NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS‟ COVERAGE OF GHANAIAN 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: BETWEEN JOURNALISM AND NATIONAL MORALISING

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
A state cannot exist without having a political structure which will direct its affairs or conduct according to the stipulated guidelines in the constitution. Having a political structure in place helps to specify what forms of government that should be adopted and how to elect or choose the people that will represent the entire citizens.
In Ghana, the story is not different. Britain made it a Crown Colony in 1874, and British Protectorates over the Ashanti and the northern territories were established in 1901.The struggle for self-governance in Ghana was actually begun on 12th June 1949 when former nationalist, Dr. Nkrumah Kwame launched his new Convention People‟s Party (CPP) with the aim of attaining “self-rule now”. Earlier on 4th August 1947, the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was formed by “Big six” namely, Dr. J.B Danguah, Francis Awoonor-Williams, R .S Blay Akuffo-Addo, Ako Adjei and Obetsebi Lamptey. Then, the objective of the party was to “attain self-rule for the Chiefs and people of the Gold Coast in shortest possible time”.
Aboagye (1999) observes that in the wake of the 5th February 1948 boycott of British goods organized by Nii Kwabena Bonne, Osu Alata Mantse, the 28th February Christiansborg cross- road killing of Sgt Adjetey, Cpl Attipoe and Pte Odarty-Lamptey, all members of the Ex-servicemen‟s Union, further inflamed national passions against British colonial rule. He posits further that the disturbances were serious enough to warrant a Committee of Inquiry which recommended constitutional and political reforms. The Henley Coussey Committee was set up by the then Governor-general, Sir Gerald Creasy to examine these proposals. The Report of the Coussey Committee recommended the framework for local government, the legislature, an Executive Council and Governorship.

In 1957 Ghana became an independent state, with Kwame Nkrumah as its first Prime Minister. In 1960 Ghana became republic and Nkrumah its first president but he was ousted by the army in a 1966 coup when his rule grew allegedly dictatorial. A president was elected again in 1969 and dislodged in 1972 by another coup, which abolished the presidency and dissolved the National Assembly. The military staged another coup in 1978, and the sequence was repeated in 1979 and 1981, the latter under the leadership of Jerry Rawlings, who seized the reins of government and was elected president in 1992, and again in 1996 as the head of the National Democratic Congress, (The New Britannica Encyclopaedia, 2003).

It is against this background that the researcher intends to conduct a content analysis of the selected national newspapers in Nigeria; The Guardian, The Nation, The Nigerian Tribune, ThisDay and The Punch. The study will reveal which of the newspapers gave more prominence to the elections, the dominant formats of reporting (news, features, editorials etc) and how they consider it as a model for the rest of Africa. The direction of coverage given to the entire electoral process and the Ghana electoral body will also be part of what the study will focus on. Importantly, the study will examine how often the newspapers seized the opportunity of the election in Ghana to chide, challenge and criticize the Nigerian electoral and political system.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There is no gainsaying newspapers remain the voice of the people when it comes to the dissemination of political, economic and social information as at when due, especially during elections. Adeleke (2009:7) observes that:
Newspapers have become reliable sources of information to many people, offices, corporate bodies, individuals and politicians have come to realize the importance of newspapers in information gathering and dissemination that is compulsory for them to access a copy of a national daily on a daily basis.
Election remains the only means of choosing people (leaders) who will represent the country, since it is not possible for the entire populace to be at the helms of affairs at the same time. In any democratic dispensation, people believe that change from one government is usually predicated on periodic election (Omoruyi, 1994). Ghana as a country practicing democratic system of government is not left out in this regard.
1981 coup installed a government headed by a former military flight lieutenant, Jerry Railings, presiding over provisional National Defenses Council (consisting of both military men and civilians), which ruled by decree. All political parties were banned, the parliament dissolved, and the president arrested. People‟s Defense Committee was set up and charged with defending democratic right and fighting corruption, (New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2003). The 1992 constitution served as an impetus for fourth republic, which was declared in 1993, and Rawlings was elected president in the first elections held since 1979. Rawlings won reelection in 1996 as the head of the National Democratic Congress. In a peaceful transition of power, John Kuffuor of the National Patriotic Party was elected in 2000. Another general elections were held in 2008. The event attracted people‟s and media comments from all the continents, especially African press. Past studies have focused on the coverage of foreign elections basically on the prominence and direction of coverage gave to the aspirants in such elections, but this study focuses on the coverage of foreign election as national moralizing for other nations.
It is against this backdrop that this study will do a content analysis of the Ghanaian 2008 presidential elections as reported by the selected Nigerian newspapers; The Guardian, The Nation, The Nigerian Tribune, ThisDay and The Punch. This study is set to find out which of the newspapers gave more prominence to the election and how they set it as an example or model for other African nations to emulate or follow and direction of coverage given to the entire electoral process and Ghana electoral body. The study will also investigate the dominant forms in which the reports were mostly published.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In the course of this study, the following questions will be asked and answered through relevant research instruments:
1. Which of the newspapers gave more prominence to the election?
2. How often did the selected newspapers set up the election as a model for Nigeria and other African nations and their electoral agencies?
3. What is the direction of coverage given the entire election process and the Ghana electoral body?
4. What are the dominant formats of reporting (news, features, editorials etc) in the selected newspapers?

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
One of the political events that cannot be easily forgotten by Ghanaians and Africans was the peaceful conduct of the country‟s fifth presidential elections which was held on 7th and 28th December, 2008. It engaged the attention of media across the globe with people‟s comments on pages of newspapers and on the air (radio and television). In the light of this, this study will do a content analysis of the selected Nigerian newspapers. It aims at revealing the dominant formats of reporting (news, features, editorial etc), newspapers that gave more prominence to the elections and how they consider it as a model for the rest of Africa. The study will also verify the direction of coverage given the entire election process and Ghana Electoral Commission.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research work focuses on the newspapers aspect of the print media. It aims at analyzing the coverage of the Ghanaian 2008 presidential elections as reported by The Guardian, The Nation, The Nigerian Tribune, ThisDay and The Punch. It will analyze all the editions of the selected papers published between November 24th and January 31st 2009 in order to capture the research questions vividly and generating enough data for the study, though, the elections was held on 7th December and entered run-off on 28th December 2008, the date chosen by the country electoral body for the run –off elections.

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