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COVER PAGE PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT AND THE SUSTENANCE OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA: A SURVEY OF THE DYNAMICS OF EXECUTIVE – LEGISLATIVE RELATIONS BY EKWO IFEANYI RAPHAEL PG/MSC/05/45468 DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING (PUBLIC RELATIONS) FACULTY OF BUSIENSS ADMINISTRATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ENUGU CAMPUS MAY 2007 CERTIFICATION DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING, FACULTY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, ENUGU CAMPUS. This is to certify that his research project titled: Public Relations Management and the Sustenance of Democracy in Nigeria: A Survey of the Dynamics of Executive-legislature Relations, written by EKWO IFEANYI RAPHAEL, has been found worthy to be accepted in partial fulfilment for the award of M.Sc degree in public Relations. ------------------- ---------------------- DR. I.C.NWAIZUGBO DR.G.E.UGWONAH [Project supervisor] H.O.D[MARKETING] DEDICATION I humbly dedicate this project work to almighty God for his sufficient grace and perseverance for the project accomplishment. I consequently dedicate this work again to my indefatigable nation i.e.Federal Republic of Nigeria and all the major actors in the fourth republic and beyond--- Alhaji Umaru Musa Yaradua President and Commander in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed forces Goodluck Jonathan Vice president of the federal Republic of Nigeria Senator David Mark,Senate president, Federal Republic of Nigeria Ike Ekweremmadu Deputy Senate president Alhaji Dimeji Bankole Speaker,House of representatives Chief Olusegun Obasanjo Former president of Nigeria Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Former vice president of Nigeria Chief Pius Anyim Pius Former Senate president of Nigeria Chief Ken Nnamani Former Senate president of Nigeria Alhaji Ghali Na’aba Chief Frank Nweke junior Former minister of information Prof.Ben Nwabueze Constitutional lawyer Honourable cletus Enebe Member,Enugu State House of Assembly and other distinguished personalities ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My warm gratitude goes to Chief Ikechukwu Ekwo,Vitalis Ekwo,Dr.Tony Eze,for their unending love through adequate financing and support during the programme. I want to heartily acknowledge the psychological, physical and academic support of my academic father and supervisor, Dr.Nwaizugbo for his guidance and direction in the course of my pursuit of this perpetual source of diet. Moreover,my deep regards goes to professor Nnolim and professor Ikechukwu Nwosu,for their guidance and proper inculcation of adequate knowledge during the programme. In addition, I thank mr Lee Obomoghe,Chief Okechukwu Itanyi and Barrister Achu for their moral support even as class mates. I cannot conclude without respecting my able parents Chief and mrs. Raphael Ekwo Senior for their support since primary school days as well as Mrs Monica Tochi Ekwo,Chidimma Ezinwa,Amaka Ekwo for their moral and financial support. May God Almighty bless you all-Amen. ABSTRACT This research focused on critical appraisal of the ways in which public Relations Management can foster the cause of sustainable democracy with particular attention on its effectiveness in fostering partnership between the executive and the legislature. A total of 246 questionnaires were designed and issued to the respondents in line with the sample size. Out of the number distributed, 201 of the questionnaire representing 81.7% were collected and returned, in which 168 of them representing 68.3% were actually validated and used in the final analysis. To find answers to the issues portrayed by the objectives of the research work, the research addressed the following problems in the study viz: 1. What is the effect of the frequent crisis between the executive and the legislative arms of government? 2. What benefit does the crisis or disagreements portray for democracy in Nigeria? 3. What role has the constitution to play in resolving this problem? 4. What alternative(s) is left in managing these conflicts so as to yield good democratic dividends to the masses and electorate? The data gathered from the expensive presentation and in-depth statistical analysis of facts indicate that elected officials and members of executive and legislative branches of government have not displayed good thinking over prospects for effectiveness with and through the support of others and also do lack awareness about matters relevant for policy results by means of invoking broad constituencies and institutions. The state of executive legislature relations in fourth republic is not satisfactory given the dysfunctional conflicts that occurred in the first tenure of the administration and the attendant effect on its performance. The result of this is that meaningful use of the persuasion process is derived. Persuasion can unite the president and key officer and members of the National Assembly in spite of the doctrine of separation of powers and yet permits maximum choice of action and decision. It is indeed discovered that public Relations management can create the realisation that effectiveness is not the equivalent of sample political survival of sample political survival rather it is moving a constituency and possibly the society in the direction it must go in its own collective interest. Against this background, autocracy in civilian administrations has a direct relationship with insensitivity to the needs, values and reactions of constituents and to the demands of the communicative occasion involving government officials TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE DEDICATION CERTIFICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.4 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY 1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS REFERENCES CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGEMENT DEFINED 2.2 MEANING OF DEMOCRACY 2.3 SEPARATION OF POWERS AND PRACTICE OF POLITICS 2.4 CONSTITUTIONAL LEGACY ON AND PATTERN OF INTERACTION 2.5 A SURVEY OF EXECUTIVE – LEGISLATIVE CONFLICTS IN FOURTH REPUBLIC 2.6 PUBLIC PERCEPTION AND REACTIONS 2.7 RELATIONSHIP – BUILDING STRATEGY REFERENCES CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 3.3 SOURCES OF DATA 3.4 POPULATION OF INTEREST 3.5 DETERMINATION OF SAMPLE SIZE 3.6 SAMPLING PROCEDURE AND STRATEGY 3.7 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS REFERENCES CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION PATTERN OF DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OF QUESTIONNAIRE PART A QUESTIONNAIRE DISTRIBUTED, RESPONSES RATE AND USAGE PART B ANALYSIS OF RESPONSES BASED ON SOCIO-GRAPHIC/ECONOMIC VARIABLES PART C TEST OF HYPOTHESIS CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUTIONS SUMMARY RECOMMENDATION CONCLUTIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY In the wake of political independence in 196os, the indigenous political leaders sought to institute a responsible and people –based government different from the ruler-ship and traditional institutions which existed before the colonial era. The independence constitution being the second schedule to Nigeria independence Act 1960 passed by the British parliament transferred power from an appointed Governor General of the Federation and Governors of the regions to a Federal Prime Minister (with his cabinet) and to Regional Premiers (with his cabinet) Also, the constitution was not radically different in nature from its predecessor, the 1954 constitution which transformed Nigeria into a federation from unitary formation and in which the Queen of England continued to be the Head in Nigeria as represented by the Governor – General irrespective of whether he was British or Nigerian. Under the 1957 constitution, at the executive level, it provided for appointment of a premier from among the members of the legislative Houses for the Northern, Western and Eastern Regions, while the Governor-General was being appointed as it was equally done in 1960. However, the 1963 constitution of the Federation of Nigeria which came into force on 1st October 1963 (three years after independence and referred to for short, as “Republican Constitution”, established the office of a (ceremonial) president of the federal republic which took over from the Queen, acting through her representative, the Governor- General, as the Nigeria Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the federation pursuant to 5.4(3) of the 1960 constitution. Actually, the head of government then was the prime minister and at the same time, the president was not exactly and directly connected with the executive powers. Notably, the three arms, the president (or Governor-General), the legislature and the executive in that order were segregated in separate chapters in the 1960 and 1963 constitution. In this regard, both the independence constitution of the 1960 and Republican Constitution of 1963 provided for a Westminster type of legislature in which, in addition to elected representatives, the members of the executive branch of government were also members of the legislature. The inability of the political leaders to exert influence over one another manifested in the manner in which crisis such as the 1964 Federal election crisis, the 1963 census crisis, the on shore and off shore dichotomy debacle and the iron and steel industry were all managed. It was also revealed in other disagreements, which include the struggle over revenue allocation, constitutional amendments, and impeachments of the fourth republic senate presidents Hon Chief Evans Enwerem of the blessed memory, to late Dr. Chuba