Press Reportage of 2012 Fuel Subsidy Removal Crisis in Nigeria

Abstract

Increases in the pump price of petroleum have been incessant in Nigeria. It first took off at 15.3 Kobo per litre in 1978, when General Olusegun Obasanjo was Military Head of State, to 70 Naira in 2007 when same Obasanjo presided over Nigeria’s civil rule. Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan reviewed it upward to 141 Naira in 2012, thus sparking nationwide protests that reversed the price per litre of petrol to its current price of 97 Naira. A further increase appears imminent, as the central government still intends to ensure a total removal of petroleum subsidy. This study is an addition to other studies on mass media’s power to influence and reinforce the relative importance of issues in the psyche of news audiences. With the fuel subsidy crisis of 2012 as its focus, the study examined the reportage of the issue by The Punch and Vanguard newspapers, in terms of their frequency of reports, prominence given, direction of editorial contents, and the tone used in reporting the issue. Inference drawn from the findings is that there was an interaction between the priority accorded the fuel subsidy removal crisis by the press (media agenda), and the importance attached to it by the public through their reaction (public agenda), as well as subsequent government policy reversal (policy agenda).

Keywords: Price variation, crisis, media agenda, public agenda, and policy agenda