Between Media Liberalisation and Recentralisation: A critical Assessment of the Attitude of Obasanjo’s Government to the Broadcast Media
Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired general in the Nigeria Army, former military Head of State and former civilian President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has had peculiar relationship with the media. Though Mohammed Buhari, another retired army general and former military Head of State had the notoriety of promulgating, the often termed draconian law, Decree 4, which prescribed stiff penalty for publishing, anything deemed falsehood against public official, Obasanjo it was that promulgated a law that was a forerunner of the dreaded Decree 4 of 1984. The Public Officers Protection Against False Accusations Decree Number 11 of 1976, which took retroactive effect from 29 July, 1975 was he first step in the post-colonial Nigeria by the state to gag the media. This was also an indicator of the attitude of Obasanjo to the media and media workers. This paper seeks to take a look at the way in which the Olusegun Obasanjo led Federal Government has related with the Broadcast Media in Niger...