Discourses on democracy in Africa often revolve around the relevance of Western democracy to African nations given the region's peculiar socioeconomic and cultural conditions (Ezeani, 2013). In many African countries, evidence abounds of the absence of democratic dividends, an indicator of the apparent failure of liberal democracy in the region. The media as the fourth estate of the realm is often seen, albeit idealistically, as being positioned to rise above democratic failures and, in its watchdog roles, to work towards the enthronement of good governance. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, the environment within which the media operates vis-àvis the ownership structures has continuously posed stoic challenges to its expected roles. The result is continuous dilemmatic practices, whereby the media's position as bastion of democracy is consistently negotiated. This article, with exemplars from the Nigerian media scene over the years, x-rays the stoic challenges which media ownership poses to Nigerian society as the nation works towards development through good governance. It argues that ownership patterns, pressures and politics continue to challenge the consistent and committed role of the media in deepening our march towards good democratic governance. The article, however, concludes that rather than heaping the blame on the media, one could more safely return a verdict of collective responsibility-viewing the failings of the media within the larger context of the failings of the social system in which the media are embedded. Such thinking invariably points to the fact that various stakeholders other than the media have a role to play in enthroning good governance in the Nigerian polity.

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Fundamental to the litany of Africa’s development issues is the crisis of governance. Naturally, good governance resonates as a panacea for this situation. In this, the role of the media as the bastion of democracy is indubitable. This article with focus on Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, situates the interplay of good governance and media practices within the media ownership debate. It argues that ownership patterns, pressures and politics have, for a long time, challenged the consistent and committed role of the media in deepening our march towards good governance. With clear case studies of media performances in the country over time, the article contends that the media might not totally be ready to take on the saddle of driving the democratic goals, as a result of the influence of ethnic/religious affiliation, political interest/affiliation and economic interest arising from the ownership shackles. The article returns a verdict of collective responsibility – viewing the failings of the media within the larger context of the failings of the social system in which the media are embedded.

The emergence of Nollywood in 1992 sparked enthusiasm among scholars and stakeholders who consider it as a unique opportunity for Nigeria to tell her story by herself as against what has been perceived as "biased" portrayal of the continent and her people by foreign media. Apart from the external goal of ensuring a good image for the continent, there is the internal objective of enhancing positive sharing of experience and memory among the local population. However, in pursuing this latter goal, the internal audience must be taken into consideration because their perception and attitude towards such "African story told by Africans" will be key to how much impact the story will have on individuals and society. Against this background, this paper investigates the cognitive disposition of the audience in the SouthEast of Nigeria towards the historical representation of that region of the country in Nollywood films. Situated within the framework of the theories of uses and gratifications and selective processes, the study is designed as triangulated research combining survey and focus group discussion. Among others, findings indicate that the viewers perceive film as capable of functioning effectively as a medium for preserving and transmitting history. It concludes that since Nigerian films are perceived as genuinely communicating their history, they equally have the transmitting power that builds and conserves memories among the people. The study thus recommends, among others, that the filmmakers should endeavour to select contents that are healthy and beneficial aimed at enriching shared experiences.

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