MEDIA MONITORING REPORT OF ELECTRICITY REPORTING IN THE NIGERIAN PRINT MEDIA
REPORT OF QUALITATIVE MEDIA MONITORING OF ELECTRICITY REPORTING IN NIGERIA
(JANUARY-MARCH, 2017)
By Raji, Rasaq
The aim of this
monitoring exercise was to promote proactive disclosure of information,
transparency and accountability for the purpose of good governance.
Its objectives include:
- Researching into patterns, trend and style of the Nigerian print media’s reportage of power regulators in Nigeria;
- Identifying the level of visibility and close engagement accorded power regulators in the Nigeria media;
- Identifying the quality of sources through which media reportage is communicated to the -public;
- Assessing the role of the media in informing and communicating issues around electricity to the public, and how media framing of these issues has shaped discourse and narrative around the subject matter in many dynamic ways.
The media content analysis was drawn from samples of
publications in the selected newspapers in Nigeria between January and March,
2017. These print media included: The Punch, The
Guardian, Leadership, Vanguard, This Day, Business Day, Daily Trust, Daily Sun,
The Nation and New Telegraph.
Findings:
How Media Framed
Electricity Issues in Nigeria
v
Episodic
Framing/Victim-Blaming Model
Findings show that media under review framed issues of
electricity, using ‘episodic framing’ and
‘victim-blaming model’.
i)
Episodic Framing:
This refers to the angle of reporting that assumes news
reports as specific events or particular cases.
As Shanto Iyengar observed in his book, Who is Responsible?, (as cited in Scott London, 1993) ‘Episodic
Framing’ "depicts concrete
events that illustrate issues, while thematic framing presents collective or
general evidence. According to him:
Subjects
who viewed stories about poverty that featured homeless or unemployed people (episodic
framing) were much more likely to blame poverty on individual failings, such
as laziness
or low education, than were those who instead watched stories about high
national rates of
unemployment or poverty (thematic framing). Viewers of the thematic frames were more
likely to attribute the causes and solutions to governmental policies and other factors beyond the
victim's control.
ii)
Victims-Blaming Model
In her assessment of media reporting, Ogwezzy-Ndisika (2014) maintained that the tone of victim-blaming model of
reporting assumes a more sympathetic dimension to the predicament of victims of
bad governance rather than exposing the proponents of bad governance. The reason is not far from the fact that
media pays more attention to ‘’the beat system”, which often underscores a situation
where the event managers determined what the media covered. This promotes
passive journalism.
Nigerian media, print for instance, have different sections
for each beat being covered such as Business
& Energy section where most reports on power are published. Journalists
have a way of selecting issues, every week. Most often, these issues are more
in the interest of the media establishment first and foremost before the
interest of the public. So, as news breaks, they are published. By the
following week, attention shifts to another ‘breaking news’: no continuity, no
follow up of previous reports. The implication of episodic framing is observed
in how issues become "only a
passing parade of specific events, a 'context of no context”. This
largely is responsible for the episodic framing of issues as they concern power
sector in Nigeria.
As a result, media reporting fails to engender serious debate
because the agents and regulators are not really exposed. Reporting is
activity-based and only deals with surface issues.
In other words, the public tends to view issues in the power
sector as unrelated and as specific events, rather than being observed as
serious issues within a larger context.
Thematic Focus of Media under Review
Human Rights Reporting: (were the media disseminating information that would jolt regulators
to the rights of the public?)
Within the period under review, observations
showed that media did not pass the test in meeting the minimum standard as
there was no deliberate attempt to give rights
angle reporting a full shot in their reportage.
Even in the face of
reactionary reporting, occasioned by the culture of breaking news common in the
media space, media made less effort in holding regulators responsible or making
them accountable for the rights of the public to constant and cost-effective power
supply in the country. Most of the stories in the media were reported in
similar manner, and thus affected critical thinking. Consequently, readers
seemed to lose confidence in the media reporting of electric power to be able to judge or taken seriously actions and
policies of the regulators in this sector.
Even, a few reports that can be cited as having spoken to the
rights of the public did not directly state the right issues. Besides, they
were not direct results of conscious media effort as these reports were
observed to have been framed from the angle of protests and agitations by the
aggrieved persons and groups, demanding their rights. These reports,
consequently boiled down to what was earlier termed ‘victim-blaming’ model as
media reports only underscored some level of pity on the victims.
For
instance, in a report where The Punch
made a reference to the rights of electricity consumers to adequate power
supply, the paper said, “they were angry”.
In its edition, titled: “Three
years after, knocks for power firms over poor service”, the paper affirmed
that “consumers are angry that electricity supply has remained erratic three
years after the privatization of the power sector and have urged the power
firms to either deliver or relinquish the business” (The Punch, January 8, 2017, pg).
Also, a
similar report in the Daily Trust’s
Business Page, tilted: “Union plans
massive picketing of electricity coys” (January 28, 2017, pg 54)
underscored the same angle of reporting.
Investigative reporting: (were the media
investigating, using the right tools, to reveal useful information about
burning issues that bedevil the power sector?)
There were series of reports in the period
under review that bordered on power
failure, load shedding, load
rejection, allegation and counter-allegation of inefficiency between the
Transmission Company (TCN) and the distribution companies (Discos).
Interestingly, all the media under review adequately reported these issues.
However, what was largely missing was the media’s ability to go beyond the
surface and report penetratingly and aggressively as expected.
For instance, there was a report like “Power sector reform: Reps flag-off probe on
PHCN liquidation, assets transfer” (Business
Day, January 27, 2017, pg. 5). This report only provided the readers with
the information about the House of Representatives’ resolution to launch probe.
However, there was no evidence that the media under review was exploring
opportunities provided by either the legislative tool like the FoI Act or any
other constitutional provisions to lunch major investigation into the rots
being reported in the sector. Also, in a report published by The Nation, tilted: “Hydro plants
improve power supply” (Jan. 5, 2017, pg 11), the unveiled an improvement in the
power generation within the period. Conversely, the report was one sided as it
only underscored the positions of players in the sector. There was no link
between this acclaimed improvement and how it affected the consumers on the
street. Consequently, in terms of whistle-blowing role, media reportage of
power sector has been on lower ebb.
Investigative
Reports that couldn’t bite?
There
is no doubt the fact that media published series of investigative reports in
the period under review. The question to ask is whether the style of reporting
was penetrating enough to forcefully pull the string; whether it challenged the
status quo, added vital new information to the public sphere, and uncovered
wrong doing or corruption in the sector.
v Findings show that greater percentage of media
reports under review dwelt more on problems in the power sector than solutions.
The implication shows that the media were adopting ‘victim-blaming reporting
frame’ in their reportage. The more the
attention was paid to the problems, the more the consumers felt powerless and
hopeless.
There
were a number of investigative reports than dwelt more on problems than
solutions in the media under review.
On
The Nation’s front page was a
report, captioned: “Buhari’s power sector revival pill sparks crisis” (Feb. 2,
2017). The headline sensation painted as picture of serious challenges that
might be devoid of solution.
In
report published by The Punch,
titled: “Power: manufacturers spend #226bn monthly on gas” (January 8, 2017,
pg. 10). The paper wrote: “About 2,000
manufacturers using gas to power their operations at an average of #200bn a
month on power generation; an investigation by our correspondent has shown…” The
scenario unconsciously painted here tends to suggest there might long way to
restore normalcy in the sector, and the consumers might have to wait longer.
In
another report by The Nation,
titled: “Power sector loses N534bn to gas shortages” (Jan. 5, 2017, pg 11),the
paper only reeled out statistics posted on the website of the power players
such as the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the Transmission
Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Nigeria Electricity System Operator (NESO).
The report again signaled a hopeless situation without a near solution.
The
Nation published another report, chronicling problems bedeviling the
sector. The report quoted the spokesperson of the Association of Nigerian
Electricity Distributors (ANED) as saying:
The sector is facing problems such as
liquidity squeeze, shortage of gas, poor generation, and distribution, and weak metering
system…meter bypassing, stealing and vandalism of cables and other power equipment.
In Daily
Trust, the paper tagged a report a product of an investigation, titled: “Power: Tariff rise, MDAs’s debt payment top
outlook for 2017”, (January 3, 2017, pg 16), the content was not really
worth investigative report because it all boiled down to informing the readers,
the challenges carried over by the power firms from the previous year.
In the New
Telegraph’s report, titled: “National
power grid collapsed 3 times in 20 days—investigation” (January 31, 2017,
pg. 21) the paper published a report of an investigation into the Nigeria’s
aging power grid and the threat of voltage instability and blackout. According
to the report, “investigation by New
Telegraph revealed that this high state of power system collapse was
suffered by the country in the first 20 days of January, 2017…”
However,
there was no evidence in these reports showing the papers were going beyond the
surface. These reports only scratched the surface because they were sourced
from official sources. More and consistent follow up should have revealed
penetrating information.
In the Leadership
newspaper, a report of an investigation into the activities of Rural
Electrification Agency (ERA) was titled: “Interrogating
Efforts To Provide Power To Rural as” (January 8, 2017, pg 49). The report
reechoed the failure of the agency to live up to its mandate due to challenges
which still boils down to “inadequate funding”.
What
should be investigated?
Considering the fact that the period under review
(that is, between January and March) was a period of debates around budget
preparation, presentation, and eventual passage at all levels of government.
Yet, investigations in the media as to how the previous budget releases were
expended were not as in-depth as expected.
According 2016 Federal budget analysis prepared
by the Budgit, #1.9trillion was budgeted
for capital expenditure. Besides, of Federal government’s 20 top ministries
provided for in the 2016 budget, Ministry of Power was the second largest
beneficiary of a whooping sum of #546.9bn. As at the time debates around
2017 budget were in top gear, we expected serious and in-depth searchlight by
the media into how the previous expenditure was carried out.
Standard practice expects a kind of journalism
which aims at engaging duty bearers in such a manner that the citizenry become
active and empowered. In his comment on how media has failed to hold government
accountable to the people, Lee Hamilton (2017) affirmed that:
Though power may seem to rest in
Washington, state capitols, and city halls around the country, in the end it is wielded by citizens
who have the ability to seat and unseat elected officials, to organize around
issues and through concerted action to affect the policy agenda. But citizens cannot act
responsibly if they’re kept in the dark. And it’s the media’s role to make sure
that does not happen. Its performance in recent years, however,
has not been reassuring… how much were you reading or seeing about the depth
and intensity of the frustrations in large swaths of the country…? How much
coverage do you see about climate change, or poverty, or the impact on our
communities and individuals of the income inequality that has become a hallmark
of this era?
Although, observations indicate that media under review
showed some interest in the use of experts and statistical analysis into some
areas in the sector, there has always been the missing in-depth of these
reporting because a good number of sources being accessed by the media were
government sources.
Curiously, no single report in all the media monitored, indicated
the use of Freedom of Information ACT (FoI ACT) or any other known
investigation techniques such as in-depth analysis of large quantities of data,
documents, government and corporate reports, financial filings, public
databases and interviews with both on and off-the-record sources. We expect
investigative journalists to wield the influence of Freedom of Information Acts
to gain access to government-held information. It is also expected that the
media would lunch probe into the unearthing of high profile cases of
corruption, inefficiency, failed policies and promises as well as ineffective
reforms in the education sector. Interestingly, all the media under review
reported these issues.
Some Media Reports were Revealing Though
Findings show that some reports
were quite revealing in scope and context to a considerable extent. A report in
The Nation titled: “’Corruption
among Discos’ officials rising” (Feb, 10, 2017, pg 23) gave an account of one
of major ways power consumers are ripped off in terms of substandard equipment,
causing incessant power supply. The report read, “The Nation learnt that
contractors refurbish oil equipment to make them and appealing to
customers…they obtain fake local certification numbers…to ensure the
transaction has some level of credibility…”
Policy
Reporting (were the
media selecting the right framing to report policies embarked upon by the
regulators?)
The volume of reportage observed in the media
under review showed that media have shown considerable interest in the policy
directions of the regulators in the sector.
Conversely,
media reporting was more episodic, making issues disjointed and reactionary. Policy reporting was still more of
event-based activities in which news were usually from press release,
conferences, and workshops (organized by event-makers many of whom were behind
the making of power sector paralyzed) rather than stories from investigations.
As a result, many policy-driven reports ended as mere rhetoric or extension of
regulators’ public relations outfits.
And because issues were not adequately reported, giving wider
scope, with collective consciousness, most media reports underscored an
impression of favour or pity to
whatever the public got from the services of the power firms or the
regulators.
For
instance, Leadership newspaper
reported policy direction by AEDC in a story, captioned: “AEDC to Commence Customers’ Enumeration in Niger Soon” (January 4,
2017, Pg. 10).
The
same report was published by Daily Trust,
captioned: “AEDC begins enumeration for
Niger customers in Feb” (January 3, 2017, pg. 16).
Another story was reported by ThisDay captioned: “BEDC
Restores Power Supply to Delta Community after Seven Year of Darkness”
(March 22, 2017, pg 25).
Business Day’s report titled: “Draft mini-grid policy to be approved Q1 2017—NERC” (January 3,
2017, pg. 32) published an update on Federal Government policy on mini-grid and
how it would impact on the lives of the people.
In
The Nation, the paper published a
story, titled: “The Unending metering crisis” (Jan. 5, 2017, pg. 36),
underscoring an impression that the customers were at the mercy of the DISCOs.
Citing excuses for the failure to provide meters, the paper quoted the
Executive Officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company as saying: “if
consumers are paying their bills and banks are providing loans to the Discos,
it would be easier to provide meters…” This reporting unconsciously exposes
media’s culpability in the firms’ regulators to be accountable to the masses
and power firms’ ineffectiveness. The statement:
“if consumers are paying their bills and banks are providing loans to the
Discos” obviously boils down to “victim-blaming” model of reporting as the
report tends to hold consumers responsible for power failure in the country.
In
another story by The Nation, titled
“N120b debts worsen Gencos’ operational challenges” (Feb. 23, 2017, pg 14), the
report seemed to be the mouth-piece of the Gencos, claiming huge backlog of
debt from the government, without having any recourse to the consumers’ pulse.
The report also included a towering photograph of “a power generation facility”
that appeared as an elephant project that might not be delivered in a near
future.
Another instance of this was exemplified in
the New Telegraph’s report, titled:
“Budget: defense to spend N6.2bn on power
supply” (January 2, 2017, pg 4).
Reforms-Driven
Reporting (were the media selecting the right framing to report key reforms
embarked upon by the regulators?)
No
doubt, there were series of reports highlighting regulators’ proposed reforms
towards serving the needs of the public in the power sector. However, there was
no evidence that media did a follow-up of some of these plans by the power
firms in the subsequent reports. So, this shows media’s culpability in some
failure witnessed in the sector.
It is instructive to note that almost all the
media under review reported in the same manner, quoting official sources. The
reports so far have adopted ‘beat system’ of reporting, lacking in depth. For
instance, hardly was any of these reports incorporating experts’ opinions and
the pulse of the consumers in order to put issues in wider perspective so that
the citizens would be adequately informed about government activities.
Even,
where framing showed positive reporting by putting forward some hopes and
recommendations, it was always as if those reforms and recommendations were
still going to fail.
An instance of this was found in The Punch’s report, captioned “FG to raise N20bn for renewable energy
projects” (February 1, 2017, pg. 24). Interest in “renewable energy” was echoed in another reports in The Punch captioned: “FG targets solar power for industrial centers”
(February 2, 2017, pg. 30) and “EI,
others unveil scheme to address electricity gap” (February 2, 2017, pg. 31)
In Business
Day, a move towards alternative source of
power was published in a report, titled: “Nigeria
acquires land for 2000mw solar power
plant based on Moroccan model” (February 28, 2017, pg.30).
In the Vanguard
edition (of February 1, 2017, pg 8), a report titled: “Osinbajo flags off 20,000 solar powered lighting systems”, unveils
the distribution of the solar powered lighting to rural dwellers.
Reports on power generation were published in a ThisDay, captioned: “Osinbajo…Kicks
off presidential initiative to deliver solar power to 20,000 homes”
(February 1, 2017, pg. 10). The report referred to Osinbajo as saying “the
growing favourable economics of using renewable energy sources like solar
photovoltaic (PV) to generate electricity means that Nigeria will now have to
use off grid…especially for those in the rural areas”.
Same report was published in Daily Sun, highlighting reforms in
renewable energy, tagged: “Osinbajo
flags-off 20,000 solar powered lighting systems” (February 1, 2017, pg 8). The
paper added that the project was in conjunction with the Niger Delta Power
Holding Company (NDPHC) and Azuri technologies.
Leadership’s report “FG
Commences Rural-based Solar Electrification, Powers 200 Homes In Abuja”
(February 1, 2017, pg 29) was pointing in the same direction of another sources
of power.
The paper reported another story “Power Crisis: Manufacturers To Set Up
Generating Plant” (February 2, 2017, pg 6) unveiled the on-going discussion
between Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC) to float independent power plant in Lagos.
Business Day’s report, titled “450mw achievable on developing 127 small hydropower potential sites”
(February 28, 2017, pg 4-6) unveiled level of waste in the power sector that
would have been channeled toward effective power generation.
Another opinion published in Business Day, titled: “Fixing the broken pieces of Nigeria’s
electricity market—1” (February 28, 2017, pg. 10) juxtaposed problems in
the power sector and the possible solutions.
Another
report in the Vanguard echoed
concerns over privatization policy
of the Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN) in a report titled: “TCN: Crisis
looms between Senate, FG over $174m AfDB loan…”. The report quoted a source
saying, “the Federal Government is yet to determine whether to privatize the
TCN”.
On
power generation, Daily Trust report, titled: “Ambode targets 3000mw 24-hr power generation
for Lagos” (February 16, 2017, pg. 19) made a reference to the state
governor, saying “the government’s target was to generate up to 3,000mw of
power through accelerated deployment of various embedded power plants in
strategic locations in the state within three to five years”. Daily Trust published another report on
its front page, titled: “FG cedes TCN MGT to ADB” (February 2, 2017). The
report underscored the FG’s decision to use TCN management as collateral to the
“African Development Bank (ADB) over a $174million loan granted the company by
the bank”.
Media score-card on policy reporting
Some
reports were observed to have added expected results of these reforms and policies as well as recommendations.
In
a report published by The Guardian,
titled: “FG okays N701b to boost
electricity supply” (March 2, 2017, pg 3), the report captured the expected
result as explained by the power minister: “what we seek to achieve here is to
bring some stability to the production side of the power value chain and also
give confidence to investors…”
The Nation also published a reform-driven story in a report,
titled: “Why we launched N1b MSMEs’ solar energy fund, by BoI”. The report
added that the “initiative would not only boost employment not only boost
employment generation, but it would also improve that standard of living…”
In
a reform-driven report published by the
Daily Trust, titled: “FG unveils
power sector recovery programme” (March 22, 2017, pg 6) the paper included
the details of the recovery and the expected
results “…the programme would also improve the performance of distribution
companies and the entire value chain to create more viable private-driven power
sector”.
However, many of these reports were sourced
from government’s spokespersons. Consequently, the practice of depth reporting
was elusive. Again, media have done very little to do follow up stories on some
of the policy direction and promises made by governments and power firms.
Agenda
Setting Reporting: (were the media performing
its agenda-setting role to set governance on good footings?)
n agenda-setting, media under review did well in
setting agenda and recommending solutions. As rightly noted, “Agenda setting can thus be seen as
another name for successfully performing the first function of framing:
defining problems worthy of public and government attention”. Part of the agenda that were set for the power
regulators and governments in the period bordered on the need to:
i) Boost power generation
ii) Revisit privatization
policy and
iii) Invest on renewable sources of energy.
Observations showed that media angle of reporting agenda-setting
in order to complement governments’ efforts at reforming the sector was positive in terms of proffering
solutions in to the power sector problems.
A couple of some of the finest articles, proffering solutions so
far were published by The Nation. In a story on its opinion page, titled
“Rethinking green energy” (Feb. 8, 2017, pg. 20), the paper, apart from citing
myriads of problems bedeviling power sector, a credible solution was provided,
setting achievable agenda for the regulators in the sector: “…Despite our
pitfalls and mishaps, there is a solution to solving such problems…The answer
lies in an effective and efficient waste-to-energy programme…we can create
renewable energy that will help fuel economic development…waste to energy conversion
policies in Nigeria should be pursued aggressively”.
In another story, The
Nation published on its ‘Special Report’ series, an article titled: “Power
headache: will it ever get the right pills?” (March 1 and 2, 2017, pgs 4 and 3
respectively) In the report, the paper cited a good number of sources
proffering solutions. One of them was quoted as saying “Nigeria requires a
combination of on-grid and off grid sources of energy to meet energy needs of
the its citizens…the government needs to marry both renewable energy and
traditional energy sources together to attain…stable electricity for
Nigerians”. The paper also quoted another government source as saying “There
should be amendment of laws to ensure that there are stiffer punishments meted
out to those who tamper with power facilities”.
Also,
in a ThisDay’s editorial, titled:
“THE RENEWABLE ENERGY OPTIO” (January 4, 2017, pg, 15), the paper advised
government to give “the decentralized renewable energy a try”.
Also,
ThisDay published a report, titled:
“Expert: Buhari will fail if He Relies
Solely on Hydro Electricity Generation” (January 5, 2017, pg 48). The
report underscored an agenda setting piece, from the perspective of experts,
for the government in the New Year, saying “President Buhari must invest in
solar and wind energy, like we have in Asian countries…”
One
of the key agenda the media under review were pushing to the corridor of power
was the adoption and subsequent deployment of political will to drive
alternative power source of electricity. One of these was contained in a report
of an interview, published by Vanguard,
titled: “With nuclear energy, Nigeria can
have predictable electricity prices for 60 years—Komarov” (January 4, 2017,
pg 22).
The Nation’s report on renewable energy was also positive.
In a report captioned “’Nigeria has large market for renewable energy” (Feb. 2,
2017, pg 14), the paper stated that “Nigeria offers a large market for
renewable energy and has greater opportunity…because of its population…”
Meanwhile, very striking was the picture of a solar panel embedded in the
story, towering over the readers. It suggested a ray of a clean energy, and a
fulfilling future as it was shot against a background of green vegetation.
A report was published by Business Day in “Why value
Chain synergy is critical to power sector revival” (February 7, 2017, pg.
31). The report provided some solutions to power sector crisis which include
“that Discos should be encouraged to adopt off-balance sheet funding solutions
to fund key capital items such as metering, network expansion and embedded
generation”.
Similarly,
a report of an interview, published by Vanguard
in its “Monthly Review of the Energy Industry”, titled: “TCN’s shortfall,
insufficient capital investment threaten power supply—Joy Ogaji” (January 3,
2017, pg 10) was a form of agenda-setting goal for the government and power
stakeholders in the New Year.
ThisDay published an opinion, titled: “POWER SECTOR AND EMERGENCY EXPERTS (January 6, 2017, pg 14),
urging the government and regulators to uphold the privatization policy in the
power sector”.
As
part of the solution-driven and agenda setting reporting for the New Year, New Telegraph published a report of an
interview, titled: “States must be
allowed to generate power—Rasaq” (March 2, 2017, pg 11). The report added a
recommendation to the regulators: “…remove electricity from the Exclusive
Legislative List and put it in the Concurrent List, so that each state can go
ahead to generate and distribute power…”
Meanwhile,
close observation showed media’s concern for the privatization process in the power sector. An editorial in The Punch edition (of February 2, 2017,
pg, 18), captioned: “Time to resolve
lingering electricity crisis” which blames Gencos, Discos, and the TCN for
the current epileptic supply, shows media’s concern on what it termed ‘faulty’
privatization process in the sector. The report called for a design to “ease
the liquidity problem in the sector”.
Though these reports were
greatly sourced from government’s spokespersons, the significance was observed
in unveiling how regulators’ or government’s agenda-setting could drive news
coverage. However, the implication was always on the question of depth
reporting which was largely unanswered.
Public
Interest:
According to Emergency Journalism, an Initiative by the
European Journalism Centre (EJC), “there is nuclear consensus between media
practitioners as to what is in the public interest to broadcast. Standards
differ between countries, organizations, and journalists themselves, depending
upon the nature of event and the purpose of publication”. What is constant is
that media often act as an agent of information dissemination and it holds that
as a duty to the public. Information will be deemed useful to the public if it
affects, or has an impact on their well being and can shape their perception in
a particular situation.
David E. Morrison and Michael in a publication, The Public
Interest, the Media and Privacy (2002) affirm that “…The concept of public
interest…clearly involves matters that are held to affect a considerable number
of people.”
In the context of this research, there was a number of
media reports there were more of public-oriented reporting. Some of the key
issues that closely touch on the sensibility of the public in the media
reporting in were discussions around metering,
tariff and customer enumeration.
A report published by Daily Trust, titled “Benin
Discos announces 39,000 meter roll out” (February 23, 2017, pg 15). The
report quoted Head of Metering, BEDC, Engr. Meshaic Okhumeode as saying, “meter
installation will be preceded by enumeration of customers on feeders…”
It is important to note that many of the
newspapers under review publish their reports on “Business Pages” and “Energy
pages”. The Punch, for instance
published majority of its reports on power
on the pages dedicated to “Business
& Economy”. Some of these include: “13
power plants lose 3,124MW to gas shortage”(January 5, 2017, pg 29). “Load
rejection: Power firms blame faulty transmission equipment” (January 2,
2017, pg 26) is a clear case of a report that served the public good for its
proactive nature as news report.
These reports were a follow-up of an earlier
story by the same paper. As acknowledged, the paper wrote: “Last week, The PUNCH
had exclusively reported that eight electricity distribution firms rejected a
total of 1,336.7 megawatts-hour of electricity…” Another report titled: “Experts seek review, audit of power sector
privatization” (January 4, 2017, pg 24) sought to lend voices to the
upgrade in power supply to serve the public better.
Also, on The
Nation’s Business and Energy page, (Feb. 23, 2017, pg 16), the paper
published a cartoon, showing an angry consumer, protesting over the
disconnection of his meter, even when there was no supply. This shows the
media’s concern for the interest and
pulse of the masses.
A similar report was published in the Daily Trust (January 4, 2017, pg.14) on
its Business page, captioned: “Kaduna Electric wants faulty transmission
facilities fixed”, showing the newspaper’s concern about power inadequacy
on the public and their businesses.
In the Leadership
newspaper, a report is titled: “Interrogating
Efforts To Provide Power To Rural Areas” (January 8, 2017, pg 49) was
published on the Business Page,
indicating the importance of power to the public. The significance of these
stories to the public was obvious considering its placement on the (Business & Economy) pages. Really,
it was an indication that the paper was concerned about the impact of the sector
on the economy and standard well being of the public.
A report published by Daily Trust titled: “CSO
wants CBN, NERC to audit Discos” (March 2, 2017, pg. 17) This bothered on
ways to end incessant power outage in the country.
Another public-interest story was published by
Leadership newspaper, captioned:
“Kaduna Electric Engages Janruwa
Community, Seeks Cooperation”. The report quoted a community leaders as
saying “…As inhabitants of this community, we must support the efforts of
Kaduna Electric by protecting these assets”.
Meanwhile, public concern for electricity was
shown in a photograph published on the front page of ThisDay of February 8, 2017, showing a close-up shot of some
legislators and a power firm’s director.
In The
Guardian, an issue bordering on tariff
came up in a report, captioned: “Electricity
tariff increase not guarantee for power supply” (February 2, 2017, pg 5).
In the interest of the public, the paper referred to a press release by the
spokesperson of the NERC that the “commission was empowered under ESPR Act to
provide a cost reflective tariff”.
Similarly, there was a deliberate attempt by ThisDay newspaper to publish on its
front page, a report captioned: “Power
Sector Investors Demand Settlement of N50bn Debt, Call for Tariff Hike”
(February 8, 2017). The report was not only to sensationalize the issue of tariff hike, but also to weep up public anger against ‘investors’
call for hike in tariff.
The public concern over undue tariff was also exhibited in a cartoon published on the New Telegraph’s editorial page. The
report gave an undertone of how electricity users were being ripped off by
power providers.
New
Telegraph also published a report, bordering on
metering, titled “Jos residents storm
JEDC, protest un-calibrated meters” (February 17, 2017, pg 34). The report
underscored public concern over unequal tariff with other states of the
federation.
In Business
Day, public concern about poor service and issue of ‘crazy bill’ was
featured in a report, “Crazy bills, power outage: aggrieved residents storm Eko
Disco” (February 7, 2017, pg 29)
Balance (telling all sides of the
story)
In this research, reports involving allegations and
counter-allegations against specific individuals and institutions with
different sides were minimal. When there were cases of allegations, they were
all general.
Observation
showed that Daily Trust led the pack
in terms of fact-checking journalism. In a January
report by Daily Trust on its Business page, captioned: “Electricity supply stabilises at 4,000mw”
(January 5, 2017, pg. 13), the paper wrote about a sustained “peak of 4,000
megawatts (mw) into 2017”, using data and “statistics from the Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory commission (NERC)”. The paper did a fact-checking
analysis by reaching out to customers under Abuja Electricity Distribution
Company (AEDC), one of who stated that “Electricity supply has been relatively
constant across Mararaba”.
Meanwhile,
in the month of February, the same
professionalism was observed in the Daily
Trust report, titled: “Electricity grid hits 4,500mw” (February 28, 2017,
pg 19). This report was a follow-up on the status of the national power supply.
Similarly, the report was sourced from both government-regulator and the
electricity customers. To fact-check the regulator’s claim, the paper made an
effort in reaching electricity users, one of them who said “his area Kuchiyako
has not seen any improvement till now”
In
a similar manner, a report by the same Daily
Trust, titled: “power ministry to
spend N322m to run generators…” (January 11, 2017, pg 17) shows the paper
did not only balance the story by comparing 2016 and 2017 budgetary allocation
to agencies under power ministry, it ended it by checking the facts of the
matter and therefore calling the attention of regulators to what the paper
called “double spending” thus:
The ministry will also use #800m to
monitor and evaluate power projects and sector
performance. A Daily Trust check showed
that the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) at the Presidency monitors the mostly privatized
sector. The double spending is coming when NERC under the same ministry has
provision to audit the electricity market”.
The
same report was published by Vanguard,
titled: “Abuja DISCO denies rejecting electricity allocation” (January 2, 2017,
pg 5). To balance the story, the paper included, in the report, the company’s
defense, blaming under-utilization of the proportion of electricity allocated
to it by te System Operator (SO).
Daily Trust newspaper also published another report,
titled: “Power plants damaged by frequent
grid collapses” (January 25, 2017, pg. 16) counter-balancing an earlier
statement by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) attributing “low water
level at the hydro power stations for the drop in generation capacity”.
In the reports published by Leadership newspaper, titled “Kaduna Electric debunks Allegations of Load
Rejection” , (January 3, 2017, pg. 28), and another report, titled: “Electricity: AEDC Refutes Allegations of Bias
Against Niger State” ( January 3, 2017, pg 29), the paper included, as
background information, an earlier petition, alleging distribution bias against
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company. Meanwhile, an evidence of balance was
observed in a rejoinder by the accused, denying the allegation.
Also, in a feature story by The Punch,(January, 8, 2017, pg. 43),
titled “Three years after, knocks for
power firms over poor service”, the paper did not only balance the story
with the inclusion of comments from the side of the power firms, experts and
the consumer advocacy groups, also, a photograph, showing the Minister of Power
was featured in the story.
Business Day, in a report, titled: “Smart meters compelling
electric users to be efficient” (January 3, 2017, pg 31) used background
information of customers’ complaint about smart meters. The paper balanced the
report by juxtaposing Kaduna Electric’s report with customers’ complaint and
ended with an expert’s way forward.
In
a report published by New Telegraph,
“Kano DISCO contests N8.2bn TCN debt” (February 24, 2017, pg 34), the paper
traced the background of the contest to an earlier allegation of huge debt by
the TCN against DISCOS. The paper balanced the response with a defense put up
by Kano DISCO.
In
a similar manner, Daily Sun report,
titled: “Rivers: Angry youths shut down
power station” (February 1, 2017, pg, 11) put side by side allegation of
power disconnection by the youth and the response by the Port Harcourt
Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) which challenged the “host communities
to produce the written agreement it had with the Federal Government which
absolved them from paying for electricity”.
A
report published by Daily Sun,
captioned: “Ondo residents groan over 7 years power outage” (March 16, 2017, pg
26) showed an example of a balanced story. The paper chronicled the agony of
the residents who said “series of protests we embarked upon with no result”. To
balance the story, the paper also reported the sides presented by the NDDC and
the response by the power firm’s spokesperson who “assured the communities that
power would be restored as soon as the company finalized its work”.
Reports Highlighting Success Stories
of the power Sector (What were
the media roles in disseminating adequate information to the public concerning
the outcomes of regulators’ activities? Are there failure or success stories?)
Despite
some setbacks, media under review still highlighted some success stories in the
power sector. However, observations revealed that very small percentage of
media stories were reported from the thematic framing, linking results of good policy/reform drive
to success stories recorded in the sector.
Evidence shows that media continue to keep tab on the
success story in the power sector. Each of the media under review showed
interest in the reportage of slight improvement
in the power supply to the national grid.
Meanwhile, Daily Trust reported one of these
success stories in the power sector, titled: “Electricity supply stabilizes at 4,000mw” (January 5, 2017, pg. 13).
As
reported in The Vanguard’s story,
captioned: “Power supply improves
slightly to 3,528 MW” (February 2, 2017, PG 4), the paper gave a background
analysis, to justify the success story, by making a reference to the
operational report from the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) in
January as saying “the power sector dropped to 2,662.20 megawatt on January 22
because of low water levels and challenge of accessing gas by GENCOS”.
The Nation published another in a story titled:”power
generation hits 4,043MW as gas supply improves (Feb, 4, 2017, pg 14).
Leadership newspaper, on its front page of January 5th
2017 edition, published same story, captioned: “Electricity Generation Hits
3,959MW”.
Same
story was published in Daily Trust,
titled: “Electricity grid hits 4,500”
(February 28, 2017, pg 19). The report added that ‘…The national electricity
grid last weekend rose to 4,500megawatts (mw) after the threshold of 4,000mw
was attained two weeks ago”. This showed a constant monitoring of the data
shown by the Nigerian System Operator (NSO) that transmits power to the 11
Discos in the country.
Another instance was observed from The Guardian’s report, titled: “FG
okays…Generation now 4000mw” (March 2, 2017, pg 3). The report quoted the
power minister as saying “It’s back now at over 4000 megawatts. We have solved
the transmission problem in Ikot Ekpene largely to evacuate over a thousand…”
An
undertone of success story in terms of power generation was observed in a Business Day’s report titled: “Nigeria acquires land for 2000mw solar power
plant based on Moroccan model” (February 28, 2017, pg 30). The report said
the project might be executed through public private partnership (PPP).
A
success story on post-privatization
policy was captured in a ThisDay’s
report, titled: “Ikeja Electric Unveils
‘Journey to Sustainability Report’ (February 1, 2017, pg 25) which
chronicled the power firm’s “post privatization progress recorded in 2015”.
Meanwhile, a success story report by ThisDay captioned: “BEDC
Restores Power Supply to Delta Community after Seven Year of Darkness”
(March 22, 2017, pg 25) linked the result to “the completion of re-enumeration
in some areas, the installation of transformer statistical meters…”
A
report in New Telegraph, titled:
“BEDC reviews three years’ operations, observes statutory requirements”
(January 24 2017, pg. 24) unveils the achievement of the Benin Electricity
Distribution Company. According to the report, “On network improvement and
upgrade, the company has added new injection substations to provide relief to
overloaded network and provided various distribution transformers…”
Weaknesses or Failure of Power
Regulators (What were
the media roles in disseminating adequate information to the public concerning the
outcomes of regulators’ activities? Were there failure or success stories?)
Following
series of debate and budget analysis that characterized media reporting in the
period under review, attention of the media was focused on narratives that
define the failure of power regulators and providers to revamp power sector.
A typical example was observed in a report
published on the front page of ThisDay,
captioned: “…Dogara: N2.74tn spent on
sector in 16 years with no results” (February 8, 2017). The report showed
evidence of helplessness on the part of the regulators, going by a
statement credited to the House Speaker
that “Perhaps the most important question is what happened to the N1.74
trillion spent on the sector from 1999-2015? Why is it that the more we spend
on the power sector, the more darkness we attract?”
Same system failure was reported by The Nation, titled: ”Saraki, Dogara
query N2.7tr spent on power sector without result” (Feb. 8, 2017, pg. 5). The
paper quoted a source as saying “…why have various policies by successive
governments failed?...why are electric meters not available to most consumers…”
Vanguard also published a feature story, captioned:
“TCN blames DISCOs, GENCOs over poor electricity service…” (January 3, 2017, pg
12), highlighting failure of power providers to improve on electricity, years
after privatization.
The Nation published an investigative report, titled:
“The unending metering crisis” (Jan. 5, 2017, pg 36), unveiling DISCO’s failure
to provide meters to their customers after years of privatization.
New telegraph’s report, titled: “Power sector lost N534bn revenue in 2016” (January 5, 2017, pg
4) and another report, titled: “power sector records N1.1bn loss in one day”
(January 17, 2017, pg 25), reveal governments’ failure to address the
challenges facing the power sector to include shortages in gas supply,
frequency and limitations and water level management constraints. According to
the paper, “…Power generation from hydro plants drops by 150 MW due to water
constraints…”
Vanguard also echoed systemic failure in a report,
titled: “Agbo residents protest poor
power supply” (February 1, 2017, pg 13). The report quoted a source, saying
“despite the installation of step down transformer in the town, power supply
remained epileptic”. The paper reported another story, echoing similar system
failure in “Onitsha traders lament epileptic power supply in markets” (February
1, 2017, pg 29)
The same echo of failure was heard in a Daily Sun’s report, “Rivers: Angry Youths shut down power station”
(February 1, 2017, pg 11).
In the Daily
Trust, another report, titled: “Power
sector is in bad shape” (February 9, 2017, pg 14) indicates that power
providers are not getting it right as the report made a reference to the Vice
Chairman, NERC as saying “…the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission
(NERC) must
A
report published by Leadership newspaper,
titled: “We Lost N97M To Unutilized
energy in 6-Weeks—MD Mainstream Energy” (March 15, 2017, pg. 19),
chronicled the lingering causes of power failure in the country. No solution offered.
Another
story in the Leadership captioned: “Whistle blowing Gone Wrong: My Case With
NERC” (March 14, 2017, 48) unveiled alleged underhand deal by NERC and the
failure of regulatory body to bring to a halt to illegality committed by power
firms in the sector.
Conclusion:
In-Depth Investigation
The findings
of this research showed that media’s in ability to engender good governance in the power sector was due to
lack of serious and in-depth investigations into the activities of the regulators as they concern rots, failed
policies and reforms, failed budget implementations among other issues
bedeviling the sector. Christopher Lasch (as cited by Scott London,
1993) observes that:
What democracy requires is public debate, not information…Unless
information is generated by sustained public debate, most of it will be irrelevant at
best, misleading and manipulative at worst…Much of the press, in its eagerness to inform the
public, has become a conduit for the equivalent of junk mail.
Greater
percentage of investigative reports monitored in the media was mere
information-driven for the sake of it. They were not qualified for reporting
that could engender serious debate on serious issues. As a result of this,
media has been seen to have trivialized serious issues and has failed to
adequately inform the public about key issues in the sector.
Sources of Information
In an insightful piece in the May/June 1991
issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, James
Boylan reflects on "voter alienation and the challenge it poses to the
press." He writes that "information, the raw material of news,
usually turns out to be the peculiar property of those in power and their attendant
experts and publicists." The conclusion he draws from this is that
"political reporting, like other reporting, is defined largely by its
sources”.
Findings
showed that media relied heavily on government/regulators’ sources for the
purpose of gathering information. Observations showed that there was weakened
ability/capacity of the media to tap into investigation tools such as the
Freedom of Information Act, independent data and statistics, forensic analysis
among others. However, where experts’ analyses were used, they were merely for
the sake of setting agenda or for early warning mechanism, not for unraveling
corruption and poor practices.
Media Framing
Investigations
showed that the manner in which media framed issues in the power sector was capable
of generating pessimistic reaction from the public. Consequently, the public
was further separated from the policies and reforms of the government because
they did not see changes in the polity as direct results of these policies and
reforms.
Human Right Reporting
Findings
show that media has done very little to speak to the right of the public in
terms of quality service delivery from duty bearers. Because of this, the
public found it a matter of charity or privilege each time government/regulators
dole out paltry share of the resources allocated. In this wise, it can be
concluded that the media has not been fair to the public with respect to public
education and enlightenment about what exactly should be their rights.
Media Score-Card
There
was no doubt that media under review have done creditably well in terms of
adequately covering the activities of the electric power regulators. The
attention paid to policies and reforms being championed by the regulators
showed that these activities were news worthy in the first place.
Again,
media have played good roles in informing the public of the success story and
systemic failure recorded in the sector. Meanwhile, the missing gaps remain the
fact that there were no deliberate efforts by the media to link success stories
to results of systemic/functional drive of government policies. There was also
no conscious effort in linking systemic failure in the sector to bad policies.
Media often assumes the public already knows.
However,
findings showed that media have played some key roles in setting agenda for the
regulators.
In
terms of balanced reporting, considerable efforts were made by the media to
report all sides where appropriate.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The
following recommendations will go a long way in raising the bar of power reporting in the Nigerian media:
i) Media should publish reports that change people’s
thinking. Media reports should give clue to what and how regulators’ policies
and reforms contribute to power sector’s success or failure.
ii)
Journalists need to be trained on how to use investigation tools available in
the country to go beyond the surface news. These tools include relevant
sections of the Nigerian Constitution such as Section 22 which empowers the
media to constitutionally operate freely: “The press, radio, television and
other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the
fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility
of the government to the people”, the Freedom of Information Act (FoI ACT),
Forensic Analysis, experts analysis, International Charter and Treaties to
which Nigeria is a signatory such as “African
Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption” and the
“United Nations Convention
against Corruption”.
Media
Should Address the Culture of Beat System
In order to challenge the media
against the culture of ‘beat system’, Ogwezzy-Ndisika (2014) recommends that the media should strive to know the
cause and effects of an issue within the domain of the ecological model ‘’which
recognizes the connections between one event and the other as issues are not
isolated but linked to a chain of issues.’’
Media should Adopt
Interpretative Reporting/Thematic Framing/Ecological model of Reporting
This framing puts issues in a wider
context, provides concrete evidence. As Shengar observes, viewers of the thematic frames were more likely to
attribute the causes and solutions to governmental policies and other factors
beyond the victim's control.
This is akin to what Ogwezzy-Ndisika (2014) refers to as “depth reporting, using
ecological model”. According to her, ecological model, unlike “episodic
framing” or “victim-blaming model” is promoted by societal interest. It
challenges the proponents of victim-blaming ideology and assumes that
appropriate changes in the social environment will produce changes that will
eradicate poverty which of course, is a direct result of epileptic power supply
in the country. This is because the model focuses attention both on individuals
and social environmental factors; addresses the importance of intervention
directed at changing interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy
factors which promote failure in the first place.
Interpretative reporting goes beyond
stating the facts, but puts them in proper context, providing background,
offering explanation and interpretation to give meaning.
REFERENCES
Budgit
(2016) “Federal Government’s 20 top Ministries”
Hamilton, L.
(2017) “Arab American News, New Analysis”, in New America Media”
(newamericamedia.org
ICHRP (2002) “Journalism, Media and the
challenge of Human Rights Reporting”
Ogwezzy-Ndisika, A, “Techniques for
Effectively Reporting Poverty,’’ being a paper
presented at a workshop organized by the International Press Center (IPC)
on March 5th,
2014.
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