of time and unpopularity about how much worse off or more dis-granted they felt when the current opposition themselves held power. All these tactics cannot work effectively without the press. Even at this period of time.

The periodic Nigerian press has been on important source of government policy news for opinion leaders and decision makers or takers within a political structure as well as for the public at large. Since most people in decision making position of this country never come into direct contact with international communities that are the basis for foreign policy, they most rely on the press information about the particular issue.

This chapter surveys a segment of the Nigerian press during a series of related national policy decision made by Nigeria in the period of loss of sovereignty and company rule in Nigeria to the present civilian rule. (1999-Date).

However, citing when as one country, Nigeria came into being in 1914 as a result of amalgamation of North and South protectorates under the governorship of Lord Fredrick Lugard. This means that the political units that came together to form this nation were the old kingdoms whose people had a complex system of interaction (communication) before they ever made contact with the Europeans. Though comparing this old political history with the present, one can deduce that more political units are in vogue now than that of the old political units.

Moreover, the how and why the Nigeria press defines situations as it did and some possible implication of the behaviour of the press for rational national policy decision making influences the political structure. The press a surveyors of information can easily influence or control the behaviour of the society politically. In this regard, any political institution that under-estimates the power of the press does so at its own peril. In the frame work of the institution of the press freedom, the media must be so regulated and guarded especially in this democratic period that the desired judicious application of their power is assured.

The press council must be given appropriate legal status and power to impose sanctions and fines on media houses that erred. The council also should be given emergency power to regulate media activities in all election period. The aim of such emergency power will be to assure that press do not become tools in the hands of politicians to the detriment of the concept of free press and fir play in the time of elections.