The Press and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria

Nigeria’s relatively peaceful and successful transition from military dictatorship to civilian rule in May 1999 marked a watershed in the country’s political history. After almost three decades of rounds of transitions between civilian and military regimes, the country’s pattern of carefully staged, but unsuccessful, transition to democracy programmes ended with a transfer of power from the military to a seemingly acceptable civilian administration. Although it was a hastily arranged compromise between the military elite and the political class , by 2013 three multi-party elections had followed that initial transfer of power. Based on a minimalist definition of democratic consolidation, Nigeria could now be regarded as an entrenched democracy. However, measured against a more comprehensive framework, the country falls short of some standards of consolidation. This chapter assesses how press coverage of a critical presidential election by a newspaper of record mirrors prospects and challenges of entrenching democracy in Nigeria.