From the mid-nineteenth century, the Press and print media in what became Nigeria evolved from missionary bulletins and commercial gazettes into platforms of political debate. Newspapers informed both elites and ordinary readers, criticised colonial administration, and gave voice to emerging nationalist ideas such as self-government, federalism, and Pan-African solidarity.
While the press did not directly organise political movements, it provided the arena where ideas were tested, leaders emerged, and the meaning of freedom was contested. Through editorials, pamphlets, and correspondence columns, it helped define the moral and political vocabulary of Nigeria’s independence struggle.
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Early Foundations (1859–1900)
The origins of the Nigerian press trace back to Ìwe Ìròhìn fún Awon Ara Egba ati Yoruba, founded at Abeokuta in 1859 by Reverend Henry Townsend, a Church Missionary Society missionary. Its immediate aim was religious instruction and literacy promotion, yet its bilingual format, Yoruba and English, created the earliest indigenous print culture in West Africa. Townsend’s experiment demonstrated that African-language print could reach local readers and nurture a vernacular reading public.
By the late nineteenth century, Lagos had become a vibrant commercial and intellectual centre. Entrepreneurs such as Richard Beale Blaize launched the Lagos Times and Gold Coast Colony Advertiser in 1880, while John Payne Jackson established the Lagos Weekly Record in 1891. Both papers combined local reporting with sharp editorials that criticised colonial economic exploitation and racial inequality. The Weekly Record, in particular, became a voice for Lagos’s educated elite and a training ground for later nationalist writers.
It is important to note that early Nigerian newspapers were often short-lived, many were commercial ventures or missionary newsletters rather than explicitly political publications. The shift toward politically engaged journalism occurred gradually, shaped by urbanisation, rising literacy, and the growth of a Western-educated African elite.
Interwar Consolidation and Professionalisation (1920s–1930s)
By the 1920s, newspaper publishing in Nigeria had become more stable and commercially viable. The Nigeria Printing and Publishing Company, established in 1925, launched the Daily Times of Nigeria in 1926. Co-founded by figures such as Adeyemo Alakija and Ernest Ikoli, the Daily Times was Nigeria’s first mass-circulation daily, catering to expatriates, merchants, and an expanding African middle class.
Although not overtly nationalist in orientation, the Daily Times introduced the professional routines of modern journalism, regular publication schedules, advertising revenue, and structured news reporting, that set the foundation for future newspapers. Its success showed the social and political power of the press in colonial Nigeria and created space for more outspoken publications.
Alongside the Daily Times, smaller journals such as the African Messenger and The Comet cultivated political commentary. Out of this environment would emerge the explicitly nationalist press of the late 1930s and 1940s.
The Nationalist Press Emerges (Late 1930s–1950s)
The decisive transformation came with Nnamdi Azikiwe, who founded the West African Pilot in 1937. Azikiwe used engaging news coverage, sports reporting, and fiery editorials to promote racial equality, African dignity, and the demand for self-rule. Its motto—“Show the light and the people will find the way”, captured its mission to awaken political consciousness. The Pilot quickly became one of the most influential newspapers in British West Africa and inspired a network of regional papers across southern Nigeria.
In 1938, Herbert Macaulay and members of the Nigerian Youth Movement also supported publications such as the Daily Service, which connected Lagos-based activists and educated professionals. It represented a bridge between early elite journalism and the mass-oriented nationalism of the 1940s.
In the west, Obafemi Awolowo established the Nigerian Tribune in 1949 at Ibadan. The paper articulated Awolowo’s social and political philosophy, defending regional development, education, and welfare reform. Its disciplined editorial style and regional focus set a new standard for party-affiliated journalism.
In the north, the colonial government sponsored Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo (“Truth is worth more than a kobo”) in 1939, edited by Abubakar Imam in Zaria. Intended initially as an official information outlet, it soon became a genuine medium for Hausa-language readers, encouraging literacy and debate across Northern Nigeria.
Together, these papers transformed print journalism into a tool of political mobilisation. They connected party organisers, student unions, labour movements, and community associations, turning dispersed frustrations into coordinated nationalist energy.
Press, Repression, and Legal Contestation
The assertiveness of the nationalist press inevitably drew the hostility of colonial authorities. Editors and printers who criticised the government faced censorship, prosecution, and imprisonment under sedition and libel laws. Newspapers were fined, suspended, or banned for “subversive” publications.
The West African Pilot, for instance, was occasionally shut down, and its staff detained. Similar fates befell other nationalist papers that opposed official policy. Yet every legal confrontation strengthened public awareness of civil liberties. These episodes transformed press freedom into a central issue of Nigerian nationalism, with journalists emerging as both advocates and symbols of resistance.
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Regionalisation and Political Alignment (1950s)
As independence approached, the press became increasingly regional and partisan. The West African Pilot supported Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), the Nigerian Tribune championed Awolowo’s Action Group, while Northern publications, including Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo and papers aligned with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), reflected regional political priorities.
This alignment mirrored the growing federal structure and political rivalries of the late colonial period. On one hand, the press sustained national debate on the meaning of independence; on the other, it amplified regional voices that sometimes deepened divisions. Even so, the lively competition among newspapers fostered public engagement and helped define Nigeria’s early democratic culture.
Legacy After Independence
Following independence in 1960, Nigeria’s press remained a central pillar of public life. The traditions of political commentary, editorial independence, and social criticism forged during the nationalist era persisted, even amid new challenges.
During the First Republic (1960–1966), strong party loyalties often compromised journalistic neutrality. Subsequent military regimes (1966–1999) imposed censorship, detained journalists, and closed media houses. Yet newspapers such as the Punch, Guardian, and Tell magazine carried forward the nationalist press’s spirit of dissent, defending democracy and human rights under often dangerous conditions.
The press thus became both witness and participant in Nigeria’s continuing struggles over freedom and accountability. The same questions that animated Townsend, Azikiwe, and Awolowo, about truth, power, and national purpose, remain alive in contemporary debates over misinformation, media regulation, and press independence.
The Nigerian press was not merely a recorder of history, it was one of its authors. From Townsend’s Ìwe Ìròhìn to Azikiwe’s West African Pilot, Macaulay’s Daily Service, and Awolowo’s Nigerian Tribune, newspapers nurtured literacy, political awareness, and collective identity. They connected regions, shaped leaders, and transformed the demand for justice into a national cause.
Author’s Note
Though their influence was neither uniform nor uncontested, their impact was transformative. The legacy of a century-long struggle for free expression endures in Nigeria’s vibrant and critical press culture today, resilient, argumentative, and indispensable to the ongoing quest for accountability and freedom.
References:
- I. A. Omu, Press and Politics in Nigeria, 1880–1937(Cambridge University Press, 1978).
Daily Times of Nigeria archives, 1926 founding records.
Nigerian Tribune archives, 1949–present.
Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo (Zaria, 1939), British Library and Kaduna archives.
Biographical materials on Richard Beale Blaize, John Payne Jackson, and Herbert Macaulay (National Archives of Nigeria).
Sklar, R. L., Nigerian Political Parties (Princeton University Press, 1963).
