It is perhaps no overstatement to submit that current global discourse on prebendalism cannot but make reference to the Nigerian state as paradigmatic of everything prebendal: corruption, nepotism and dysfunctional governance, among others. The publication of Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic by Richard Joseph (1987) squarely positioned Nigeria a connotative and denotative reference in virtually any dialogue on prebendalism since the late 80s. In spite of its fertile ecosystem and virile human capital, Nigeria remains an underdeveloped nation with a dysfunctional governance space and an anomalous economy. In most democracies the media has proven to be indisputable galvanizers of good governance. The history of the media in Nigeria is fraught with stories of censorship, arrest of journalists and closure of media houses. There is however an emergent e-media culture in Nigeria-the social media. Characterized by a growing number of what is describable as netizens (or net citizens), the social media provides new platforms for engaging governance. The paper analytically examined the emergent interplay between social media and good governance, with particular reference to the desideratum to de-prebandalize the Nigerian State. Among others, the paper concluded by making policy recommendations for harnessing the transformational potentials of the social media for deepening the governance space in Nigeria for good governance.
Prebendalism, Media, Netizinship, Good governance
