Adigun Agbaje, professor of political science and former Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics, University of Ibadan, will review the book, Watchdogs or Captured Media: A Study of the Role of the Media in Nigeria’s Emergent Democracy 1999-2016 at its public presentation at the University of Lagos May 22nd.

Published by Diamond Publications for the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) Trust Fund, the book is edited by Ayo Olukotun,  professor of political communication, who occupies the Oba Sikiru Adetona Professorial Chair in Governance at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State.

The book occupies a unique place in the annals of the Nigerian media being the first of such effort to examine how well the media have performed their watchdog role since 1999. The book is expected to bridge the gap in media literature, extend understanding of ways the media promote or impede democracy, and offer insight into different aspects of the Nigerian media for better delivery.

A product of a year-long research grant from the Ford Foundation, the book parades 14 contributors, with 12 from Nigeria and one each from Ghana and Kenya. Drawn from the academia and the media, the Nigerian contributors are: Prof. Christian Ogbondah, of University of Northern Iowa in the United States of America (U.S.A); Prof. Lai Oso, of Lagos State University (LASU); Prof. Abiodun Salawu, of Northwest University in South Africa; and Prof. Ayo Olukotun.

Others are Dr. Oluyinka Esan of the University of Winchester, Hampshire in England; Dr. Tunde Akanni of LASU; Mr. Lanre Idowu of DAME; Mr. Edetaen Ojo of Media Rights Agenda; Dr. Nathaniel Danjibo of University of Ibadan (UI); Mrs. Funke Treasure-Durodola of Radio Nigeria; Dr. Kayode Eesuola of UNILAG; and Margaret Jesuminure of Adeleke University, Ede in Osun State.

Two Africans – Prof. Kwame Karikari of Wisconsin International University College in Accra, Ghana and Dr. Peter Kimani of Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya, offer comparative perspectives on media performance in their countries.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Muhammed is expected to give a keynote address. Also expected as presenters are: Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief, Punch Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Demola Osinubi; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mrs. Funke Egbemode; Chairman, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria and Chairman, Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh; President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Waheed Odusile.

The publication is an outcome of an international conference held in Lagos last September, where the chapter contributors received feedback on their findings, followed by revision and book presentation.

According to Professor Toyin Falola, a distinguished professor at the University of Texas at Austin, who wrote the foreword to the volume, the book engagingly informs readers of the place of the media in the Fourth Republic, covering its contributions, constraints, and challenges.