Department of Behavioural Studies, Redeemer's University, Mowe, Ogun State, Nigeria
Online published on 21 November, 2013.
The paper has attempted a heuristic analysis of the nature of poverty situation in Nigeria by highlighting how mass media can be deployed to sustain the public awareness, debate and participation needed to help enhance public engagement in poverty reduction strategies. The media's potential in engendering the Poverty Reduction Strategies has been acknowledged for two main reasons. First, they serve as vehicles for sharing information in order to facilitate good governance, generate opportunities to gain access to essential services and promote accountability by elected officials. Secondly, they are associated with a range of benefits that are highly relevant to the challenges of poverty eradication. Realizing these potentials of the mass media is however not enough, the key issue is how to make the mass media fulfil these potentials in Nigeria, as is already the case in many developed countries.
