4. 5. 6. 7. - NIGERIA The government’s desire to retain control over the media through disabling legislations Lack of political will to create enabling environment for me dia independence If negative changes: Who or what has been the main cause? National and global economic downturn Mismanagement of the economy leading to prohibitive costs of doing business Absence of national infrastructure such as power supply and mass transportation to support media business The weak regulatory environment Lack of economic incentives for the media Low level of literacy and reading culture in the country Who could be the drivers/actors for change in the future? The civil society (human rights NGOs) Media professional bodies Media development organizations The legislature The regulatory bodies The Media training institutions What kind of activities are needed over the next two years? The Reform of existing media legislation The passage of the FOI bill More support for media development groups (only a fraction of development funds goes to the media) for training, re search, advocacy, monitoring etc Identify activities and develop strategies including civil society mobilisation, Developing a general strategy to support media Target donor bodies like Ford Foundation, OSIWA, OSJI, EU, DFID, FES, FES, HB, USAID, World Bank etc for more funds How can things move forward in such a hostile environment? The main weakness of past efforts is the absence of a long term coherent and comprehensive strategy with a minimum of three years life span. For example legal reforms cannot African Media Barometer - Nigeria 2008 39