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A Look, Back and Forth: Media Advocacy and Public Opinion over Oil Subsidy Removal in Nigeria
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Mass Communication
Abstract
The oil-subsidy removal, so called, has been a pertinent issue in Nigeria’s political economic space. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, many have touted that subsidy removal in any form did not arise, were it not for successive government’s failure to fix the nation’s four refineries and the resort to importation of petroleum products for local consumption. The announcement of the subsidy removal in the maiden broadcast on 29th May, 2023, by the new government, seems to be too hasty, sudden and not in the best interest of an impoverished populace, still grappling with the harsh realities of the immediate past administration’s ludicrous economic policies. It was this announcement that jolted a shell-shocked nation into a new frenzy of oil subsidy debate, which many have variously described as ill-timed. This paper intends to do a post-mortem on the controversy surrounding this issue, from a potpourri of media comments for and against oil subsidy removal. Using content analysis approach and congruity theory as well and other frames that conceive a set of dimensions in unbalanced communication, the paper believes that such a crucial decision would have needed an overview by all stake holders due to its implications on the generality of the citizenry.
Keywords
media, advocacy, media advocacy, public opinion and oil subsidy
How to cite this paper
@article{1722434,
author = {Dr. Gideon U. Isika, Dr. Michael Nzan, Dr. Omedomero Stella Egbra, Dr. Emmanuel E. E. Akpoveta},
title = {A Look, Back and Forth: Media Advocacy and Public Opinion over Oil Subsidy Removal in Nigeria},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2025},
volume = {9},
number = {2},
pages = {1581-1590},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1722434.pdf},
abstract = {The oil-subsidy removal, so called, has been a pertinent issue in Nigeria’s political economic space. Since the return to democratic rule in 1999, many have touted that subsidy removal in any form did not arise, were it not for successive government’s failure to fix the nation’s four refineries and the resort to importation of petroleum products for local consumption. The announcement of the subsidy removal in the maiden broadcast on 29th May, 2023, by the new government, seems to be too hasty, sudden and not in the best interest of an impoverished populace, still grappling with the harsh realities of the immediate past administration’s ludicrous economic policies. It was this announcement that jolted a shell-shocked nation into a new frenzy of oil subsidy debate, which many have variously described as ill-timed. This paper intends to do a post-mortem on the controversy surrounding this issue, from a potpourri of media comments for and against oil subsidy removal. Using content analysis approach and congruity theory as well and other frames that conceive a set of dimensions in unbalanced communication, the paper believes that such a crucial decision would have needed an overview by all stake holders due to its implications on the generality of the citizenry.},
keywords = {media, advocacy, media advocacy, public opinion and oil subsidy},
month = {August},
}