El Aprendizaje Significativo de Ausubel 51

The lack of editorials in the sampled newspapers indicates that they did have a firm stance on the anti-corruption crusade. Editorials are the conscience of newspapers through which the mass media wield enormous influence in setting public agenda by emphasis and framing. One significant finding from the quantitative content analysis is the scarcity of editorials and feature articles on corruption in the selected newspapers. Thus, it could be inferred that the selected newspapers tend

to display some traits of indifference in the anti-corruption campaign of the present administration.

Newspaper editorials are generally the standpoint of a given newspapers in matters of public interest, however, these were in short supply in the sampled newspapers. Out of the 265 stories coded, only seven feature stories and three editorials appeared, and even the few ones lacked clear cut stand on the President Buhari’s anti-corruption campaigns. This could be a matter of serious concern considering the assumed enormous influence of newspapers’ opinionated segments in shaping public opinion and audience behaviours. Presumably, editorials and features articles would have helped to set agenda for both the government and the public and at the same time aid the government to succeed in the anti-corruption crusade.

Most of the critical incidents on corruption we reported as straight news. The few featurized stories include: ‘CORRUPTION: Lessons Alhaji thought me…’ (The Nation Friday June, 24, 2016, p.15).

This exemplar feature story contained some invaluable advice to the presidency on how to tackle corruption headlong in Nigeria. In the feature story, the writer recalled among other things, the anecdote narrated to him by Alhaji Salihu Abubakar Ehimeakhe thus: “Corruption for instance, is like a forty-foot tanker laden with fuel and you have to turn it around a narrow roundabout. A wise driver must do it slowly, patiently and methodically. If he gets impatient and tries to do it hastily;

of course the tanker will up over and its combustible cargo would go up in flames and consume the entire neighbourhood including the driver” (The Nation Friday June, 24, 2016, p.15). The import of this anecdote is that the fight against corruption is not automatic and spontaneous. It is rather a gradual process that must be undertaken systematically and continuously.

The columnist connected the lesson learnt from Alhaji Salihu Abubakar Ehimeakhe to the situation that led President Buhari to embark on the fight against corruption, suggesting also that this country laden with inflammable fuel is at the risk of spinning out of control if the presidency does not manipulate it like a skilful and wise tanker driver and that all patriots and men of good should be part of the fight against corruption. Osuji (2016) further expressed delight that he personally admires the passion of President Buhari as stated below:

“All fraud must stop. This exercise (anti-graft war) will continue as long as this leadership is here. Whoever takes anything that does not belong to him or that he is not entitled to, will be documented (and) taken to court. This is the only way I think we can bail ourselves out.

We are determined to bail our country out for the sake of our children and our grandchildren.”

Osuji (2016) further elaborated in-depth on the issue of corruption and realized that the media as most scholars have noted are primary sources of information for the people and in informing the people provide them with the requisite knowledge and ability to make informed decisions concerning issues of national interest which calls the need to examine how the media regard and report anti-corruption issues in Nigeria.

The audience of the article above will be able to understand the need to pay attention and recognize the government efforts when the media represent all shades of opinion and give the anti-corruption issues better placement and positioning. However, insufficient coverage and lack of in-depth information and back grounding as witnessed in this study where majority of the stories appear as straight news becomes a serious challenge in the implementation of the anti-corruption crusade.

Meanwhile, the essence of detailed story could be seen in the content of one of the feature article from Punch Newspaper dated 3rd of June 2017 where Ade Adesomoju and Gbenro Adeoye

revealed that The Federal Government may ask the Federal High Court in Abuja to revoke the bail granted to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, on grounds of alleged breach of the conditions of the bail granted him in April. The supposition is that if such features and/or editorials of this nature are contained more in the newspapers, they will go a long way in lending vital opinions and stand of the newspapers on contemporary issues and perhaps enhance support for the war against corruption in Nigeria. But this seeming newspapers’ aloofness to the fight against corruption run counter to the primary responsibility of the media to inform and set agenda for the public. This is because of the marginal coverage given to anti-corruption issues by the Nigerian media in the sampled newspapers.

The use of news stories and feature articles could put more emphasis on the issue and increase its importance which can have both tangible and intangible effect on the people and the society in general. This was re-echoed by Stapenhurst (2000) who stated that the impact of media reporting on corruption can be “tangible” and “intangible”. It is tangible when some sort of visible outcome can be attributed to a particular news story or series of stories, while it is intangible when checks on corruption arise from the broader social climate of enhanced political pluralism, enlivened public debate and a heightened sense of accountability among politicians, public bodies and institutions that are inevitably the by-product of a hard-hitting, independent news media (Nogara, 2009).

4.3 ANSWERING OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS