The Press and Democratic Transition in Nigeria: Comparative Notes on the Abacha and Abubakar Transition Programs

Abstract

In only four years, Nigeria has experienced two successive transition-to-civil-rule programs. The first, implemented with shocking inconsistency by the regime of General Sani Abacha, came to an abrupt anticlimax with the late despot's unexpected death. The second appears to have been, judging by the country's recent political history, unusually successful, culminating in the election of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant, General Olusegun Obasanjo, as presidentelect. While various reasons have been adduced for the apparent failure of one and the relative success of the other, political analysts in the country seem to agree that the main reason has to do with the fact that the programs differed profoundly in terms of motives, methodologies, and even ends. The attitude of the press, which shifted perceptibly from hostility toward Abacha's program to relative accommodation toward that of General Abdusalam Abubakar, has arguably lent seeming credence to this view. Yet a deeper analysis reveals that, to a very large extent, the transition programs of Abacha and Abubakar were intrinsically alike. How then, does one account for the contrasting attitudes of the press (defined narrowly here as the print media)? Answering this question is the main focus of this article. By examining the sources of differing press attitudes, I also suggest a few tentative conclusions on the characteristics of the press as an institution in Nigeria. As a corollary, this article also furnishes the appropriate context for reexamining the extent to which the Nigerian press is influenced by external stimuli in its treatment of issues. Finally, perhaps there is no better time, as the country eagerly expects a much politicized transition to civil rule, to reexamine some of the problems waylaying the press in discharging its responsibilities as a watchdog of society.