The Repression of Press Freedom on Nigerian Campuses

In every democratic setting, one thing is clear—the effectiveness of the fourth estate serves as a backbone. The impact that they have on the system goes a very long way in determining its success or ushering in development. If ignored, the socio-economic environment would be very unconducive and this would affect such dispensation.

To this end, many countries of the world strive to guarantee the freedom of expression of their citizens. Even the international community has several laws that admonish governments in various countries to guarantee press freedom. This is to further ensure that press organisations or journalists pursue their professionalism and the ethics of the profession rather than succumb to socio-political forces influencing the quantity and quality of information made available to the public.

However, in Nigeria, political leaders are guilty of suppressing the power of the press. In fact, this is not the best time to be a journalist going by the spate of attacks on press freedom and speech. One minute, a journalist is reporting a story, the next, they are the headline. This has continued to happen despite the provision for freedom of the press in the Constitution of Nigeria and other existing laws that clearly stipulated freedom of expression.

To understand this better, the first quarter of 2023 was particularly concerning when the Press Attack Tracker documented 45 tracked and verified attacks on journalists and media organizations, further demonstrating impunity and the resolve of the government to continue to make press freedom very difficult to achieve in Nigeria.

More alarming is that not only is the Nigerian government guilty of these abnormalities, but even in our higher institutions where the minds are being trained, various university managements have track records of suppressing campus journalists, making it very difficult for these sets of students to carry out journalistic assignments. This has now germinated into a problem that makes it hard for student journalists to practice free and objective journalism on campuses.

Like established journalists, the primary assignment of campus journalists is to ensure that there is proper dissemination of information that is important to the students’ populace. Campus journalism, unlike how it is perceived by the management and even the student bodies in various institutions, is not a witch-hunt arrangement. It is all about telling important stories that could drive change in our university communities. When campus journalists report these stories, it is to call for important attention. Not being able to do so, especially because press freedom is being curtailed, means that we have lost our essence as a community that has the duty of holding people to account.

The loyalty of campus journalists as students in an institution’s environment and ecosystem is first to the students just as the loyalty of professional journalists is to the citizens. It is unfortunate if what we get in return for this community service is repression from management. Several students across Nigerian institutions have been suspended due to published reports that ordinarily could have driven change. This also extends to student leaders who continuously harass any campus journalist who writes unbiased investigative stories on their conduct in their offices. Thus, the threat is now a common thing to look out for when student journalists write stories on the shortcomings of school authorities and student leaders as we strive to perform the role of the press in our respective schools.

The irony is how these authorities expect that their students grow to become morally untainted individuals who stand for what is right in the society. It is a wonder how this could be considered a possibility since the institutional framework that could have served as an example fails to protect us.

Whether we admit it or not, campus journalism is the hope of the students to right the wrongs in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The works of campus journalists must be supported and acted on positively by the management and student leaders of any institution rather than being viewed as attacks for the benefit of the university community as a whole.