Freedom of information and media literacy in information management for national security in Nigeria

In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria signed the Freedom of Information Bill (FIB) to make journalists and other stakeholders of information management to have access to information without any fear or favor. Since the signing of the bill, journalists and other media practitioners have been exercising their right to freedom of information. For effective information management, there is a need for media literacy for consumers of media contents. This paper, therefore, argues that despite the freedom of information in the country, there is a need for media literacy for effective management of information for national security in Nigeria. This argument is premised upon the fact that interpretation and analysis of information is subjective owing to some personal prejudices and biases of the consumers of information. The lingering insecurity engineered by BokoHaram insurgency, kidnapping and armed militancy in the country is linked to the level of information management. The scope of the paper covers print media owing to the fact that data can be easily gathered from newspapers and magazines for analysis and discussion.