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To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Independent Journalism Centre (IJC), [email protected]

NIGERIA MEDIA MONITOR

MARCH 31, 2003.

MEDIA URGED TO FORCE POLITICIANS TO DISCLOSE DONATIONS

KWARA NUJ THREATENS TO BOYCOTT POLITICAL ASSIGNMENTS
WORLD BANK TASKS NEWSMEN ON DEMOCRACY
I AM NOT A LAW BREAKER - DOKPESI
NUJ GETS COMPENDIUM ON JOURNALISTS
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL WILL ERADICATE CORRUPTION
APRIL POLLS: MEDIA CENTRE TO GULP $.2M
NAN STRENGTHENS ITS OPERATION ON POLITICAL COVERAGE
FROM THE PRESS, MENU FOR PEACEFUL TRANSITION

MEDIA URGED TO FORCE POLITICIANS TO DISCLOSE DONATIONS
Daily Independent, March 28, 2003

The media in Nigeria should do more to exert pressure on politicians and
political parties to always
publicise donations they receive, and their sources, rather than raising hue and
cry over the role of money in politics, because money is a normal stuff of
politics everywhere.

That was the assertion of Abiodun Uwadia, a retired colonel and member of the
President Olusegun Obasanjo re-election campaign, in Ilorin.

Uwadia described money as an intrinsic part of democracy both in the developed
and developing
countries, but explained that the alarm being raised in Nigeria about the
negative influence of money in the nation's politics arose from the
"unnecessary" secrecy in which politicians chose to shroud such political
contributions. He asked the media to take up the challenge of making political
parties and politicians to always place the receipts of political donations in
the public domain for all to see, and to destroy the basis for any suspicion.

KWARA NUJ THREATENS TO BOYCOTT POLITICAL ASSIGNMENTS
Nigerian Tribune, March 26, 2003

Kwara State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has threatened to
withdraw its
members from political assignments if the current political violence in the
state is not checked.

The NUJ issued the threat in a statement in Ilorin on Tuesday, in which it
condemned the political violence in Ilorin, the state capital, which it said had
claimed several lives while others had suffered
injuries.

In a statement signed by Bisi Adedayo, assistant general secretary, the NUJ said
that it was worried
about the safety of lives of the journalists, who would be covering political
assignments in the state.

The NUJ noted that political disturbance was the handiwork of the political
class which promoted
discord, alleging that instead of the campaign being issue-oriented, it was
focused on attacking
personalities.

According to the NUJ, "the politicians should all bear in mind that the game of
politics needs to be played with decorum and according to the rules of the game
as political violence will not do anybody any good."

WORLD BANK TASKS NEWSMEN ON DEMOCRACY
Daily Independent, March 26, 2003

Worried by the spate of political violence and other uncertainties threatening
the Nigerian polity, the World Bank has tasked journalists to ensure that
democracy survived in the country.

The charge was contained in a communique issued on Friday at the end of a
two-day workshop on election coverage for journalists drawn from various media
organisations, which was organised by the bank in Abuja.

The bank charged media practitioners to facilitate a smooth civilian-to-civilian
transition through
issue-oriented analytical reports, aimed at unifying the country and boosting
its economic potentials. Participants also saw the need to de-emphasise the
reporting of personalities and politically related violent events capable of
truncating the nation's young democracy.

I AM NOT A LAW BREAKER - DOKPESI
Vanguard, March 26, 2003

Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chairman of Daar Communications, has formally reacted to
our last Wednesday's story, saying that he is not a law breaker nor are the
other investors in Daar Communications, broadcasters of Raypower, AIT and AIT
international.

In the Hi Tech story of last Wednesday, titled: "Last Minute Reprieved for a
Network Seeker," Vanguard had chronicled the various attempts by Dokpesi to
power on his network and the resistance by the National Broadcasting Commission
on the ground that a network at the moment is illegal. In the story, Vanguard
had published the NBC's letter whose content the Daar chief has not found
amusing.

Dokpesi's reaction came in the form of a letter he sent to the Police
Commissioner of Kano State which he says explains the true situation concerning
the operations of his broadcast empire.

The letter reads in part: "I write to refer to the recent sealing up of the
premises of Daar Communications Limited in Kano and the compulsory shut down of
the transmitters by men of the Kano State Police Command."

"We are reliably informed that the basis of the closure is that the broadcasts
are illegal, as the NBC
did not authorise the operator to transmit in Kano. Permit me to assure the
Commissioner that the
shareholders of the company are patriotic and law abiding Nigerians who will not
take the laws of the land into their hands. Daar Communications Limited was duly
granted approval by the Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, to transmit radio and television signals globally, using
satellite technology."

NUJ GETS COMPENDIUM ON JOURNALISTS
The Guardian, March 28, 2003

The Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) will be launching a Compendium of
Nigerian Journalists on April 7, 2003, according to a statement by the union's
National Secretary, Shuaib Leman.

The handbook will contain the names of all registered journalists in the country
working with various media organisations and those in ministries and
parastatals.

By this statement, state councils, chapels and individual journalists are
expected to ensure that all
those who are qualified to be registered as journalists but for one reason or
the other have not
been registered, should send in their CV's on or before March 29, 2003 to the
national secretary of the union in Abuja or to the registration office at the
NUJ Secretariat, Shomolu.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL WILL ERADICATE CORRUPTION
The Punch, March 28, 2003

The Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Mr. Bukhari Bello, on
Wednesday said that the only way to eradicate corrupt practices in public
offices was to make information available to the public always.

He stated this in Abuja at a roundtable session on the freedom of Information
Bill pending before the National Assembly.

Bello said that accountability was a good component of good governance,
stressing that it could only be achieved if there was openness in government
transactions.

He, therefore, appealed to the National Assembly to pass into law the Freedom of
Information Bill before the end of their tenure. The bill has already gone
through first reading, second reading and public hearing stages.

APRIL POLLS: MEDIA CENTRE TO GULP $.2M
The Punch, March 25, 2003

The Project Co-ordinator of the UN Electoral Assistance Project, Mr. Danie
Stroux on Monday said
that about $200,000 would be spent on the Media Centre of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) for results collation during the April
general elections.

The electoral commission has also begun accreditation for about 30,000 local and
international observers for the polls.

Stroux, who made the disclosure while fielding questions from our correspondent
in Abuja, said that the centre would be mostly funded by Australia, and that the
centre would help INEC to publish the election results rapidly.

AS NAN STRENGTHENS ITS OPERATION ON POLITICAL COVERAGE
The Guardian, March 24, 2003

As part of its effort to ensure effective coverage of political events, News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has established a Political Desk.

But the operations of the unit will be guided by the objectives of NAN as spelt
out in section two
subsection two of the agency's enabling law.

The provision mandated the agency "to present complete, objective and impartial
information, news or news materials or features on any matter of public or
national interest within and outside the federation. This is in addition to
report truthfully, and fairly, without prejudice to public and national interest
the view of all sections of population of the federation."

The initiative, according to the wire service provider's Managing Director,
Mallam Wada Maida is in line with the tradition that the agency had been known
for.

FROM THE PRESS, MENU FOR PEACEFUL TRANSITION
The Guardian, March 24, 2003

The task of ensuring peaceful political transition, and by extension, sustaining
democratic culture, has attracted the interest of media stakeholders.

Just last Friday, the last segment of the Presidential Debates designed as "part
of the contribution of the media to the sustenance of democracy," took place at
the ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja featuring President Olusegun Obasanjo answering
questions from a panel of trusted media practitioners.

The initiative was conceived and executed by the Broadcasting Organisation of
Nigeria (BON) in
collaboration with the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO) comprising Newspaper
Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)
and Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).

At least, the debate had created platform for presidential candidates in the
forthcoming general elections to unfold their plans in terms of socio-economic
programmes that will improve the
welfare of the masses.

It is unfortunate that most politicians particularly those that are vying for
elective posts, rather than
addressing issues vital to national growth and development, have resorted to
attacks on personalities and political triviality.

While debates, forums could be desirable to foster democracy and sustainable
development, the attitude of some media houses to political coverage in terms of
creating a level playing ground for all parties has remained a source of concern
for media practitioners.

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