Media, Military and Democratic Struggles in Nigeria: Tensions and Contentions

Abstract

The press in Nigeria has waded through different challenges, more especially under military regimes. While it was bruised and persecuted to no end in the military era, it yet remained the bastion of hope for the larger populace, compliant with its constitutionally enshrined role as the watchdog of society. This paper examines some contending notions about the media and the military, the might to rule and the right to ask questions, and the tension between the power of the sword and the creativity of the pen, against the background of the guest for freedom in a country desiring qualitative democracy and good governance. This desire is meant to follow a nation’s multi-faceted history, founded on colonialism, post colonialism, coups, counter-coups and the lingering challenges of social, political and economic development. The paper discusses media experiences under different military regimes, and examines  how the experience of media resistance of the military played out after democracy was restored in 1999.