With the promulgation of the Freedom of Information Act in 2011 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, the hope for the enhancement of good governance and transparency in Nigeria was raised.
It was expected that the law will stimulate citizens, and particularly the journalists, to put government officers on their toe in the performance of the fundamental objectives of the state.
Nine years down the lane, cases of secrecy in government are still prevalent.
Readily available and sufficient information to enhance politic participation and efficacy is still lacking, and which, invariably, has been attributable to the prevalent and manifestation of bad governance in Nigeria.
The question to ask is: has the freedom of information been redundant and not utilized?
This study attempted to answer this question by investigating the level of utilization of the Act since its promulgation by the citizens and particularly by the journalists.
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It also examined the rate at which it has been enforced by exploring the factors underlining its implementation and enforcement.
Importantly, the study also investigated the extent to which the Act has been contributing to good governance in relation to transparency, openness, fairness and justice.
The study found out that the culture of secrecy is still prevalent in government institutions and that journalist and citizens alike have little or no motivations to invoke the law.
To this end, good governance through openness, justice, transparency and fairness is still very elusive to Nigeria.
It recommended that the culture of secrecy should be eliminated from the operations of government institutions and government should assist in the enforcement of the law by putting in place strong and legal framework that will motivate government institutions in enforcing the law.
By: Azeez Adesina Lukuman, Mohamed Habibullah and Olaojo Olatilewa
University of Ilorin
