The Press And Nation Building

Novelist Jeffrey Areher in his work The Fourth Estate made this observations “In May 1789, Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the ‘Estate General’. The First Estate consisted of three hundred clergy. The Second Estate, three hundred nobles. The Third Estate, six hundred commoners. Some years later, after the French revolution, Edmund Burke, looking up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, said, ‘Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than all.”

Who is a journalist?  According to AskOxfor.com: A person who writes for newspapers or magazines or prepares news or features to be broadcast on radio or television is a journalist. Journalism is about the production of news stories that bring public attention to issues of public interest. Journalism gets its mandate from its audience.

The Press has a wider access to the people; hence it has a very strong impact on the nation. It plays a vital role in the opinion making process of the country. Now that the world has become a global village, the Press has the power to turn our dreams into reality.

It is the need of the hour that the Press should play its role in nation building process. Instead of propagating falsehood, media should try to uptimise the situation.

These days, the term Press has grown from journalism as practiced with the pen. We have the print media comprising all categories including newspapers, magazines and co, and we have the electronic media comprising radio, television and the internet.

Looking through the ages, we see that the two major agents for social change and societal reforms have been the church and the Press.

The invention of the moveable type of printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1493, ushered in a new era, kick-starting the European renaissance which eventually led to the industrial age. It is noteworthy that the printing press was born out of research concerning the church and first major use of the press was for printing of Bibles.

The invention of the printing press allowed ideas to be shared, information to be stored and disseminated. It also empowered a new class of individuals who found an easy way to express themselves and speak to a wider audience beyond that was possible by handwritten pages. The impact of the printing press is so profound that, till today, we, of the media are being known as the “Press” over 400 years after.

The government then, seeing the impact of the Press and the great influence over the people sought to stifle the Press by gagging the most prescient members of the Press like Martin Luther, William Tyndale and co. Some like Tyndale had to pay the highest journalistic price by dying for what they believed in. Since then, there has existed a fragile relationship between the government of the day and the Press. While the government attempts to harness the Press for its purpose, the Press seeks to express for itself as a watchdog of the government and the nation.

The power of the Press to influence societal change and national direction has been and is greatly recognised by nations and this is why the Press the world over is virtually the most controlled and regulated industry. The power of the Press is so recognised that every great nation has a propaganda unit either to keep its citizen in check or to fool other nations. An instructive flashback to the now collapsed Soviet Union shows that until the day of the collapse, the Soviets thought that their nation was the greatest in the world and was moving smoothly. Thanks to a well-oiled propaganda machinery. It is instructive that many people went into self denial and even committed suicide when faced with the harsh reality that they had always been fed with lies. The more totalitarian a nation, the more controlled the Press.

The Press is most beautiful in its role as the champion of the national causes as evidenced during the era of the great depression in the U.S where the government rallied the meida to create a new mindset for the American people, asking them to believe in themselves and pointing out areas and directions for entrepreneurial adventures. We see that beauty in a fearless Press acting as the watchdog of the nation, bringing down unpopular governments as witnessed during the Babangida and Abacha years in Nigeria. We saw that manifestation as the Press almost single-handedly fought the third term agenda of the last government beaming proceedings live and letting the people of the nation become the judge of how their nation should run.

In its role as watchdog, the Press should exercise a high degree of responsibility. There should also be a high degree of maturity and vetting to prevent national disasters and carnages.

These days, the Press should be occupied with  modeling a new Nigeria. They should expose areas for national investment and help set in pace ideals that would lead to the emergence of a stronger nation. Sometimes, wrong pictures are painted about this great country of ours and we are shown to be less than who we are.

National identity is constructed by moulding different ethnic groups or tribes into a nation, especially since colonialists had used divide and rule tactics to maintain its domination in several countries. Many new nations are plagued by tribal rivalry between ethnic groupings within the nation and this sometimes results in near-disintegration.

The present ethnic, political and religious intolerance in Nigeria can best be addressed by giving the Press a free role in not only reporting but educating the citizenry on the need to embrace tolerance. The task of nation building therefore must remain an all inclusive one; and free and fair elections must be a prerequisite recipe for the building of a new Nigeria, a changed society which is built on equity, equal representation, equal opportunities, co-operation and understanding. The Press has a big role to play.

The role of the Press in education and health sector is far more important  than its role in the election campaigns. It’s the job of the Press to show the true picture of the society. But it is unfortunate that some of the Press is biased. They are projecting what they want instead of projecting reality.

The Press should play crucial role in educating the people and to provide them clear picture of what is going on in the world because ignorance is a major challenge. Factual reporting is the essence of journalism and if the Press starts reporting facts, there would be a lot of positive changes in the society. The Nigerian Constitution which gives the Press a freedom of free and fair reporting should be respected by the government. Clampdown on newspaper houses and arrests of reporters by security agents should be stopped.

Under today’s critical situation, writers and journalists should not escape from their responsibility towards the society and should try their best to do what they can for the betterment of the society. Journalism was based on certain ideals and there was concern for constructing a new social order and working towards the betterment of the masses. Sadly, today’s journalism and literature is moving on dangerous path.

Right now, our nation is in need of the right leadership and it is time for the Fourth Estate to provide that leadership by pointing to directions that should be taken and showing the clueless many which way to go.

Finally, journalists and writers should focus more on constructive writings that help achieve unity in the society. Journalists must focus on innovation and must offer the audience solutions, not just problems. Only then would we be sure that we are marching together on the path of national development.

Etiaba, a Barrister, wrote from Anambra State.

Echezona Etiaba