A STATEMENT BY THE NIGERIAN PRESS ORGANISATION (NPO)
Preserving Nigeria’s Information Sovereignty: Why the Federal Government Must Act to Secure the Nigerian Press in the Digital Age
A Strategic Appeal to the Presidency and the National Assembly
Nigeria is approaching a critical inflexion point in its democratic and digital evolution. Decisions taken now by the Presidency and the National Assembly will shape not only the future of journalism but also the strength of Nigeria’s social cohesion, national security, and democratic governance in the decades ahead.
The Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), respectfully submits this position in the public interest, not as private advocacy. The question before the Nigerian state is clear: can a democracy of Nigeria’s scale, diversity, and complexity afford to surrender control of its information ecosystem to unregulated global digital gatekeepers?
The Strategic Nature of the Threat
The rapid rise of global digital platforms has fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment. While these platforms have expanded access and innovation, they have also created a structural imbalance of power that now threatens the sustainability of professional journalism – the backbone of informed citizenship and accountable governance.
Today:
Global platforms dominate digital advertising markets.
Algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determine what Nigerians see, amplify, or ignore
Nigerian news content is monetised at scale without proportionate reinvestment in local journalism.
Revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore.
This is not a conventional market disruption. It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.
Why This Is a Matter of National Security and Social Stability
For Nigeria, the consequences extend far beyond media economics.
- Social Cohesion and Internal Security
In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious federation, credible journalism plays a stabilising role. When trusted news institutions weaken, misinformation, disinformation, and digitally manipulated narratives expand unchecked, fueling polarisation, grievance mobilisation, and insecurity.
No counterterrorism, policing, or intelligence framework can fully compensate for a collapsed information order.
- Democratic Governance and Electoral Integrity
Elections, public accountability, and citizen participation depend on reliable information. When professional journalism is displaced by algorithmic virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to distortion, foreign influence, and coordinated falsehoods.
- Press Freedom Through Economic Viability
Press freedom is not sustained solely by constitutional guarantees. It requires economic independence. A press that struggles to pay salaries, fund investigations, and continues to face the headwinds of rising production costs and the challenge of retaining talent is, in effect, unfree, regardless of legal protections.
- Employment, Skills, and National Capacity
The erosion of journalism revenue is already translating into newsroom contraction, job losses, and declining professional standards. This represents a loss of skilled labour, institutional memory, and national capacity that cannot be easily rebuilt.
Journalism as Strategic National Infrastructure
Professional journalism is not merely a commercial activity. It is strategic civic infrastructure, comparable in importance to education, public health, and the judiciary.
Its outputs – verified facts, investigative scrutiny, balanced reporting – are public goods. Yet the current digital market structure allows global platforms to extract disproportionate value from this public good while weakening its producers.
This asymmetry undermines the long-term resilience of Nigeria’s information ecosystem.
Global Precedent and Responsible State Action
Nigeria would not be acting in isolation.
Leading democracies – facing similar challenges – have concluded that non-intervention is no longer a neutral option:
The European Union and the United Kingdom have adopted proactive competition and digital market rules to curb gatekeeper dominance.
Australia introduced a structured bargaining framework that restored balance without stifling innovation.
Canada enacted legislation mandating compensation for news content, securing long-term funding for domestic journalism.
South Africa, following a rigorous competition inquiry, has moved decisively from diagnosis to enforceable remedies.
These actions demonstrate a clear global consensus: sovereign states must protect the integrity of their information systems.
A Nigerian Solution, Anchored in Law and Collaboration
NPO respectfully urges the Presidency and the National Assembly to adopt a measured, Nigerian-designed framework – whether through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments – that:
Recognises journalism as a public-interest activity
Corrects extreme bargaining power imbalances
Ensures fair remuneration for Nigerian news content
Preserves innovation, competition, and consumer choice
Nigeria already has capable institutions – the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) – with statutory authority to enforce proportionate remedies, including penalties for abuse of dominance and for refusal to negotiate in good faith.
The objective is market correction.
A Call to Leadership, Not Alarm
This appeal is not a request for protectionism. It is a call for strategic leadership to ensure that Nigeria’s democratic conversation is not quietly outsourced to opaque commercial algorithms beyond national control.
The cost of inaction will not be borne solely by publishers, broadcasters or journalists. It will be paid in weakened institutions, diminished public trust, rising misinformation, and a more fragile national cohesion.
Conclusion: A Decision That Will Define Nigeria’s Digital Future
History will judge this generation of leaders by whether it recognised the importance of information sovereignty early enough to act.
Protecting the Nigerian press is not an industry rescue – it is an investment in national stability, democratic durability, and Nigeria’s standing as a serious constitutional democracy.
NPO stands ready to collaborate with the Federal Government, the National Assembly, regulators, broadcasters, editors, civil society, and technology companies to design a fair, forward-looking, and Nigerian solution.
The moment to act is now!
Signatures:
- Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), President Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru
- The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), President, Mr. Eze Anaba
- The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) Chairman,
Comrade Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos
- The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) President,
Danlami Nmodu
- The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), President,
Comrade Alhassan Yahaya