NIGERIA
By Kabiru Yusuf, Editor-in-Chief, Daily and Weekly Trust Newspapers
24 February 2003

The biggest country in Africa, Nigeria is a federation with a population of about 120 million people. It has three (3) main ethnic groups namely Yoruba, Hausa and Ibo located in the west, north and eastern parts respectively. Until 1999, when the military government handed over power to civilian government, the country was largely run by military decrees. Its economy is dependent on sales of crude oil, as the country is one of the major producers of oil in the world. Under the new civilian regime, the country has operated a presidential system with full democracy at work. The federal capital is at Abuja, which is in the central region of the country.

The print media is mainly privately owned while the state remained dominant in the electronic media field. About fifteen newspapers and magazines are competing for attention on a daily and weekly basis with majority of the newspapers concentrated in Lagos, the former capital city of Nigeria. As at now, only one private newspaper- Daily Trust publishes from Abuja, the new capital city. Before the advent of civilian regime in 1999, there was a lot of repression and lack of press freedom. That resulted in many Journalists, been arrested, detained or jailed by the military regimes. However, since 1999, the Nigerian Press has enjoyed considerable freedom. This has further encouraged the establishment of more newspapers and magazines.

However, there is hardly any of the newspapers that are 'national' in terms of editorial positioning. Those that are located in Lagos write and present their reports from the southern point of view while the ones published in the north also mirror the opinions in the region.