Anti-corruption Promises and Print Media: The Case of Nigeria

Assertions are held widely that the mass media play an important role in ensuring that an elected government fulfills its campaign promises. This paper examines the reaction of the Nigerian government headed by Goodluck Jonathan to corrupt practices and media’s response to that reaction. Newspaper reports of the alleged corrupt purchase of two bullet proof vehicles by a senior government official are used as a test case of the Jonathan’s promise to stamp out corruption. Content analysis was adopted to generate data for the study. Results show that government’s promise was not fulfilled, as public office holders emphasized the mundane aspect of corruption as a strategy to distract citizens’ attention from the real issue of corruption eradication. The citizens’ hope that the government would prosecute suspected corrupt officials, as reported by the media, was short-lived

E-Commerce Advertisement and Usage Experience: The Case of Nigeria

This study presents, at a glance, the level of awareness of some respondents about e-commerce platforms in Nigeria. It explores their preferences and provides some information on how they are responding to e-commerce commercials. The theoretical anchor is the Technology Acceptance Model. Some 97.5 per cent of the 200 respondents surveyed returned their completed questionnaire. The impressive number was as a result of the large number and efficiency of research assistants whoadministered the instrument in the Ado-Odo Local Government Area of Ogun State, a political subdivision of Nigeria. Results show low awareness, though respondents had opined that the e-commercials were helpful and factual. The results further indicate that the productivity expected by respondents as a result of e-commerce patronage is unimpressive owing to infrastructural deficit, insecurity, illiteracy and a weak legal system. Findings indicate that reading manuals in local languages can lead to a better user experience. The deployment of biometric applications for more security, extensive media campaign as well as better machine-customer interaction can also help.Keywords: Nigeria, E-commerce, Advertisement, Usage experience Digital wallet, Technology, ATM, POS

E-Commerce Advertisement and Usage Experience: The Case of Nigeria

This study presents, at a glance, the level of awareness of some respondents about e-commerce platforms in Nigeria. It explores their preferences and provides some information on how they are responding to e-commerce commercials. The theoretical anchor is the Technology Acceptance Model. Some 97.5 per cent of the 200 respondents surveyed returned their completed questionnaire. The impressive number was as a result of the large number and efficiency of research assistants whoadministered the instrument in the Ado-Odo Local Government Area of Ogun State, a political subdivision of Nigeria. Results show low awareness, though respondents had opined that the e-commercials were helpful and factual. The results further indicate that the productivity expected by respondents as a result of e-commerce patronage is unimpressive owing to infrastructural deficit, insecurity, illiteracy and a weak legal system. Findings indicate that reading manuals in local languages can lead to a better user experience. The deployment of biometric applications for more security, extensive media campaign as well as better machine-customer interaction can also help.Keywords: Nigeria, E-commerce, Advertisement, Usage experience Digital wallet, Technology, ATM, POS

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AND NEW MEDIA USAGE IN SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

Corporate communication is an essential tool for organisational management and employed by universities to engage both the internal and external publics. The emergence of the new media has reshaped communication channels and modified strategies for information gathering, processing, dissemination and utilisation. This has however created tension between stakeholders in universities. Therefore, this study sought to identify the dominant organisational structure of corporate communication units in universities; investigate the extent of involvement of corporate communication officers in strategic planning processes of administration and corporate events in universities; and the extent to which new media are utilised by corporate communication units in selected universities in South-West, Nigeria. The study adopted Systems theory, Technological Determinism model and Uses and Gratification theory as explanatory tools. The descriptive survey research design was adopted, involving the use of questionnaire and interview research instruments. The sample size of 415 respondents was selected from six universities in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States. The sample was made up of 150 respondents who were employees in the corporate communication units and academic staff in Departments of Mass Communication and 265 students in Mass Communication Departments of the selected universities. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were adopted. Interviews were also conducted with the heads of corporate communication units and Mass Communication Departments. The study found that the organisational structure of corporate communication units in the selected universities varied from simple to complex organograms. Each university’s corporate communication unit was structured and operated based on the communication needs of each of the university. Corporate communication officers were not fully involved in the strategic planning processes of university administration because they were not incorporated into university management; however, corporate communication officers organised, coordinated and served more in corporate events and protocol management functions. Moreover, the study revealed that although selected universities combined both the traditional and new media to enhance communication processes, new media technologies, particularly, the social media were also utilised by universities with WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as the dominant platforms. The result of the tested hypothesis revealed the R-value as 0. 769, which suggests that the functionality of internal communication significantly influences employees’ level of satisfaction with the new media usage in selected universities. Thus, the alternate hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. The study, therefore, proposes a uniform organisational structure for corporate communication divisions in universities in Nigeria and the need for university management to invest more in corporate communication to align with global best practices in the field. Finally, the study recommends that all stakeholders in communication management in universities should join hands in formulating policies, structure, and functions that will help to improve corporate communication practice in the appropriate units in universities

Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria:Where Is the Mass Media?

For ages, the African culture has limited the activities of women and conditioned, to a large extent,the mentality of most African countries about the place and positioning of women in the society. The mass media have been used as a tool in this. Promoting the abilities and achievements of women in the society is one of the important roles of the media in reducing the rate of gender discrimination. These achievements are becoming noticeable in politics and entrepreneurship; thus, setting a standard for other women in the society to build on. This chapter will explore the role of the media in promoting the woman entrepreneur in Nigeria. The study employed the survey research method for data gathering. Findings showed that women have equal opportunity to grow their businesses. Data shows that this growth is slow as there are no significant differences between respondents who agree or disagree with the availability of enabling environment for women to grow their business as compared to their male counterpart. The study recommends that the mass media need to give more voice to their businesses and activities to paveway and encourage the younger women in the society

Non-Governmental Organizations in the Eyes of Newspapers in Nigeria: 2013 – 2016 in Focus

This study examines the activities of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Nigeria that attracted newspaper coverage. Nine NGO themes in 488 stories of four leading titles – Daily Trust, The Guardian, The Punch and ThisDay – published between 2013 and 2016, were studied. Findings show that 82 reports appeared, representing 17%. NGOs reports occupied the least prominent, inner pages of the newspapers. Whilst Daily Trust appeared as the best NGO-friendly newspaper, 95% of the overall reportage was found positive. Infant and maternal health attracted 28% attention ahead of eight other themes. Also discovered were 12 dailies of “zero report†of NGO activities by all the newspapers. Overall results confirm the assertions that NGOs are poorly reported in Nigeria. The study recommends the creation of newspaper columns for NGO stories and a forum that connects both journalists and NGO operators

Awareness and Perception of Media Campaign on E-waste effects among Residents of Ado Odo-Ota, Nigeria

Scholars’ concern about environmental pollution and the attendant diverse health disorders have grown lately in Nigeria owing to the problem of electronic wastes. The challenge is compounded by citizens’ insensitivity to the damage these wastes can unleash on lives. This paper investigates respondents’ rate of awareness and knowledge, through the media, of e-wastes and how that rate affects attitude to the problem. Findings show that exposure to the media on the e-waste hazards was critically low. The broadcast media and the internet were identified as significant sources of information but residents were less frequently exposed to e-waste issues in the news. The awareness of health and environmental effects of e-wastes among the residents was also extremely low even as the menace was not perceived as a serious problem. The outgrowth of this was an unimpressive attitude toward resolving the problem. In addition to the traditional media and their online versions, it is recommended that interpersonal communication channels should be utilized to educate and persuade the citizens to adopt globally accepted standards for managing e-wastes